1.0.9.26 seemingly breaks ecobee homekit

[JJNorcal]

After upgrading to latest router firmware, the iOS Home app cannot interact with Ecobee3 HomeKit.  I contacted Ecobee, went through their reset sequence, but still no HomeKit connectivity.  HomeKit has been working as long as I have owned the R7000, and breakage is coincident with the router firmware upgrade.  Any advice would be welcome...

[JJNorcal · Accepted solution]

Having f/w problems in another thread, which reminded me about this one, and about the fact that I had given up on homekit.

I just now successfully re-enabled homekit for the thermostat.  It was quite straightforward.  I don't know what could have been causing the problem when reported.  I am now running 1.0.9.28.

Thought I should clean up this thread...

[FURRYe38]

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem? 

Did you factory reset the router after doing a FW update and set up the router from scratch? 

Might disable IPv6 and Set NAT Filter from Secure to Open and see if anything changes. 

[JJNorcal]

I am using comcast.  My setup is:

TG1682G <----> ERLite-3 <----> R7000

R7000 is in access point mode, in central location.  ERLite-3 router is in closet next to Arris modem.

Problem persists after factory reset R7000.

Initial symptom was that iOS Home app stopped getting responses from Ecobee.  Ecobee support indicated that I should disconnect HomeKit, and after doing so, I am unable to pair.  Ecobee support has nothing further to offer.  I don't have a HomeKit hub, so pairing is directly between iPhone and Ecobee.  Home app is not able to find the Ecobee.

I haven't been able to figure out exactly how HomeKit pairing is supposed to work under the covers.  Ecobee suport indicated that iPhone and Ecobee must both be on 2.4Ghz, and that should suffice, but no joy.

[FURRYe38]

Is the modem in bridge mode? This is a modem/router gate way. Having the ISP modem/router combo on line with the ERLite3 router can case problems.

If not, use the DMZ for the ERLite3  routers WAN IP address it gets from the modem. 

Also your modem is Intel based:

http://badmodems.com

Something that you should be reviewed. 

[JJNorcal]

Yes, modem is in bridge mode.

I'm not aware of an Intel "badmodems" issue.  Going to have to look into that.

Thanks for the pointer.

[FURRYe38]

Is the R7000 in AP mode connected to the main host router LAN to LAN? If it is, there shouldn't be anything blocking any apps or services. The R7000 in AP mode is just passing thru traffic to the main host router. Wireless tunnel for devices to the router. 

[JJNorcal]

R7000 is connected to ERLite-3 via cat5 on port labeled Internet.  Should I be using a LAN port?

[FURRYe38]

Use the LAN port on the back of the R7000 connect to a LAN port on the router. Don't use the Internet port. 

[JJNorcal]

I will give this a try.  Thanks.

[FURRYe38]

Let us know how it turns out. 

[JJNorcal]

Switched to LAN port.  Now R7000 is lan-to-lan.

I don't see any obvious change in behavior.  Speed test still about the same.

And HomeKit still not identifying Ecobee.

[FURRYe38]

I would power cycle the ISP modem, router and R7000. Powering on the router 2nd, and the R7000 lastly...

Might try powering off the R7000 and re-enabling the main host routers wifi and test your home kit stuff...

[JJNorcal]

FURRYe38, reboot and test with modem-based wifi is an interesting idea.  I have already upset my family sufficiently for today; will have to try later.  I might start by backing up to older R7000 f/w though, as this problem seemingly manifested with the upgrade.  I think I was running 1.0.9.12, though at this point I'm not certain.

Case850, I called Ecobee support and followed their instructions, which is consistent with those detailed here: https://discussions.apple.com/message/30992996#30992996.

When I try to follow video, I get "Mange HomeKit" option instead of "Setup HomeKit", and from there I get "Your thermostat is unavailable".

As for the Apple document, I followed these procedures over a year ago when I first set up HomeKit.  To be clear, Ecobee HomeKit has been working for well over a year, and just now stopped working, seemingly coincident with R7000 f/w upgrade.

Thanks.

