Help with tado and networking/router?

katie279 · 3 Dec 2020 at 05:08

Hi folks,

Finding my tado smart thermostats disconnect from the cloud occasionally and heating therefore doesn't come on (maybe once every few weeks).

Support is as useful as a chocolate teapot, but have spotted a few posts suggesting it could be my router settings causing this.

Can anyone deduce what the following comment might mean?

I found settings in my router that 1) always assigns the same IPv4 address to the tado internet bridge and 2) enables self-sufficient port sharing (not sure that's the right translation from german)

Since I have selected these 2 options 4 days ago the bridge never got disconnected. Not a long-term study yet but up until now 100% success rate when I used to wake up to a cold house before that every day.

I have a Netgear Orbi router, but not sure what points 1) and 2) mean?

Many thanks!

robj20 · 3 Dec 2020 at 05:37

Point 1 means to assign a fixed IP to the Tado device via the router.
Not sure about 2.

Does your Tado not work at all then with no internet? Surely it should still function as a heating thermostat just the possibility of no smart features.

kosymodo · 4 Dec 2020 at 17:15

Q: What happens when the internet connection is temporarily lost? Can I still control my heating or air conditioning using tado°?

A: If the Internet connection is lost, control of your heating or air conditioning system is possible via the user interface on the device just as you are used to from a regular thermostat. No Internet connection just means that controlling your heating or air conditioning remotely via the mobile or web app is not possible during this time.

bremen1874 · 4 Dec 2020 at 19:09

1. Is talking about DHCP IP reservations. It uses the device's MAC address to always assign the same IP to the device. Not sure why this would help
2. Is probably UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). That's something I'd never trust to be left on (although it may be less of a security issue than it once was).

Caged · 4 Dec 2020 at 19:36

It should just be polling outbound every now and then to keep a NAT session open so it can react to any changes. Not sure why it would need a DHCP reservation or UPnP to do that. If it's failing in a way that stops the schedule from running then it sounds like the bridge just needs replacing.

the-evaluator · 5 Dec 2020 at 10:08

Could this be a 2.4GHz issue? I'm assuming the Tado's are 2.4GHz only and that the Orbi is trying to push them towards 5GHz which is failing.

kosymodo · 5 Dec 2020 at 21:09

the-evaluator said:
Could this be a 2.4GHz issue? I'm assuming the Tado's are 2.4GHz only and that the Orbi is trying to push them towards 5GHz which is failing.

The Tado bridge connects to the router by ethernet, so no possibility of a WiFi issue

katie279 · 7 Dec 2020 at 10:40

Hi all,

Thanks for all your ideas/thinking here.

Agree re point 1 - already have it on a fixed ip, so think this is already done (nor can I see why it'd be relevant)

You're correct it's plugged directly into the router, so the bridge shouldn't have a problem with wifi - although it's possible the thermostats on the radiators themselves are trying to connect via 2.4ghz and problem occurs?

Symptom is that the app shows all thermostats as 'unable to connect' - the bridge is flashing as though it can't connect to the cloud service, but theoretically could be knock on.

Absolutely maddening as seems daft it can't smartly fall back to non-cloud service.

kosymodo · 7 Dec 2020 at 10:52

katie279 said:
Hi all,

Thanks for all your ideas/thinking here.

Agree re point 1 - already have it on a fixed ip, so think this is already done (nor can I see why it'd be relevant)

You're correct it's plugged directly into the router, so the bridge shouldn't have a problem with wifi - although it's possible the thermostats on the radiators themselves are trying to connect via 2.4ghz and problem occurs?

Symptom is that the app shows all thermostats as 'unable to connect' - the bridge is flashing as though it can't connect to the cloud service, but theoretically could be knock on.

Absolutely maddening as seems daft it can't smartly fall back to non-cloud service.

Try Tado Support again. Every time I've contacted them, they've been very good and have resolved any issues very quickly.

FWIW, my Tado bridge doesn't have a reserved DHCP address.

Everything points to an issue with the bridge. Without the bridge connecting to 'the cloud' (i.e. the Tado servers), you won't be able to control anything with the app. If it's a router issue, then you could always try resetting the router to factory settings (AFTER BACKING UP THE CURRENT SETTINGS), and seeing if it makes a difference. If not, just restore the settings using your backup.

katie279 · 7 Dec 2020 at 14:11

Thanks kosymodo - that's great to know. I've dropped them an email and I'll report back.

Agree it feels like the bridge is the point of failure - certainly I've had 2 different routers whilst it's been doing this, so hard to imagine it's happening with two separate routers.