Troubleshooting

Quick Diagnostic Checklist

Before detailed troubleshooting:

• Power LED illuminated (power connected)
• SIM card installed correctly (before power-on)
• Cellular LED status (solid = good, blinking = searching)
• Gateway appears in Haltian IoT Studio
• Check cellular coverage in area (test with mobile phone)

Power Issues

Gateway Won’t Power On

Symptom: No LEDs illuminate when USB power connected.

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Verify Power Adapter

   • Test adapter with different device (phone, etc.)
   • Check adapter rating: 5V, minimum 1A
   • Try different power adapter if available

2. Check USB Cable

   • Verify cable not damaged
   • Try different micro USB cable
   • Ensure cable supports both data and power (not charge-only cable)

3. Check Power Outlet

   • Test outlet with different device
   • Try different outlet
   • Verify outlet has power

4. Inspect Gateway

   • Check for visible damage to micro USB port
   • Ensure port not filled with debris
   • Verify no physical damage to enclosure

Solutions:

• Replace faulty power adapter (5V, 2A recommended)
• Use different USB cable
• Contact support if hardware failure suspected

Power Cycles Unexpectedly

Symptom: Gateway powers off and restarts during operation.

Possible Causes:

1. Insufficient Power

   • Power adapter <1A rating
   • USB cable voltage drop (too long or poor quality)
   • Computer USB port (insufficient current)

2. Overheating

   • Poor ventilation (blocked airflow)
   • High ambient temperature (>40°C)
   • Prolonged high cellular activity

3. Faulty Power Supply

   • Intermittent adapter failure
   • Loose USB connection
   • Damaged cable

Solutions:

• Upgrade to 2A power adapter
• Use shorter, higher-quality USB cable
• Improve ventilation (ensure 5cm clearance)
• Move to cooler location
• Replace power supply components

Cellular Connection Issues

No Cellular Connection

Symptom: Cellular LED off or continuously blinking, no connection established.

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Verify SIM Card Installation

   - Power off gateway
   - Remove SIM card
   - Inspect SIM contacts (clean if dirty)
   - Reinsert SIM (contacts down, click into place)
   - Power on gateway
   - Wait 2-3 minutes for connection
   

2. Check SIM Card Activation

   • Haltian-provided SIM: Pre-activated, contact support if not working
   • Third-party SIM: Verify activated and data plan enabled
   • Test SIM in mobile phone to confirm activation

3. Verify Coverage

   • Check mobile phone signal at same location
   • Move gateway to window or higher location
   • Test in different location with known coverage
   • Verify carrier supports LTE Cat M1 or 2G in area

4. Check SIM Card Status

   • SIM PIN disabled (required for gateway use)
   • SIM not expired or suspended
   • Data plan active and not exhausted
   • SIM not locked to different device (if used SIM)

Solutions:

• Contact Haltian support for SIM activation issues
• Reposition gateway for better signal
• Verify SIM PIN disabled
• Replace damaged SIM card
• Check carrier coverage maps

Poor Cellular Signal

Symptom: Cellular connected but poor signal quality (RSSI < -85 dBm).

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Check Signal Metrics (via Studio)

   RSSI: Should be > -80 dBm
   RSRP: Should be > -100 dBm (LTE)
   RSRQ: Should be > -12 dB (LTE)
   SINR: Should be > 5 dB (LTE)
   

2. Optimize Gateway Position

   • Move to higher elevation (shelf, wall mount)
   • Position near window or exterior wall
   • Rotate gateway to find best signal angle
   • Remove metal objects nearby (shelves, filing cabinets)

3. Environmental Factors

   • Check for thick concrete walls
   • Avoid basements or underground locations
   • Move away from electronic interference sources
   • Test in different room/location

Solutions:

• Good Signal (RSSI > -70): No action needed
• Fair Signal (-70 to -85): Consider repositioning for better performance
• Poor Signal (< -85): Reposition required or verify carrier coverage

Optimization Tips:

Frequent Network Disconnections

Symptom: Cellular connection drops intermittently.

