John Estock Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Turned one of our four TV’s on with remote, message on remote “waiting for network “, when I tried to turn the TV off. I’m being told by an installer after checking the programming and the rest of the system that the problem is the controller, does that make sense? I’m not at all technically knowledgeable about this stuff so I’m looking for some advice from unbiased contributors to this forum. My system is pretty straight forward: 4 TV’s in four rooms throughout our spacious house. 4,000+ sq ft. 5 speakers in main family room, no separate speakers in other rooms 3 cable boxes 1 Blu-ray 1 Apple TV unit 1 Binary B500 matrix 8x8 1 control 4 controller HC something 1 Sony multichannel AV receiver No plans to expand system The installer is recommending a new EA 5 controller to fix the problem. Based on what I’ve read on this forum that seems like overkill assuming the problem is the controller and not something else less expensive to fix. Unbiased advice on this problem and proposed solution would be greatly appreciated. JGE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 REBOOTING the main controller would be the quickest fix. likely the zserver did not start properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nawty Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 How far away are you from the controller (with the remote that is waiting for network) Did your installer install the extended zigbee antenna on the processor... (Small black puck with a 3 meter length extension cable?) Possible solution: Adding some light switch/dimmers or keypads in the middle between the processor and remote would help the zigbee network. Cheaper than a new processor and adds light into the mix. This would help the remote to talk to the controller... Let us know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanDad Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Or add a Z2IO or two in the middle and make use of its repeater mode. For sure, a 4000 square foot house with just one controller and nothing else in the Zigbee mesh sounds like a stretch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatheed Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, OceanDad said: Or add a Z2IO or two in the middle and make use of its repeater mode. For sure, a 4000 square foot house with just one controller and nothing else in the Zigbee mesh sounds like a stretch. This. You have poor Zigbee signal strength. You need a Zigbee mesh. Adding lights or keypads throughout the house would solidify your Zigbee network and give you some added functionality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Estock Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 The problem is throughout the house. Our entire video system is down with the “waiting for network “ on all remote control devices. Does this change any of your thoughts on the problem or proposed solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Estock Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Also there is I believe one zigbee device at the far end of our house. The problem popped up out of the blue, it had been working fine for 5+ years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4BeLL0 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Reboot the controller, then try, but I think you need to get stronger zigbee mesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
av4jn Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Ask your installer to add a few (2-3) C4 outlet dimmers/switches to the project to strengthen your mesh, that's the most cheap way I could think of for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Also consider checking the zigbee mesh channel. Sometimes something else is interfering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekki70 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Reboot controller, if it still doesn't work, I would ask one of the programmers here on the site to login and look at the system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 What controller is in your system?? You say HC something, but the latter numbers are really important. For all we know, it could be an HC300 and there are several things that can go faulty with that controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Estock Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 The current controller is an HC800. Installed July 2014. Installer proposing $2,000 new EA5 controller plus $200/hr for programming new controller. I think an EA3 would work just fine for my needs. See above system details. Any comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nawty Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Have you rebooted the controller Its been mentioned to tou several times and you have yet to reply that you did that. Also you have failed to reply to my basic questions of distance and such. And for your new quote. $200 an hour on programming is way more than the $125 an hour that we charge.....Did he state . this would fix it or your money back? Surprise me on your answer and actually have rebooted the processor and looked at all the questions everyone has asked, including me, and all the other pros on here have asked and given you free time and respond accordingly. Im skeptical that your system, without anything other zigbee devices, besides the processor has been solid for 5 years. msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Estock Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 Thank you all for your help. One of the first things we did was reboot the controller with no change. Distance from HC800 to zigbee in far end of house is maybe 90 feet. To be clear, all of our remotes show the “waiting for network” error message not just the remote farthest from the HC800. Also system was working just fine until I tried to turn off one of the TV’s. Not sure about the zigbee on the processor. I just know there is a zigbee (little black puck with small antenna and blue light) at far end of house. A technician from the installer company was at our house and ran through a bunch of tests but didn’t suggest any of the ideas offered to extend the zigbee mesh. I fine it hard to believe I need a new controller. Like most of the responses it seems to me to be a device communication issue. I’ll pass on your ideas to see how the installer responds. I’m also going to get a second opinion. If I do need a new controller is the recommended EA5 overkill for the set up described above? Again thank you all for your ideas and your interest in helping a non- techie deal with this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nawty Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Does this look like what you have? https://www.control4.com/docs/product/zigbee-extender-3/data-sheet/english/revision/A/zigbee-extender-3-data-sheet-rev-a.pdf This helps to "extend" the zigbee, but it should be closer to the processor, rather than at the other end of the house.... think of it as a relay race..or a hand off of such. Try bringing the zigbee extender, if that's what you have, closer towards the processor. Within 40-50 feet would be optimal. but Ive seen them work further without obstructions. The zigbee will have to readjust after this,. This may solve your issues, and may not. If you take the remote in the closest room to the equipment, closer to the processor does it find the network..? I still run an HC800 for my entire house, but I also have 40+ dimmers and switches and thermostats so my mesh it very solid.. I wouldn't give up on the 800 yet. You do have a very sparse setup (zigbee wise), and the recommendations for Z2IO and other dimmer/switch additions are great suggestions. Especially since the Z2IO are on the hardwired network and would act as repeaters for your processor which equals better coverage away from the equipment. ** You still need to find the version of the OS on the processor ie.. 2.53, 2.6, 2.9, 2.10 etc... I would like to see you have a better experience with Control4 than what you have gone through recently, so id be more than happy to look at your system remotely. If you want you can PM me and I can explain how we can do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcovach Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Is there any chance of another controller in the house that was set up to be the zigbee server/co-ordinator? Do you know the network equipment in your house? Any chance of some IP address conflicts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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