Hue Scene Error Issue

[cglobal]

Hey guys,

I've been facing this issue on and off and initially it was a rare occurrence so i chose to ignore it, but now it happens often, when i try and load a scene, it manifests the following error:

http://imgur.com/a/7wPvf

If i call the same scene again, it loads fine, but when the issue hits, it happens twice at most and then on the third attempt it works.

Edit: Also, to confirm this happens with random scenes, not just one or 2.

Code: [Select]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<!--VoxCommando 2.2.3.7-->
<command id="360" name="Set Scene Forest" enabled="true" alwaysOn="False" confirm="False" requiredConfidence="20" loop="False" loopDelay="0" loopMax="0" description="">
  <action>
    <cmdType>Hue.Scene.Load</cmdType>
    <params>
      <param>478388e99-on-0</param>
    </params>
    <cmdRepeat>1</cmdRepeat>
  </action>
  <phrase>Set Scene Forest</phrase>
</command>
Any help would be appreciated.

EDIT: Just transpired with another scene:

http://imgur.com/a/0gCbC

Code: [Select]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<!--VoxCommando 2.2.3.7-->
<command id="353" name="Set Scene Cool blue" enabled="true" alwaysOn="False" confirm="False" requiredConfidence="30" loop="False" loopDelay="0" loopMax="0" description="">
  <action>
    <cmdType>Hue.Scene.Load</cmdType>
    <params>
      <param>39559ee98-on-0</param>
    </params>
    <cmdRepeat>1</cmdRepeat>
  </action>
  <phrase>Set Scene Cool blue</phrase>
</command>

[jitterjames]

This is almost certainly due to a problem with your network or your Hue bridge.  The request that is being sent to the bridge by VoxCommando is timing out because the bridge it not responding fast enough.

I might be able to solve this for you by increasing the amount of time that VC waits before giving up but it's possible that this will not help if you have unreliable Wifi.  Most likely it is already waiting much longer than would normally be required for a normal healthy network connection. If your VC computer is on Wifi and you can switch to a wired connection I suggest that as your first course of action.  Wired is always a better choice for lots of things assuming it is possible.

If the problem is your bridge there might not be much you can do but a factory reset could theoretically help if you've had it for a long time and it has gotten "gummed up" with too much in the way of unused scenes etc.  That's just a wild guess though, I don't really know if it would help or not.

[jitterjames]

The timeout was set to 1 full second, which should be more than long enough for the bridge to respond, but here is an updated version that waits up to 2 seconds.

See the following page if you are not sure how to install a test dll properly:

http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Unblock_DLL

[cglobal]

This is almost certainly due to a problem with your network or your Hue bridge.  The request that is being sent to the bridge by VoxCommando is timing out because the bridge it not responding fast enough.

I might be able to solve this for you by increasing the amount of time that VC waits before giving up but it's possible that this will not help if you have unreliable Wifi.  Most likely it is already waiting much longer than would normally be required for a normal healthy network connection. If your VC computer is on Wifi and you can switch to a wired connection I suggest that as your first course of action.  Wired is always a better choice for lots of things assuming it is possible.

If the problem is your bridge there might not be much you can do but a factory reset could theoretically help if you've had it for a long time and it has gotten "gummed up" with too much in the way of unused scenes etc.  That's just a wild guess though, I don't really know if it would help or not.

MY wifi is pretty fast so not sure why that is happening, i watch HD videos and its a 50MBPS service that clocks 11MPBS download speeds. Issue is, if i use a wired connection it wont work with Hue, WEMO or any other device since they need to be on same network, but im guessing im missing something?

The timeout was set to 1 full second, which should be more than long enough for the bridge to respond, but here is an updated version that waits up to 2 seconds.

See the following page if you are not sure how to install a test dll properly:

http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Unblock_DLL

Let me try this out and revert.

One thing i should mention is: When i click on Hue Plugin - edit scenes it takes quite long to open and sometimes freezes so it does seem like an issue with bridge processing, also, and crucially, there are several unused scenes in the bridge itself that dont show up in the app, so im not sure how to delete them. For e.g. If i change a scene called "sunset" it will create a new version of that scene and add it to the list rather than replacing (in the Hue plugin) like it does in the APP, the app simply replaces. Is there any way to deal with this without factory resetting?

