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  • 1

Old HC 2 starting to creak


Hallamnet

Question

Evening all. 

 

Starting to get some issues with my HC2 I have had now many years (all stock with no mods), (Think I bought it when 1.xx firmware was around) and thinking of replacing for a newer HC2.

 

Issues I am experiencing include: - 

 

  • Device getting very Hot (hotter than normal)
  • Scenes and devices locking up 
  • Cannot connect to any Sonos speaker to play a track on event (No config changes made to this)
  • UI is getting very slow and crashy in (Chrome, IE, Opera, Firefox and on my MAC

 

I have performed a full factory reset of the HC2 that took it way back on the firmware level and gradually upgraded revision by revision (that did take ages) and even doing this had a few squeaky bum moments but even with only a few devices added (switches, relays, rgbw's and motion sensors that have also been reset and on latest version), the issues are still present).

 

The device is well out of warranty now have read that maybe a ram upgrade (4GB DDR3 1066) could help speed up the UI. While doing this, I am tempted to take off the heat sink for the CPU and clean and replace the thermal compound to help with the temperature issues. After time this can dry out and crack leaving contact with the heat sink patchy in places.

 

Not too sure how Fibaro generate serial numbers but if it's on the basis that HC2-00001 was the first ever one sold and HC2-000010 was the 10th ever sold, then mine would be very very old indeed! 

 

I know Fibaro have spent a lot investing in the ios home kit world recently but haven't seen much in the way of a HC2 refresh. I know the black model came out not long ago but not too sure if this is just cosmetic or if it will have upgraded hardware compared to my current model.

 

So my questions are really: - 

 

  1. Does the newer black HC2 have any upgraded hardware / chipsets compared to my current model
  2. Would it be worth swapping the RAM out and renewing the thermal compound in my current model. 
  3. Are Fibaro looking to bring out a new version of the HC2 in the very near future and should i wait for this? 

 

If anyone can help answer these questions it would be a big help in leading me to the right direction of renewing my system and hopefully will help others that might be in the same boat.

 

 

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  • 0
9 hours ago, Hallamnet said:

Evening all. 

 

 

 

So my questions are really: - 

 

  1. Does the newer black HC2 have any upgraded hardware / chipsets compared to my current model
  2. Would it be worth swapping the RAM out and renewing the thermal compound in my current model. 
  3. Are Fibaro looking to bring out a new version of the HC2 in the very near future and should i wait for this? 

 

 

 

 

 1:

ofcourse, simply because that old board is no longer availeble (new boards have HDMI etc)

2:

also ofcourse, more ram means somewhat faster response of the hc2

3:

i think in the very near future, and yes, i would wait for this

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22 hours ago, Hallamnet said:
  • Device getting very Hot (hotter than normal)

 

your mainboard is dying, probably power supply and/or caps on mainboard getting "dry". 

 

22 hours ago, Hallamnet said:
  • Scenes and devices locking up 

 

this might depends on HC2 firmware, some people reported issues with latest firmware, where others have no issues (Fibaro is investigating that)

 

22 hours ago, Hallamnet said:
  • Cannot connect to any Sonos speaker to play a track on event (No config changes made to this)

 

that can be something else, like changes to Sonos firmware, but as well memory consumption

 

 

22 hours ago, Hallamnet said:

maybe a ram upgrade (4GB DDR3 1066) could help speed up the UI.

 

2GB is enough, works for me since years

 

 

22 hours ago, Hallamnet said:

Not too sure how Fibaro generate serial numbers but if it's on the basis that HC2-00001 was the first ever one sold and HC2-000010 was the 10th ever sold, then mine would be very very old indeed! 

 

yes, it is like that

 

22 hours ago, Hallamnet said:

Are Fibaro looking to bring out a new version of the HC2 in the very near future and should i wait for this? 

 

 

no, there will be no new HC2 version, yes, there will be new HC, but my crystal ball told me "not in very near future".

 

22 hours ago, Hallamnet said:

The device is well out of warranty now

 

there is post-warranty service, you could get e.g. mainboard replaced, together with zwave mainboard / power supply for less than half SRP price of new HC2.

Check 

Please login or register to see this link.

 

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  • Inquirer
  • Hi Guys and thanks for the replies.

     

    I never knew you could get the components from Fibaro and really would help if it was needed. 

     

    For the time being I have ordered some replacement ram and some thermal paste to see if this will help things along. If not, I might just take the plunge and get a new HC.

     

    With the Sonos issues, I have spent some time going over the forums and cannot get any of my play:1's with Alexa or my first gen Play:5 to play any track off of my Synology NAS. If anyone has any info or help on this would be greatly appreciated. 

     

    I will update this post when I get my new ram and paste through to advise if it has made any difference. 

     

    Thanks,

     

    Hal 

     

     

     

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  • Inquirer
  • Evening all. 

     

    So just a bit of a quick update on my first gen HC2 that was starting to run sluggish and not perform great as normal. 

     

    I have replaced the ram and it is like I have just bought a new model. The web ui has sped up a considerable amount and all scenes are now running ok but is still running a bit hot. I was hoping to renew the thermal compound but good old amazon "forgot" to include the paste in my parcel so this is tomorrow nights job!

     

    I still have the issues with my Sonos's playing tracks via a VD but I need to look in to this deeper. 

     

    I have included a screen shot of my RAM usage and is looking a lot better.

     

    I hope this can be a help to others. 

     

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  • Inquirer
  • Another update for you all. 

     

    Today, yes today, Amazon finally managed to get my delivery of thermal compound to me and I have managed to clean off the old thermal paste and reapply with the the new paste.

     

    When I took off the heat sink, I did find that the original paste had not been applied properly and there were parts of the CPU chip that did not make contact with the heat sink. 

     

    When taking the heatsink off, you will need to use some narrow pliers to pinch the under side of the retaining pin and carefully push it up to release. These are push-clip fit rather than screw fitment. 

     

    I have included some photos so you can what I mean but all does seems to be running a bit cooler now. 

     

    I hope this could help someone here 

     

     

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    Very helpful, indeed - thanks for posting! My HC2 is also very old and is starting to behave erratic. 

    The RAM and thermal pastes seems like a 'no-regrets' first step to take in attempting to dig it out of the mud. After that, I'll consider ordering a new motherboard from fibaro if things don't improve.

     

    Can you share a link to the RAM you purchased?

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    is there a way to complete exchange the mainboard for a better version instead only replace the CPU ?

    that would be awesome :D

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  • Inquirer
  • Hi all.

     

    Link to the Ram is: - 

    Please login or register to see this link.

     

    I don't think swapping out the mainboard would be a good idea as the OS will have the correct drivers for the board. Introducing. new hardware without the proper drivers could cause big issues especially when the USB headers are used for a daughter board that houses the Z wave chip and also the USB flash drive.

     

    If you are thinking, well I could just log on to the OS to upgrade the drivers, well you would need to know the root password that has not been released by Fibaro for good reasons. 

     

    Sorry it's been a while but hope this helps. 

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hal  

    Edited by Hallamnet
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