Multipurpose sensor going offline without any warning / notification?

Devices & Integrations
#1

Today I learned that I can access my device / smartapp info at: https://graph.api.smartthings.com

So I went and checked them out. To my utmost surprise, two of my multipurpose sensor are “OFFLINE”.
When I looked at my SmartThings app, those sensors’ “Right Now” tab looked normal, battery is good, temperature and open/close state were shown as usual.
I then tested them by opening the corresponding windows. The open/close state didn’t change in the app – they remained “closed”. So these sensors were indeed OFFLINE.

I had to remove the sensors’ batteries to reset them (and just holding down the reset button didn’t help – the battery needed to be removed and put back to restore the sensor).

How come there’s no warning / notification at all in the app? Even when SmartThings knows that the sensors were offline???
This is unacceptable. If the thief were to enter from those two OFFLINE windows, no one would know.

I wonder if people here have seen the same / have solutions to fix this.

Thanks a lot!

2 Likes
Devices offline, no fix in sight. Smartthings has acknowledged the bug
#2

Cora,

I am running into similar issues with multipurpose sensor/motion sensor quite often as well, performing the same routines as you mentioned, hoping someone from ST would respond a permanent fix.

#3

This is an ongoing problem for years now. Everytime there is a hub firmware update or even a power cycle of your hub will caused this problem. I have 200+ devices so it’s a pain but learn to live with it by checking IDE often. A repeater dropping off the network will also caused this problem.

Edit : the offline status on IDE is a new thing. I think maybe a few months old. You can use an app called simple device viewer to have notifications on also all kind of status.

#4

I have 2 multipurpose sensors that I purchased a couple weeks ago. I just noticed that both of them are offline. Has this issue been addressed? I’m thinking of returning them. Are there alternate door position sensors that are reliable?

#5

There have been multiple issues with the sensors, but if this is something which started happening in April, Definitely report it to support. They may be able to see something from their side.

https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us

It might be related to the following, which is new as of April:

#6

My previous situation has been fixed by adding an smart power plug (works as an extender).

But recently I’ve noticed two sensors going offline again. Pressing the reset button on the sensor or popping the battery out and putting it back in didn’t even help (altho previously did).

Now I’m waiting for some replacement batteries to test again… But my hope is low. Something must be wrong with the sensors. Very disappointed.

Please, do let me know if you figure it out. Thanks!

1 Like
#7

And still,
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND why the app doesn’t give any notification when sensor goes offline even if ST system is aware.
I still have to remember to check “https://graph-na02-useast1.api.smartthings.com” periodically.
This is just bad engineering and very stupid IMHO…

1 Like
#8

If you want to get notifications, there are a couple of community – created smartapps which will do that. I think the most popular is probably “simple device viewer.”

You can find these on the quick browse lists in the community – created wiki on the “wellness check” list.

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section

#9

Thank you!

Actually I take my last post back.
There is a thing called “device health” in the options. Somehow it defaults to off. I just turned it on and now I can see the two offline sensor with a red ! on them in the app. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#10

You can do that, but if you look at the other thread I linked to, you’ll see that some people are having to turn that feature off because it appears to be interfering with communications to the device. That is, device check is marking devices off-line which actually shouldn’t be off-line, but then the hub won’t talk to them anymore. But if it’s working for you, that’s great. :sunglasses:

#11

:scream: Thank you so much… I’m going to turn it off now… I surely don’t want more offline devices!

1 Like
#12

I have been experiencing this issue too.
Some official Samsung sensors, and zwave bulbs show disconnected in the new ST app.
All automations still work
They show online and working in ST Classic.
They show online and working in IDE

THERE IS AN EASIER WAY TO GET THEM SHOWING CONNECTED IN THE NEW APP:

  • pull the sensor battery for 10 seconds. (or turn off power to the bulb for 10 seconds)
  • done
    *** no need to delete and add device ***
#13

Also having same issue with 3 of 10 sensors. These 3 are probably the furthest away, but within specifications. Any fix @TRusselo

Battery removal resolves.

#14

All of my issues disappeared when I moved my hub into the middle of my home

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#15

Thanks @TRusselo I’ll try relocating.

#16

My two sensors that went offline are a couple of meters from one of the Smartthings Wifi hub, so that must not be it. Also, near one of them, I have a third one that is still online.

If I am traveling I cannot go and take the battery off and back in, so I am considering switching to the Ring equivalents.

Note that this thread is now 3 years old, so it seems the sensors are bad harware and this will never be fixed.

#17

I had this problem and found through the online app that the routing to the hub was through a far away device (I recently move the sensor to a new location). I removed the device and installed it again and now the routing is directly to the hub. It’s still a bit flaky but it may be because it so distance from the hub.

#18

same thing here… my multipurpose sensor is offline and wouldn’t know if not checking the app… there isn’t an option to notify when a device is offline, which is quite disappointing.

#19

Another thing that fixed my issues were NAME BRAND batteries.
Cheap china batteries seem to die before i can get a low battery warning.

The main thin that fixed my issue was moving the hub to the center of the home so it had equal hops in each direction to the furthest devices.

#20

I am having a similar issue with the sensors. I have one at each extreme of the network. The hub is in my living room at the front of the house and I have sensors in the garage approx. 10m from the house to the front, and another in the office, approx. 4m from the back of the house. There are other sensors/devices throughout the house. Both the garage and the office sensors go offline regularly. I have to reset them near the hub to bring them back online, but as soon as they go back to the office/garage, they’ll be offline again in minutes. Both the office and garage have a number of Meross plugs which all show as online. The garage is about 4m from the kitchen where there is another sensor which seems to work fine.

Looking in the old app I can see the office sensor showing motion (I am in the office), but the new app shows it as offline. If the old app is being disabled where does this leave us? Surely common sense dictates that you ensure the new one works properly before you force everyone to use it?

I am, like a lot of people, finding major flaws with the app we’re being forced to use. I also have a couple of Meross plugs for the lights in the garage which don’t show up in the new up at all. They do in the classic though (even though they were added through the new app)

I do like convergence and support for a vast array of vendors, but over the last year or so things seem to have got a lot worse and a lot less reliable.

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