[JJNorcal]

Thought I replied already; apologize if this reply is redundant.

iOS version 11.2.6.

I have not yet attempted to factory reset ecobee.

I likely will first try older R7000 f/w version, as this seems more straightforward.

[FURRYe38]

I would try reset on this ecobee, then if that doesnt' work, try using the main host routers wifi. If it works there, then go back and revert the upgrade on the R7000 and test again...

[JJNorcal]

I was so confident in the "coincident" R7000 f/w upgrade that I decided to start with downgrade to 1.0.9.12.  This did not resolve the issue, so the R7000 f/w is no longer suspect.  I apologize for the noise.

FWIW, the netgear genie wants the external router to be connected to the Internet port, so I put that back.

Reseting Ecobee would result in de-registration of my account and loss of all of my configuration, so I never tried that.  Plus Ecobee support never considered this angle.

I also decided against trying modem's built in wifi; I had some difficulty getting it to stick in gateway mode and even more difficulty getting it to stop advertising SSIDs, so I'm not going to tempt fate.

It is true that the Ecobee app continues to work even though HomeKit does not; Home centralizes all HomeKit devices in a way that I am no longer enjoying.

I appreciate the prompt feedback with my challenge.  Thanks!

[FURRYe38]

Sounds like an issue with ecobee and home kit. 

Good Luck. 

[FURRYe38]

Both Internet and LAN ports work for AP mode. For troubleshooting though, I recommend using the LAN port on the R7000 when in AP mode to be sure nothing on the R7000 in AP mode is causing any problems. Try the LAN port. Works well. 

I presume the R7000 isn't the problem in this case. 

[FURRYe38]

IT is. Like I said, for troubleshooting reasons, the LAN port can be used as well. Nothing wrong in trying it out. 

Works with other Mfr routers this way as well when the WAN port isn't used. Been in networking for a while now. I'm aware. 

Thanks for the info though. 

[JJNorcal]

Case850, I ran your speed tests (speedtest.net).

I am paying for 250 down and 12 up.  I think there is supposed to be a 20% overprovisioning, so max should be a bit north of 300 down.

I ran each test multiple times, and there was a variance from test to test with both configuratons.

TG1682G < > ER Lite-3 < > Ethernet:

max down: 300

min down: 280

typ down: 290

max up: 11.96

min up: 11.93

typ up: 11.95

TG1682G < > ER Lite-3 < > R7000(AP Mode) < >Ethernet:

max down: 252

min down: 80

typ down: 125

max up: 11.92

min up: 11.85

typ up: 11.90

ER-lite stayed north of 250, but ethernet port on R7000 (1.0.9.26) fell short.

I was expecting more consistent results though I haven't been running speed tests much lately.

There were multiple runs where R7000 results started high (north of 250), but dropped down to 80 as the test went on.

A bit subjective...

[FURRYe38]

Is the R7000 using the WAN to LAN or LAN to LAN connection with the main host router? 

Besure you don't have any QoS settings on the main host router for the IP address on the R7000 in AP mode. 

[JJNorcal]

I went back to using the "Internet" port on the R7000 when the genie failed to locate my router on a LAN port.

My ERlite-3 configuration is pretty basic; I have not enabled QOS.

R7000 was in AP mode, so no QOS possible on it.

[FURRYe38]

Any any other routers you can test with to see if same thing happens? 

Only other thing to try would be to test the R7000 in a different location, say friend for families place using same AP mode configuration, test both WAN and LAN connections. IF the speed drop is similar then theres something going on with the R7000. 

[JJNorcal]

I don't have a spare router right now.

FWIW, erlite configuration is 1 WAN + 2 LAN, with the LAN ports on different subnets.  I have not enabled software based switching.

[JJNorcal · Accepted solution]

Having f/w problems in another thread, which reminded me about this one, and about the fact that I had given up on homekit.

I just now successfully re-enabled homekit for the thermostat.  It was quite straightforward.  I don't know what could have been causing the problem when reported.  I am now running 1.0.9.28.

Thought I should clean up this thread...