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Several problems with Heat Controller


krmkrx

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Hello, I have a few problems with the Heat Controller and the Fibaro App. 

 

1. Some Heat Controllers frequently need to be calibrated again because the app shows a warning that the Thermostatic Head is not calibrated anymore.

2. All Heat Controllers have been updated to Firmware 1.1.0. However the app shows that an update is available for all Heat Controllers, the Firmware Version offered is the same. The update process can be started and shows as successful in the app, but the Firmware stays at 1.1.0. (The Version in Fibaro App says 1.1.0 in HomeKit App it says 1.1)

3. The app sometimes shows different error messages. I have attached them as screenshots. 

4. Some Heat Controllers randomly start opening the valve fully and closing it directly after. The LED indicator shortly blinks white before or while they do this. No user input or schedule change leads to this behaviour. This is disturbing especially at night.

5. The packaged Secure Codes which are stickied onto the back of the quick start guide are completely wrong. They do not match the engraved Secure Code on the device. It took me several hours to figure this out. This looks like a huge mistake during the production process and I doubt that I am the only one whose Heat Controllers got shipped with wrong HomeKit Codes. 

 

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Just now I got a new error message which I have never seen before. See attached. 

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Guest itwarrior

My Heat Controller also came with an incorrect Homekit code, I spend more than a hour on my knees in a dark corner where the thermostat is to figure out what was wrong. In total it took me more than 4 hours to get them working. I'm not pleased that this issue is not mentioned in any official documentation. I have also experienced most of the other issue's that krmkrx has.  

 

I hope that these issue's are fixed quickly and that i'm not forced to return the product to the retailer because I really like the separate temperature sensor. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've experienced all of the above plus the following:

1. The valve doesn't completely close the pipes. During calibration I can hear the valve close the pipe completely (water stops running) but at the end of the calibration flow the valve leaves the pipe open a little bit.

2. The external sensor sometimes reports the temperature of 0° which makes the valve turn on the heating, as per my automation scenario to turn on the heat if temperature drops below 15° the heat turns on.

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Hi @krmkrx!

 

I've heard that support is already handling your case.

 

But just to clarify some issues:

 

On 10/15/2018 at 12:22 AM, krmkrx said:

1. Some Heat Controllers frequently need to be calibrated again because the app shows a warning that the Thermostatic Head is not calibrated anymore.

Not all valves are carefully finished and even though it may be a compatible type of the valve (e.g. Danfoss RTD-N) there still may be some misalignments which cause issues with the calibration.

In such cases, FIBARO Support can send a special adapter which may mitigate the issues.

 

On 10/15/2018 at 12:22 AM, krmkrx said:

2. All Heat Controllers have been updated to Firmware 1.1.0. However the app shows that an update is available for all Heat Controllers, the Firmware Version offered is the same. The update process can be started and shows as successful in the app, but the Firmware stays at 1.1.0. (The Version in Fibaro App says 1.1.0 in HomeKit App it says 1.1)

Yes, we know about this issue and we're working on a fix.

 

On 10/15/2018 at 12:22 AM, krmkrx said:

4. Some Heat Controllers randomly start opening the valve fully and closing it directly after. The LED indicator shortly blinks white before or while they do this. No user input or schedule change leads to this behaviour. This is disturbing especially at night.

Our Heat Controller does this to calibrate itself. It's unfortunate if happens and night, but the general problems with calibration may increase the frequency. Once the first issue is resolved it shouldn't be so noticeable.

 

On 10/15/2018 at 12:22 AM, krmkrx said:

5. The packaged Secure Codes which are stickied onto the back of the quick start guide are completely wrong. They do not match the engraved Secure Code on the device. It took me several hours to figure this out. This looks like a huge mistake during the production process and I doubt that I am the only one whose Heat Controllers got shipped with wrong HomeKit Codes. 

Just as you said, it wasn't a one-time mismatch, we have identified the batch and issued a press note:

Please login or register to see this link.

 

 

@Mikey M. ,

9 hours ago, Mikey M. said:

1. The valve doesn't completely close the pipes. During calibration I can hear the valve close the pipe completely (water stops running) but at the end of the calibration flow the valve leaves the pipe open a little bit.

