Topic: SmartHub problem with connectivity

[dmcclure]

Hi everyone,
Thank you in advance for your help. I'm new here. My SmartHub is no longer connecting to the 5-in-1 sensor, and there are other problems. 

I noticed about a week ago I could not get data on MyAcuRite app (but my two display monitors receive data fine). I changed the batteries in my 5-in-1 sensor. The problem continued.

I next unplugged the SmartHub from power and tried to reconnect it.  No help.

I next reset the SmartHub.  No help.

I next changed the cable from the SmartHub to my router and tried differed ports on my router.  No help.

I next brought my 5-in-1 sensor into the house about 10 feet away from the SmartHub.  Still no help.

I next removed the sensor in the MyAcuRite app, now my current sensor doesn't show up.

I next uninstalled the Smart-Hub from my MyAcuRite app. Now, I cannot get it to reconnect in the app.  I now get an error in the app when trying to reinstall the SmartHub stating "Device must be connected and reporting data to claim it. Please make sure the device is connected to your router and the status lights are blinking."

Currently, the sensor light is solid. The network status light is continuously on and blinks for about one second every 30 seconds.

Also, other devices plugged into my router have a green light, but the SmartHub continues to have a yellow light no matter which port or cable I use.

My two displays continue to show current and accurate data from the 5-in-1 sensor. The problem seems to be only with the Smart Hub.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!  (and thank you in advance!) 

[DoctorKnow]

Acurite discontinued the smarthub. To  continue using it, run Kevin Keys software...

[galfert]

I wonder how may more of these posts we'll see? 
Maybe the Acurite sub needs a sticky for the SmartHub discontinuation.

[nincehelser]

SmartHUB support was discontinued by Acurite last week (February 28th, 2019).

The only way to make it work now is through a third-party solution like Acuparse, weewx, or Kevin Key's program. 

There may be others, but these are the only solutions I know of that claim to be able to make the SmartHUB work without Acurite support.

Acurite might still have an upgrade offer to the Access.

[DoctorKnow]

Meteobridge works as well, though it will cost for a license to run it, and you will need to purchase the router and flash it. Kevin Key software is the easiest way to go.

[dmcclure]

Thank you greatly for your quick responses! 

I got an email from Accurite stating they were no longer "supporting" the SmartHub, but I didn't know that meant it would become dysfunctional. 

I've done a quick web search for Kevin Key's software and found a little bit. From what I saw, I feel a little intimidated. Any quick advice or a good link that might help me further?

I'm wondering if I should just upgrade to Accurite's new Access thing.  Thoughts?

Is it time to switch to Davis?  Not sure I want to make that kind of investment.

Again, thank you in advance for your help and comments.

All the best...

[Jim_S]

Here is a link to a thread discussing Kevin's software: https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36299.msg372760#msg372760

You should be able to get help there.

I updated to the Access because I wanted to keep using the MyAcurite app and because I have several other sensors located around the house besides the 5 in 1. It's really nice to be able the check on things when we're traveling. Hopefully Acurite still has some deals going for customers like you that misunderstood their original announcement. I don't think you're the only one.

[DoctorKnow]

Wait for a sale, where you can get the Access cheaper, do a bundle where you get more for the money, or attempt the Kevin Key software. It isn't too difficult...

You will need a wireless connection to the PC you are using, and the smarthub will plug into your ethernet port.

[Jack Bowman]

There is some very good advice here. The input from George(nincehelser) has given some definite resolution. DoctorKnow has given an additional solution. Jim_S has provided a good link to getting help with Kevin Key's Windows Software. I would only use any of these solutions if you have specific needs for localized data, otherwise, just make the investment in the Smart Hub replacement provided by Acurite. That is the easiest path.

Jack

[Bushman]

Easiest path if you live in the USA.  Otherwise...   

[kg585]

I have multiple sensors and relied on MyAcurite to see information from the second sensor. Given that the smartHUB no longer works is there any way to see multiple sensors without buying the Access hub and using MyAcurite? Or purchasing one of the Ambient devices as a replacement.

[nincehelser]

I have multiple sensors and relied on MyAcurite to see information from the second sensor. Given that the smartHUB no longer works is there any way to see multiple sensors without buying the Access hub and using MyAcurite? Or purchasing one of the Ambient devices as a replacement.

Rasberry Pi, $20 USB TV dongle, and the free RTL_433 software will read popular Acurite sensors (but not Atlas yet) as well as many other devices  that transmit on the 433 MHz frequency.

Acuparse is free program that can also be used to "life extend" your SmartHUB and read arbitrarily many sensors.

[Beaudog]

My smart hub is still working       Don't how long that will last but it still uploading to WU

[Jack Bowman]

My smart hub is still working       Don't how long that will last but it still uploading to WU

Now, this is interesting! George, any ideas why this individual is blessed with a hub that is still working?

[kg585]

Rasberry Pi, $20 USB TV dongle, and the free RTL_433 software will read popular Acurite sensors (but not Atlas yet) as well as many other devices  that transmit on the 433 MHz frequency.

Acuparse is free program that can also be used to "life extend" your SmartHUB and read arbitrarily many sensors.

I'll look into the Pi solution. I have no experience with those yet.

My smart hub is still working       Don't how long that will last but it still uploading to WU

My smartHUB is still connecting to WU, but I don't see a way to see multiple sensors through their website.

