Fan/Light Switch Disconnection Issue Thread

Switches General Discussion
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21

Yes. Exactly.

22

Just wanted to update that on HA/ZJS since this thread has been posted I have not had a single issue on my 1.31 that was having issues.

23
  • Date switch was purchased
    11-2-2020
  • Approximate distance from switch to fan canopy
    7ft
  • Approximate internal temperature (in house) and external temperature (outside)
    76internal 86 external
  • What is your hub/gateway (ie: SmartThings, Hubitat, etc)?
    Hubitat
  • What firmware version are you on (if you don’t know, leave blank, but it’s helpful)?
    1.31
  • Have you made any parameter changes?
    No
  • Approximate wattage of your bulbs
    5w x3
  • Does the disconnection happen when using the fan, the light or both?
    Light (never use fan to notice)
  • Do you notice any patterns (ie: time of day, time since last disconnection, etc)?
    No patterns. Its my guest room and they have been complaining that they get stuck off. Glad they arent getting stuck on :slight_smile:
1 Like
25

Be careful not to short your wires/switch with lining the box. This sounds like a recipe for disaster.

27

I should add this note to post #15 above… I have two of these in my house. The one I purchased April 14, 2021 also has firmware 1.34 and does not produce the same disconnection issue as the other one purchased January 13, 2021.

I’m on day 4 with no control of this light or fan.

28

I updated the firmware to 1.36 on my switch. It’s not behaving any better.

29

I have two and have issues with both.

Purchased: August 9th 2020
Received: Mid October 2020

Purchased: Oct 20th 2020

20 feet

Internal: 70
Outside: 20F - 100F [happens at any temp]

Home Assistant

1.36

No

No lights in fan, I just use the light button and dimmer as a scene controller.

Just the fan, never had an issue with the light button.

Yes, when I really don’t feel like getting out of bed to mess with it.

30 
Date switch was purchased

September 2020
Received replacement for switch and canopy on October 2020
Received replacement for switch only on May 2021

Approximate distance from switch to fan canopy

13ft

Approximate internal temperature (in house) and external temperature (outside)

55-75 internal 0-85 external

What is your hub/gateway (ie: SmartThings, Hubitat, etc)?

Smartthings

What firmware version are you on (if you don’t know, leave blank, but it’s helpful)?

Have you made any parameter changes?

No

Approximate wattage of your bulbs

Does the disconnection happen when using the fan, the light or both?

Both

Do you notice any patterns (ie: time of day, time since last disconnection, etc)?

No

31
  • Date switch was purchased

4/30/2021

  • Approximate distance from switch to fan canopy

~20ft

  • Approximate internal temperature (in house) and external temperature (outside)

72F inside, 70-80F outside

  • What is your hub/gateway (ie: SmartThings, Hubitat, etc)?

Smartthings

  • What firmware version are you on (if you don’t know, leave blank, but it’s helpful)?

1.34

  • Have you made any parameter changes?

Few minor adjustments (e.g. min level, ramp rate)

  • Approximate wattage of your bulbs

~10 (uncertain - LED housing within light/fan unit)

  • Does the disconnection happen when using the fan, the light or both?

Both

  • Do you notice any patterns (ie: time of day, time since last disconnection, etc)?

Haven’t been able to reconnect since connection initially lost. Lost after running fan overnight. I’d had trouble connecting initially but no issues for the 6 weeks or so since until now

1 Like
32

Thanks all – ugh, this sucks. We’ve sent off the returns we’ve received to the manufacturer and they should be there next week. It has their full attention and @JasonL_Inovelli (the PM at the manufacturer) will provide weekly updates to us on what we find.

In reading through the additional threads, there seems to be no correlation of firmware as there is problems across all versions.

Two additional questions:

  1. Where you have your fan/light switch – is it a single gang or multi-gang box? In other words, is there only one switch there or are there multiple switches?
  2. Do you happen to know if the gangbox is plastic or metal?
3 Likes
33

I have one fan/light switch working fine in a 3-gang plastic box with two other Inovelli on/off switches (one Black, one Red).

The one that is not working is in a 4-gang plastic box with one other Inovelli Black Series on/off switch and two dumb switches in 3- and 4-way circuits with Inovelli switches located in boxess far away.

34

@DeltaNu1142 – have you tried flipping power at the breaker to bring it back?