We have identified this problem and it will be dealt with in the future firmware updates.

 

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  • Topic Author
  • 21 hours ago, Mikey M. said:

    1. The valve doesn't completely close the pipes. During calibration I can hear the valve close the pipe completely (water stops running) but at the end of the calibration flow the valve leaves the pipe open a little bit.

    2. The external sensor sometimes reports the temperature of 0° which makes the valve turn on the heating, as per my automation scenario to turn on the heat if temperature drops below 15° the heat turns on.

     

    @Mikey M. I can confirm that I am experiencing the exact same issues, too.

     

    11 hours ago, I.Srodka said:

    Hi @krmkrx!

     

    I've heard that support is already handling your case.

     

    Hi @I.Srodka!

     

    Thank you for taking your time to answer. I really appreciate it. Yes, I am in close contact with the support and we are investigating together.

    However, let me answer to your comments:

     

    11 hours ago, I.Srodka said:

    Not all valves are carefully finished and even though it may be a compatible type of the valve (e.g. Danfoss RTD-N) there still may be some misalignments which cause issues with the calibration.

    In such cases, FIBARO Support can send a special adapter which may mitigate the issues.

     

    Undoubtfully, this can be the case for some valves. However, the valves in my home are standard type valves (M30 x 1,5). Other smart thermostats like the Elgato Eve Thermo or the Tado Smart Thermostats don't have a problem with calibrating. I have used both competitor's products last year for more than 9 months without any problems. I have provided your support with measurements of my valves and even bought an extra measuring tool for it to provide you with the most exact data.

     

    11 hours ago, I.Srodka said:

    Our Heat Controller does this to calibrate itself. It's unfortunate if happens and night, but the general problems with calibration may increase the frequency. Once the first issue is resolved it shouldn't be so noticeable.

     

    I understand that this happens, however after initial successful calibration I see no need for the Heat Controller to start calibrating over and over again. The app confirms that the calibration is successful, however just a few hours later, I can hear the Heat Controller going through the calibrating cycle again and again (every 10 minutes). I need to manually force calibration in order for this endless cycle to stop.  However it happens again after 3 - 5 hours.

     

    11 hours ago, I.Srodka said:

    Just as you said, it wasn't a one-time mismatch, we have identified the batch and issued a press note:

     

    I understand that mistakes like this can happen. However the statement was issued kind of late and a lot of customers already had their products in their hands without knowing how to further proceed with the setup process. You cannot expect every user to be as tech-savvy as we are. Even your German distributor I have talked to was extremely disappointed by the lack of communication by Fibaro.

     

    I am now in constant contact with your support for the past 3 weeks, however I don't see any real progress happening. I am very eager to help you guys out as much as I can because I truly believe in this and other products from Fibaro and I have a lot of them in my home. However I was never so disappointed by a product as with the Heat Controller. The unique benefit of the Heat Controller is the seperate temperature sensor which helps out a lot in having the best heating comfort, that's why I sold the competitor's products (Elgato, Tado) and bought Fibaro.

     

    Your customers are trusting you with one of the most sensitive areas in their homes (Heating system) and the experience is nothing but disappointing.

     

    It would help out a lot if you could provide a definite roadmap of the upcoming actions which you will do in order to solve all issues. This would help us decide wether to keep the devices and wait or to start a return process, which would be very unfortunate and - at least for me - the least favorable solution of all.

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    8 hours ago, krmkrx said:

    I understand that this happens, however after initial successful calibration I see no need for the Heat Controller to start calibrating over and over again. The app confirms that the calibration is successful, however just a few hours later, I can hear the Heat Controller going through the calibrating cycle again and again (every 10 minutes). I need to manually force calibration in order for this endless cycle to stop.  However it happens again after 3 - 5 hours.

     

    Even though the main calibration went successfully, the loose-fitting may take a toll in the later use (that is what we can observe here).

     

    8 hours ago, krmkrx said:

    I am now in constant contact with your support for the past 3 weeks, however I don't see any real progress happening. I am very eager to help you guys out as much as I can because I truly believe in this and other products from Fibaro and I have a lot of them in my home. However I was never so disappointed by a product as with the Heat Controller. The unique benefit of the Heat Controller is the seperate temperature sensor which helps out a lot in having the best heating comfort, that's why I sold the competitor's products (Elgato, Tado) and bought Fibaro.