[DoctorKnow]

I put my ebay 5n1 back up after I got it fixed. The wind vane is a bit rough to turn, and catches to the east. Nothing else wrong with it. I put a dual solar fan on it from my old 5n1 that died. It's all yellow, but still works nicely.

I have the 5n1 up about 26 ft high on a large light weight flag pole that I can take down very easily. It separates in 5 ft sections. Everything works nicely but the wind speed is way low. I had to use meteobridge to compensate, and now it is better, but still not as good as Atlas or the fine offset cabled station.

I found a spot in my utility closet for the smarthub and meteobridge, that is close to the outside sensor, and doesn't get any drop-outs. Inside, it was missing hits from the sensor. Unplugging the smarthub did not cause me any trouble.

I am using a tower thermo/hygro in my large homemade radiation shield. It is spot on with the atlas! I will take down the Atlas and put it away until more solutions come about for sharing to sites other than Wunderground.

[nincehelser]

My smart hub is still working       Don't how long that will last but it still uploading to WU

Now, this is interesting! George, any ideas why this individual is blessed with a hub that is still working?

Hard to say, but not all SmartHUBs are running exactly the same code. 

The firmware is divided into two parts... "boot" and "app".  You can find what versions you have on the "splash page".

Most SmartHUBs should be running the same "app" version, this is the code that got updated from time to time over the network.  A few might be running an older "app" version if they've been off-line, uninstalled, or purposely isolated from the Acurite servers.

However, the "boot" version you have depends on what was loaded at the factory.  The boot version can't be updated in the field.  I've no idea how many boot versions were released, but I think the latest revision number was in the 20s, and the earliest I had might have been 6.

Usually the boot version difference wasn't noticeable by the user, but hardware up to about 2016 has a red/white splash page, while more recent devices have a black/gray myAcurite color scheme.

What other differences that are in the boot code are unknown, but it could account for some different behaviors we're noticing.  I imagine the bulk of the network code is in the boot section.
 

[DoctorKnow]

Code: [Select]

smartHUB Info
Application Version 224  Boot Firmware Version 210

[Bushman]

Mine is still reporting to WU.    I have an older red splash page.

[Beaudog]

my dashboard looks like this.    The station is about a mile from my house and i have never updated anything unless it was done automatically.

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[nincehelser]

Something I just remembered about the SmartHUB and wunderground uploads...

You might want to avoid messing with the reset button on the bottom of the SmartHUB.  If you hold it in too long, it will stop wunderground uploads for some reason.

With myAcurite, the fix was to force myAcurite to re-download your wunderground credentials.  I don't know how you would go about fixing it today.  I've always been hesitant of messing with the credentials on the splash page because I accidentally bricked a SmartHUB that way.

Holding the reset button in too long also toggles the blue lights on and off.  Some people hate the blue lights, so they see this as a plus.  If you toggle the lights, be aware you'll have to fix the wunderground problem.

If you do toggle the lights off, remember that you did so, because some people forget and think the lack of blue lights means their SmartHUB isn't working at all.

[ultramed]

If you want to keep the smart hub operational and reporting to WU, you must never push the reset button.  The sharing capability is enabled through the MyAcurite software, and since support is no longer for the hub, MyAcurite no longer communicates with the hub.  The sharing to WU is so to speak "grandfathered" in from when MyAcurite was working and sharing was enable to WU, as long as you never push the reset button on the hub.  My workaround to keep the hub downloading correct data, in particular the rain amounts, is outlined in another thread here.  Briefly here, you simply add a digital timer to the smart hub power supply, setting it to turn off at 11:59 PM and back on at 12:01 AM each day.  This forces the hub to erase any stored rain totals and resets the amount to zero.  WU will then display the daily totals correctly instead of accumulating the previous days totals.  Hope this helps.

[GaryKOHOHIO2]

My experience was that Acurite stopped forwarding data to WU 9 days before the shutdown. In trying to beat the shutdown, I spent at least a week trying to use weewx and interceptor thru one of my linux boxes as recon for a quick Raspberry Pi substitution. I am pretty sure I tried all configuration options and got nowhere. Out of frustration, I joined here and nincehelser pointed me to accuparse. I made a mistake by including the port# in the host file, when not directed to do so by the install directions, but am reasonably certain it would have been up and working in less than an hour. While trying to troubleshoot my error, I did the scary bottom button thing on the hub. It did not change a thing, maybe because thru the initial acuparse install the acurite response was already spoofed to the hub. It began life as a bridge, went thru the update to hub, reset after acuparse, and the web interface has ALWAYS been the mostly red borders. Hope this helps, at least a little, and thanx again to nincehelster. As a side note, for a $70 Pi kit, I did not have to give acurite one single penny, and I also added dlna to the Pi which saved me another $150 to replace my NAS that blew up. (mechanical hard drive failure)

[Bushman]

Mine is still running.   Wonder for how long... I gotta get on the SD-rtl or sommthin'...

[Mattk]

I keep reading all this concern about SmartHub but even not having a SmartHub it all appears to me to be users trying to hang on to something that has seen it's day, is obsolete and with most things can not be kept going for ever. This is probably going to occur many times in the future especially with so called cloud based systems and systems reliant on external servers, they will not keep running forever and users may simply have to move on?

I have no time for cloud based systems which are way over hyped and spruiked as the be all and end all but I think if you want to be shafted and screwed over at some time in the future then going down this path will ensure that happens.