R3 Controller goes offline almost daily!

Stefank118 · May 22, 2020, 10:35am

Hi, I’ve had this refurbished R3 controller for about a month now. It works great except for that it disconnects from WiFi ALL THE TIME. Nearly every other I open the app it shows offline, it’s frustrating, please help.
I’ve tested signal strength, the controller is in very close proximity to our router.

There is seemingly no reason for it to disconnect all of the time, I believe there’s an issue with the device.

Rachio tech details https://imgur.com/a/jwqG33u

Can you help me troubleshoot?

Thank you!

franz · May 22, 2020, 1:48pm

If you run this and post the generated code I will have the engineering team review your network details.

Stefank118 · May 22, 2020, 2:44pm

Code: J9VJHJ9F

Thanks for your help.

franz · May 22, 2020, 2:46pm

Couple things.

Looks like your firewall is blocking one of the ports the controller needs. I would start there.

Screenshot%20from%202020-05-22%2008-45-08

If that doesn’t fix it, is there any way to connect to the router network directly and not to the range extender?

Stefank118 · May 22, 2020, 3:56pm

Thanks, Franz.
Will work on the firewall issue when I have a few minutes to log in.

I am using an Orbi RBK50, with a main router and satellite. It should be connected to the main router but I’ll try to check.
The actual FiOS router isn’t giving off signal and is acting as a modem for the orbi router.

Stefank118 · May 22, 2020, 4:47pm

I’ve confirmed that the Rachio is connected to the main router access point.

However, I’m not sure how to open the UDP port 53 you mentioned. I have access to the FiOS router settings, just not sure what I need to do there to make it happen.

Can you help?

franz · May 22, 2020, 5:02pm

Sorry, this is where my expertise ends, is there a way to disable the firewall for certain connected devices?

Stefank118 · May 23, 2020, 11:20pm

I’ve opened UDP 53 on my firewall.
I ran Route This again, please check logs again and see if you can see access to that port.

Additionally, I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to ensure the Rachio remains connected to one access point and one frequency (2.4 vs 5) if possible.

Stefank118 · June 1, 2020, 1:56pm

Can you check the logs again?
I’m hoping the port is now open. But I’m still having the frustrating disconnection issue where I have to reset it physically on the device. It happened twice over the weekend when I was trying to do additional runs for some new sod we put down.
Again, the actual Verizon modem/router doesn’t have a signal, but the main Orbi router is very close in proximity to the Rachio which you should be able to see based on signal strength.

Thanks for any help.

franz · June 1, 2020, 4:02pm

Can you run this again?

Stefank118 · June 1, 2020, 7:20pm

Just ran it again… Thanks for your help

franz · June 1, 2020, 7:42pm

Can you provide the generated code? We don’t have access to that. Thanks!

Stefank118 · June 1, 2020, 7:48pm

Sorry if I’m confused, but the code didn’t change after running: J9VJHJ9F

franz · June 1, 2020, 11:53pm

Seeing the same results as last time (I believe since the code is the same). I would believe you would get a newly generated code?

Gene · June 1, 2020, 11:58pm

The date of the test should be a choice on the left. Last time I’ve done multiple tests, my code has not changed either:

franz · June 2, 2020, 12:06am

AH! Thanks @Gene!

@Stefank118, still seeing the same results for today.

Stefank118 · June 2, 2020, 12:27am

Thank you both. @Gene @franz

Regarding the note on merged networks:
Is Rachio R3 compatible with 5GhZ or only 2.4?

Unfortunate, that it’s pulling that it’s an old router model. Orbi is still considered a top option for home mesh systems, and we have strong signal, consistent connections, and fast speeds on all our devices.

I’m not sure what else to do since I wasn’t able to open the port…
Thanks for helping.
Let me know if you think of any alternative solutions.