Possible Causes:

1. Weak Signal

   • Signal strength borderline (<-90 dBm)
   • Moving between cell towers (edge of coverage)
   • Network congestion

2. Carrier Issues

   • Carrier network maintenance
   • Temporary outages
   • Network congestion during peak hours

3. Power Issues

   • Insufficient power causing resets
   • Voltage fluctuations
   • Faulty power supply

4. SIM Issues

   • Damaged SIM card
   • Poor SIM contact
   • SIM overheating (rare)

Solutions:

• Improve signal quality (reposition gateway)
• Upgrade to more reliable power supply (2A)
• Clean and reseat SIM card
• Contact carrier if persistent (Haltian for managed SIM)
• Monitor network status page (if available)

Cloud Connection Issues

Gateway Not Appearing in Studio

Symptom: Gateway not visible in Haltian IoT Studio after installation.

Prerequisite Check:

• Cellular LED solid (network connected)
• Gateway powered for at least 5 minutes
• SIM card has active data plan

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Verify Cellular Connection

   • Cellular LED should be solid
   • If not, see No Cellular Connection

2. Check Cloud Connection

   • Cloud LED should be solid or blinking
   • Wait 5-10 minutes for initial registration
   • Power cycle gateway if cloud LED off

3. Verify Account

   • Logged into correct Haltian IoT account
   • Gateway assigned to your organization
   • User has permission to view gateways

4. Check Data Connection

   • Verify SIM has active data plan
   • Check data not exhausted or throttled
   • Contact Haltian support to verify SIM status

Solutions:

• Wait 10 minutes for initial cloud registration
• Power cycle gateway (disconnect USB 30 seconds)
• Verify logged into correct account
• Contact support with gateway UUID (printed on label)

Intermittent Cloud Connection

Symptom: Gateway appears offline periodically in Studio.

Possible Causes:

1. Cellular Signal Issues

   • Weak or unstable signal
   • Network congestion
   • Carrier maintenance

2. Data Limit Reached

   • Monthly data allowance exceeded
   • Carrier throttling connection
   • SIM suspended due to billing

3. Gateway Overload

   • Too many sensors (>500)
   • Message rate too high
   • Queue overflow

Solutions:

• Improve cellular signal quality
• Monitor data usage in Studio
• Reduce sensor count or message frequency
• Contact Haltian support for SIM/data plan issues

Wirepas Mesh Issues

Sensors Not Connecting

Symptom: Sensors not joining mesh network or appearing in Studio.

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Verify Gateway Mesh Status

   • Mesh LED solid or blinking (active)
   • If mesh LED off, power cycle gateway
   • Check gateway online in Studio

2. Check Sensor Configuration

   • Sensors configured for same network address as gateway
   • Sensors powered on and working (check sensor LEDs)
   • Sensors within range (start with <10m for first sensors)

3. Verify Network Address Match

   • Gateway network address: Check in Studio
   • Sensor network address: Must match gateway
   • Contact support if unsure about configuration

4. Test with Single Sensor

   • Place one sensor very close to gateway (2-3m)
   • Power cycle sensor
   • Wait 5-10 minutes for connection
   • If works, issue is range/network related

Solutions:

• Verify sensor and gateway network addresses match
• Move sensors closer to gateway initially
• Power cycle sensors to force network scan
• Update sensor firmware if compatibility issue
• Contact support if sensors still won’t connect

Poor Mesh Performance

Symptom: High latency, message loss, unstable routing.

Key Metrics to Check:

Common Causes:

1. Too Many Hops

   • Sensors too far from gateway
   • Linear topology (chain of sensors)
   • Insufficient sensor density

2. RF Interference

   • WiFi networks on same channel
   • Bluetooth devices nearby
   • Microwave ovens, other 2.4 GHz sources

3. Physical Obstacles

   • Concrete walls
   • Metal barriers (filing cabinets, machinery)
   • Long distances through multiple rooms

4. Network Overload

   • Too many sensors for gateway capacity
   • Message rate too high
   • Queue overflow at gateway

Solutions:

• Add Intermediate Sensors: Create mesh paths, reduce hop count
• Reposition Sensors: Minimize obstacles, reduce distance
• Change Wirepas Channel: Avoid interference (channels 10-20 recommended)
• Reduce Message Rate: Increase sensor report intervals
• Deploy Additional Gateway: For large deployments (>200 sensors)

High Message Loss

Symptom: Messages not reaching cloud (delivery rate <95%).

