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Forum Discussion
Strange behaviour from IoT hub
Hi! I have a RBK850 setup with latest firmware installed. I have several HomeKit devices that work fine but having a strange problem with one. I’m part of the beta test for Plejd https://www....
Jeaz wrote:
When I use HomeKit I believe it uses ethernet.
The forum often has posts regarding Apple HomeKit. (A mystery to me as I do not have it.)
Could you expand on this statement from the first post: "If I move the hub to one of the satellites it works, albeit temporarily."
Would there by chance be any Ethernet switches in this network? There have been issues with IGMP Snooping where media servers would work when connected to one part of a network, but not when connected to another part. I suspect the technology Apple uses to keep HomeKit (controllers? servers? masters? - what are they called?) informed about devices on the network that can be controlled.
I wrote a long reply but seems the forum ate it...
For HomeKit to work you need a hub, that's either an Apple TV, HomePod or even an iPad (even if that's going away with iPadOS 16). It's technically not mandatory, as devices can communicate directly with your iPhone or similar. But it is required for any remote control and overall considered a must-have at some level. There's always one of them acting as a master, and the rest as slaves, but they all act as a "mesh" and help the setup. And should the master go offline, any of the slaves will just resume the roles as master. I have no other switches.
My HomeKit setup is fairly elaborate setup with heating, lights, blinds, cameras, garage door, front door and so on. I have two gateways connected to my router - an Ikea Trådfri and the Plejd gateway. Ikea one works fine. As for the Plejd, I've been using it without HomeKit functionality for about a year and it works fine. This July they added beta support for HomeKit and that's when I had problem.
You add through the Plejd app but when it was connected directly to the router, it always failed during the last step of the setup, blaming no connection through ethernet.
After a lot of trial and error I got the idea to try to connect it through a satellite and then it suddenly worked. And did for about a day before it stopped again. If I reboot the satellite it works again for a while, but eventually stops working again.
So there’s no IGMP Snooping going on as far as I’m aware. I have IGMP Proxy on Auto.
Where is the HomeKit hub connected to the network?
- To the same satellite as the Gateway?
- To the primary router or a different satellite?
All the potential hubs (Apple TVs and HomePods) are connected via WiFi. Since they are all spread out through out the house, they are connected to different nodes.
Thanks. Do I understand correctly that the plejd Gateway is intended to:
- Allow remote access to the plejd devices when away from home (and thus out of Bluetooth range) using the plejd app, and
- Allow integration with systems such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit.
Can it do all at the same time?
Apple HomeKit appears to be in Beta test. Have you tried Google or Amazon already? - Do the other apps also allow remote access to plejd devices, or only the actual plejd app?
It's a bit frustrating that nobody publishes User Manuals anymore. The instructions are always, "Use the app. It's obvious how everything works."
I find intermittent problems very frustrating. Such as:
- App says "No Ethernet" when the cable is obviously plugged in.
- App is happy with a different Ethernet, but then quits working. That was what prompted the question about IGMP (or, perhaps, UpNP?). The app not only has to discover "Aha, here's a HomeKit compatible gizmo." But the app also has to remember that this thing is out there on the nextwork and what it does. I could believe that the Gateway might send out discovery packets that inform the HomeKit hub, "here I am. Look what I can do." But after some time goes by, the Hub thinks, "Hey. I haven't heard from that thing in some time. Guess it's not on the network anymore." Cycle the power and the Gateway thinks it got cut off, but is now on the network again.