I also find this interesting:

By system updates, you’re talking about Home Assistant, platform updates, right? If so, do you know how quickly afterwards this happens?

Possibly – I believe we put in a feature where the switch would auto-scan for a lesser used frequency to use that, but I could also be making that up. @EricM_Inovelli am I dreaming? I swore this was added after the first instance of disconnection issues.

I’m also going to paste a chart at the top of this post so we can try to see any trends among the answers. I have a meeting in 2min, but will post it after.

35

Multiple (3)
Plastic

My other units are in their own boxes (bedrooms) and are also plastic.

36

No, but I can do that now. My switch and canopy module are on separate breakers, so I’ll shut them both off and try.
Because the switch is responding to Zwave commands, I just chalked it up to a switch-to-canopy-module issue.

Yes, that’s correct, during HA or ZwaveJS updates. My issues would begin right after upgrade & restart.

EDIT: I’ve shut off the breakers to the fan and the switch and then powered them back on. I then attempted the switch-to-canopy-module pairing process and it failed. The switch responds to Z-wave commands and when controlled manually, its status shows up in Z-wave. Neither the fan nor the light are operational.

1 Like
37

Interesting – can you tell me more about the circuits?

  1. Canopy circuit – what is downstream from the canopy?
  2. Switch circuit – what is downstream from the switch?
  3. What was the fan hooked up to prior to installing the Inovelli switch (ie: was there a dumb switch that controlled the fan)?
1 Like
38

I really can’t say, unfortunately. I moved into this place in December and I’ve found and corrected a lot of issues. The canopy module is on a circuit that has nearly all of the 2nd-floor lighting on it, and the switch is on a circuit that has nearly all of the 1st-floor lighting on it.
The previous owner hardwired the fan through a remotely-controlled module… the fan wasn’t on a switch, at all (which I can’t stand). When I moved in, I replaced the fan with a new one, I wired the Inovelli canopy module to the existing non-switched wiring, and then wired the corresponding fan/light switch in the nearest gang box, replacing a dumb switch that controlled an outlet (which I also can’t stand).

39

Interesting. I have a couple fans that are directly wired without a switch as well. Hopefully, once this gets ironed out, I can install switches to smartify them too.

40
  1. Two gang box
  2. Metal
41

Questions (please highlight and quote for your answer):

  • Date switch was purchased
    June-2020

  • Approximate distance from switch to fan canopy
    10ft

  • Approximate internal temperature (in house) and external temperature (outside)
    Internal Temp: 30 Celsius
    External Temp: 29-32 Celsius

  • What is your hub/gateway (ie: SmartThings, Hubitat, etc)?
    Hubitat

  • What firmware version are you on (if you don’t know, leave blank, but it’s helpful)?
    1.31

  • Have you made any parameter changes?
    No

  • Approximate wattage of your bulbs
    9W

  • Does the disconnection happen when using the fan, the light or both?
    Fan and light off

  • Do you notice any patterns (ie: time of day, time since last disconnection, etc)?
    No, just randomly happening

If need any other information, please ask, I will be replacing the switch for lutron casetas soon.

42

Eric, here is my feedback. And latest update, is that the light has been working for a week or 2 without the fan. And all of a sudden yesterday the fan started working as well as the light. I expect that one or both will disconnect again in the next day or so as usual…

Date switch was purchased: *mid-November 2020*

  • Approximate distance from switch to fan canopy: 15 ft over, 12 ft above floor
  • Approximate internal temperature (in house) and external temperature (outside): MASSACHUSETTS, 68-72 inside, currently 60-90 outside...
  • What is your hub/gateway (ie: SmartThings, Hubitat, etc)? HUBITAT
  • What firmware version are you on (if you don’t know, leave blank, but it’s helpful)? both switches were on 1.34. I recently upgraded switch #1 (has been working without issue from start) this week to 1.36, but Switch #2 (problem switch) will not upgrade, I keep getting message WAKE SLEEPY DEVICE)
  • Have you made any parameter changes? NO
  • Approximate wattage of your bulbs
  • Does the disconnection happen when using the fan, the light or both? usually both fan and light do not respond. occasionally the light will start responding only, sometimes the fan will respond as well.
  • Do you notice any patterns (ie: time of day, time since last disconnection, etc)? ``NO PATTERNS, RANDOM
1 Like