I’m not sure since when, but after one of the recent updates, my Homematic add-on isn’t working properly. Most of my devices are no longer functioning. It was probably one of the last three updates. Apologies for the vague explanation. I hope you can provide me with guidance on where to start troubleshooting.
Additionally, my Homematic add-on in Home Assistant can only communicate with a portion of the devices. None of the 4-channel blind actuators are responsive anymore. Although all room thermostats appear in Home Assistant, whenever I attempt to adjust the temperature, they immediately become unavailable.
Despite having backups, I couldn’t restore the functionality. I tried restoring previous configurations, but the issue persists. It seems like the problems may run deeper or may not be resolved simply by reverting to previous settings. Any assistance with troubleshooting would be greatly appreciated.
My Setup: Proxmox server on a HP thin client, Homeassistant as VM; RaspberryMatic as addon via HACS. Hardware for Homematic: eQ-3 HmIP-RFUSB
hm… ok…
first: what Service-Messages do you have within your raspberryMatic Interface?
second: why relying on the HA Addon - when you are using proxmox?
You can install RaspberryMatic within it’s own VM on proxmox - then, the HmIP system would still be functional when HA is restarting / updating or in a failure state
In such a case, I would use HA mostly as an user-Interface for HmIP and maybe, to connect it to other systems…
Regarding you’re specific error / warning: It seems, that the USB Dongle isn’t available anymore.
Pls check if it is connected correctly or if the USB port is available for your HA VM (usb passthrough)
Firstly: In the RaspberryMatic interface, there is only the message I already posted, “Device communication disrupted” (I didn’t find any other error logs).
Secondly: The communication is much more efficient and can handle more values and variables. Additionally, HASS has received some more information from the RaspberryMatic (at least that’s what I understood).
The USB stick/dongle (port passthrough) is available because I can trigger other HmIP elements, but not all of them… That’s the mystery.
I have numerous HmIP devices and just a few direct connections in the RaspberryMatic; all the programs are in HASS.
hm… ok, I don’t think, that it is an issue with the Addon / Integration when devices become unavailable.
Secondly: The communication is much more efficient and can handle more values and variables. Additionally, HASS has received some more information from the RaspberryMatic (at least that’s what I understood).
I don’t think so.
I also had the RaspberryMatic Addon installed - but decided to go with its own VM in proxmox, since the addon was more unreliable - in my case, I always got errors for unavailable devices when HA restarted, because the Addon took a bit longer to start.
Now, I only get these when the RaspberryMatic VM needs a restart, which is not as often as HA (with monthly updates and patches)
Also, I don’t see any issue with the efficiancy comparing the VM installation and the Addon installation.
In addition to that, I’m still getting all relevant information from RaspberryMatic through the integration Homematic(IP)_local …
Finally, to address your issue:
Can you please check the following guideline from Jens (sorry, just copy & paste from the git - so it is in german)
The guide is based on the installation on a RPi4 - but at least the solution with the USB dongle should still be valid.
You should use an USB extension cable - and also, check the CarrierSense Level within RaspberryMatic
Wie schon oft hier und in vielen Diskussionsbeiträge in Diskussionsforen thematisiert wird auch dies hier ein Resultat des Umstandes sein, das der RaspberryPi4 als massiver Funkstörer bekannt ist. Hier hilft nur entweder auf einen nicht-RaspberryPi4 wechseln oder massiven Abstand zwischen RaspberryPi bzw. anderer potentziell störender Technik wie einer SSD und dem eigentlichen Funkmodul (HmIP-RFUSB) schaffen! Auch hilft ein Blick auf den CarrierSense Wert. Dieser MUSS dauerhaft < 10% liegen sonst liegen irgendwelche Funkstörungen in der näheren Umgebung des Funkmodules vor!
Oh my gosh!!! it is unbelievable… My wife moved the USB Dongle in the Server cabinet much more closer to an SSDs and the carrier sense level was about 20%…
now everything is working as before. Your advice was a blessing, thank you very much. Sometimes, as we Germans say, you can’t see the forest for the trees. But i will follow your second advice and i will try to move from the RM-Addon to the separate VM do you have any tipps to get the connection between both VM´s?
since I am also german, I know what you mean
I had just a similar issue yesterday where ALL my devices (Zigbee and Homematic) behaved similar… probably due to a new Hub which I’ve integrated and which is messing up the signals too much
It took me some time to figure out, that I need to unplug some of the zigbee devices to bring the whole network back to life …
Regarding your question about the ‘connection’ between both VMs: You don’t need to do much.
The important thing is: only the RaspberryMatic VM should have access to the USB Dongle. You can probably make a backup from your existing config - but I am not sure if this will prevent you from reteaching all devices …
When the VM is running (be aware - the install script provided in the Git will allocate 64 GB hard drive for the RpMatic VM) - you need to reconnect your Homematic IP integration - I’m using Homematic(IP)_local which is available on HACS…
This integration is then providing all devices and entities - you can also monitor the status of the RaspberryMatic, including the system-variables, alarm- and service message count.
I had the Addon only running for a couple of days to decide, if I really want to switch from the Cloud based system to a fully local installation - and then, switched to the VM …
This will also allow me to reinstall HomeAssistant completely if required without setting the whole HmIP system up again - and I try to reduce the amount of addons running within HA at all (right now, only a couple, like ESPHome, OpenWakework, Matter, and some development tools)
Thanks for your feedback, it was a straight forward procces. RM installed as a VM (of course with dongle passthrough) (HM add-on for now deactivated). Backup of RaspberryMatic installed, some reboots and everything is running well so far. Of course i had to change the ip in the Homematic(IP)Local to get access but in general easy going.
But the add-on was running quite well since the beginning (about a year), but it is a use case to run on a raspberry, i guess. With a powerful thin client und Proxmox you are probably right and i will follow
Und du hast auch eine ordentliche Anzahl an HM Geräten, bei mir sind´s genau 3 weniger.
Noch mal danke für dein Support und deine Zeit, wünsche erst mal einen Guten Rutsch und viele Grüße aus dem Hannover Umland
hehe… still need ‘a lot more’ …
There are still many windows not setup with sensor, because we plan to replace them within the next two years or so…
Also, a lot of missing window-handle sensors, doors and lights that need more attention and planning
Also, I would like to start playing around with HmIP wired - but I don’t know if this will be possible at all - since we have a pretty old installation here with a partially renewed one mixed in…