    4

    We really do appreciate your support.

     

    I can assure you that we are working on it and even though the actions are not yet visible, an update will arrive.

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    • 3 weeks later...
  • Topic Author
  • Almost two months passed and no firmware update.. All problems still remaining for me and a lot of other customers.

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    Have the same problems as the starter of this topic. Especially the nearly daily necessary recalibration is frustrating. Was also using Eve Thermo before and never had an issue with calibration.

     

    The app needs a rework too. There are several error messages that are completely out of context. Trying to use it from away is nearly impossible. Why can’t I delete custom heating plans? Why do I have to create one for every thermostat? Why can’t I rename them? Why can I define groups of thermostats if I can’t control them as such? Also no optimizing for Max size iPhones.

     

    If there are special adapters, how do I get them? Can anyone confirm, that they help with the calibration problems?

     

    I really like the hardware itself. But firmware (my guess) and app make it unusable for me at this point.

    Edited by speedlimiter
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    • 1 month later...

    Hello, 

     

    Just wanted to join in the thread since I am also experiencing the frequent calibrations occurring round the clock. Have had the Fibaro HC on my bedroom radiator for about 3 weeks now and it is definitively not getting better.

     

    I used to have an Elgato Eve Thermo on this radiator, with no calibration problems with the radiator/valve set-up (older 28 mm with adapter to 30 mm), but because of the placement of the radiator control in a corner, behind curtains and really 'locked in', it had problems with getting the correct temperature readings. So I decided to try out the Fibaro HC with separate temperature sensor, and now I have better temperature readings but have to live with continual calibrations instead. Those calibrations are a drain on the battery as well, as it is now down to 72% after less than 3 weeks of use.

     

    If I run the calibration manually it reports it has been completed successfully, but when you go back in the application after a while it reports the device is uncalibrated (again). And through all of this the HC actually manages to get the room temperature almost right (+- 0,5 degrees) according to the schedule I have set.

     

    I have seen that these problems occur also to the Z-Wave version of the HC and in those threads people have been showing logs of the events. Could be that I am blind on both eyes but do not find this feature in the FibaroHome application. Where does one find those logs in the HomeKit variant of the application? 

     

    /Dan

    Edited by danpeh
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    • 4 weeks later...

    Opened a support request regarding the calibration problems. Heard nothing from Fibaro for over a month. Very disappointed.

     

    Also no new firmware or an other sign that they’re working on a fix. My advice for now: Don’t buy any HomeKit devices from Fibaro.

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    • 3 months later...

    After writing to customer support back in February I was told that these issues were most likely due to faulty hardware. The solution was to send in my device for warranty service (from the US to Poland which cost me $47). Three months later I got a new heat controller in my mail but the problems remain the same. The valve will not close completely.

    Edited by Mikey M.
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    • 4 months later...
  • Topic Author
  • I have revisited the Heat Controllers for this years heating season as I still like the concept of having the remote temperature sensor. No other competitor offers this, they all use the temperature offset which does not work reliably in all conditions depending on the placement of the radiator. 
     

    I am still disappointed. The HW-Version seems to have changed since last year, now shipping as V1.1, however all the problems reported before remain. 
     

    - Heat Controller recalibrates frequently and looses calibration resulting in opened valve. 
    - Heat Controllers applies wrong schedule on wrong date

    - App outputs several error messages randomly 

     

    I assume Fibaro abandoned this product?

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    • 3 weeks later...

    i have the same Problem with my 5 heaters - daily permant recalibration …. what Can i do? if this will not go by better in the next week i will Change the manfacturer System to an good working one… 

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    • 11 months later...

    Hello,

    I’m with same problem. I bought it this week and today trying to setup had following issues: First label printed in the cart to add to homekit didn’t work. I had to check physically in the valve. After update firmware using fibaro app it stopped to respond in homekit and fibaro app. I tried to remove and add it again to homekit with no success. Also tried to factory reset but I can’t add it to homekit.

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    Rafael, restart your iphone, reset heat controller and you will be able to add it again. Same thing happened to me after firmware update.

    Edited by TomasM
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    • 1 month later...

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