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Check Mesh Network

   • Review hop count distribution
   • Identify sensors with >10 hops
   • Check for isolated sensors (poor connectivity)

2. Check Cellular Connection

   • Verify cellular signal quality
   • Monitor gateway message queue depth
   • Check for queue overflow events

3. Analyze Traffic Patterns

   • Check for message bursts
   • Identify sensors with abnormal rates
   • Look for repeating sensors

Solutions:

• Improve mesh topology (add sensors for redundancy)
• Reduce sensor message rates
• Improve cellular signal quality
• Add additional gateway for load balancing

Performance Issues

High Data Usage

Symptom: Data consumption higher than expected for sensor count.

Diagnostic Steps:

1. Review Message Rates

   • Check messages per sensor per day
   • Identify sensors with high rates
   • Look for abnormal patterns

2. Check for Issues

   • Sensors in alarm state (frequent alerts)
   • Configuration loops (sensor misconfigured)
   • Firmware bugs causing excessive messages

3. Analyze Data Flow

   • Review message sizes
   • Check compression settings
   • Verify CBOR encoding used (more efficient)

Solutions:

• Reduce sensor report intervals
• Fix misconfigured sensors
• Update sensor firmware if known issue
• Enable compression if disabled
• Contact support for data plan upgrade if needed

Gateway Slow or Unresponsive

Symptom: Slow to respond to configuration changes, high latency.

Possible Causes:

1. Overloaded Gateway

   • Too many sensors (>500)
   • Message rate too high
   • Queue overflow

2. Poor Cellular

   • Weak signal causing retransmissions
   • Network congestion
   • Throttled data connection

3. Firmware Issue

   • Memory leak (rare)
   • CPU overload
   • Bug in firmware version

Solutions:

• Reduce sensor count per gateway
• Improve cellular signal
• Reboot gateway (power cycle)
• Update firmware if available
• Contact support if persistent

LED Status Reference

Normal Operation

Error States

Getting Help

Collect Diagnostic Information

Before contacting support, gather:

1. Gateway Information

   • Gateway UUID (on label)
   • Firmware version (from Studio)
   • Installation date
   • Physical location description

2. Symptoms

   • When issue started
   • Frequency (constant, intermittent)
   • LED status patterns
   • Error messages (if any)

3. Environment

   • Cellular signal strength (from Studio)
   • Number of sensors
   • Recent changes (configuration, location, etc.)

4. Troubleshooting Steps Tried

   • List actions already attempted
   • Results of each action

Generate Diagnostic Report

Via Haltian IoT Studio:

1. Navigate to Gateway device
2. Select “Diagnostics” tab
3. Click “Generate Report”
4. Download report (includes logs, metrics, configuration)
5. Attach to support request

Contact Support

Haltian Support:

• Email: support@haltian.com
• Include: Gateway UUID, diagnostic report, issue description

Emergency Issues:

• Gateway completely non-functional
• Multiple gateways failing simultaneously
• Critical deployment issues

For SIM/Connectivity Issues:

Include SIM card ICCID number (printed on SIM card) in support request.

Maintenance and Prevention

Regular Maintenance

Monthly:

• Clean gateway exterior (soft, dry cloth)
• Check USB cable and connections
• Verify power adapter working properly
• Review cellular signal trends

Quarterly:

• Inspect physical mounting
• Check environmental conditions (temp, humidity)
• Review network performance trends
• Update firmware if available

Preventive Measures

Power:

• Use quality 2A USB power adapter
• Keep spare power adapter and cable
• Avoid daisy-chaining power strips
• Ensure stable AC power

Environment:

• Maintain temperature 0-40°C
• Keep humidity 8-90% RH
• Ensure good ventilation (5cm clearance)
• Protect from moisture and dust

Network:

• Monitor signal quality monthly
• Optimize position if signal degrades
• Keep firmware updated
• Review sensor topology regularly

Next Steps

• Operation - Normal operation procedures
• Specifications - Technical specifications
• Installation - Installation procedures
• Contact Support - Get assistance from Haltian