[cglobal]

The issue still persists after installing the new DLL.

http://imgur.com/a/dUbrc

Tried twice.

I also tried all scenes one after the other and all load really fast when they do, but then this happens every now and then.

Thanks.

EDIT: OK, deleted over 120 unwanted and duplicate scenes through the Hue.Scene.Delete command, lets see if that changes things. Will report back soon.

EDIT 2: Nope, happened right after that too and double checked Wifi, its working AOK and very fast (upload and download). Alexa responds almost instantaneously to IFTTT Hue commands.

[jitterjames]

You must have a problem with your laptop WiFi.  Not a problem with speed but connection reliability.  It's fast when connected, but it is not always staying connected.  Maybe the WiFi is going to sleep.  It also sounds like you've got a complicated LAN over there with multiple segments connecting to each other so I guess maybe that could be a factor.

On my system (wired Ethernet) it works instantly 100% of the time.  I tested 30 times in a row yesterday.

If you move your computer to where you can connect by wire to the same switch that your Hue bridge is on and do a test I think you will find that it works perfectly all the time.  You also mentioned that it has been getting progressively worse over time and that sounds exactly like a WiFi issue.

If it only happens once in a while then just loop your action 2 or 3 times.  If it doesn't work on the first try then hopefully it will work on the 2nd.

Loading the scenes page on the plugin settings should also take a fraction of a second.  How long does it take?  Does it always load?

[jitterjames]

you can also try with this DLL which has a 9 second timeout.

[cglobal]

The thing is i've extensively tested my ping as well and it seems fine, the MS may vary but no real packet loss or such. I've currently looped every scene and it fails once or max twice at times and then goes through the third time worst case.

I tried calling scenes 20-25 times too and when they do fire they almost do instantly, about 20% fail but others that go through are instant.

I did attach to the same switch the hue bridge is on and it doesn't work, it only does if its on the same Wifi network the bridge is on.

If i did a ping test for a longer time, say over an hour and saw almost no packet loss would that mean the connection is stable? MS does vary though as i said, but is that conclusive or would that not matter?

[jitterjames]

I've currently looped every scene and it fails once or max twice at times and then goes through the third time worst case.

So what's the problem?  Keep doing that.

I'm not sure how you are doing your ping test but packet loss should be 0%.  Ping is probably not really a perfect test though.  To be effective you'd need to query the Hue Bridge and get valuable data back.  That test would need to be performed at a long enough interval to account for the possibility of WiFi getting sleepy.  If you are doing a request every second then it's obviously not going to go to sleep.

You didn't mention if you tried the new DLL with the 9 second timeout. In the case that you are using this DLL and it still fails when loading a scene, how long does it take for the error to appear in the VC history window?

There is no reason why a wired device would not be able to talk to a WiFi device (or vice-versa) on a properly configured network.  Not sure what's up there but I don't know how your LAN is set up.  I just realized that your bridge is on WiFi.  If possible you should attach your bridge by Ethernet as well.  I have an older bridge that does not even have WiFi as far as I know.  My Vera Edge has Wifi capabilities but I would never even consider connecting it by WiFi.  Ethernet is way more reliable.

I asked you a question which you did not answer: "Loading the scenes page on the plugin settings should also take a fraction of a second.  How long does it take?  Does it always load?"

Actually on that scenes window there is a "Refresh" button.  I would suggest testing using that refresh button repeatedly and let me know if it always works, and if it is sometimes slow, exactly how long is it taking?

[cglobal]

Sorry had an issue yesterday so was a rushed reply.

So what's the problem?  Keep doing that.

Yes for now i'm simply looping all actions that have failed in the past, but id still like to get to the bottom of this and establish if this is indeed a wifi issue since there are a lot more devices i plan to connect to this network in addition to what i already have.

I'm not sure how you are doing your ping test but packet loss should be 0%.  Ping is probably not really a perfect test though.  To be effective you'd need to query the Hue Bridge and get valuable data back.  That test would need to be performed at a long enough interval to account for the possibility of WiFi getting sleepy.  If you are doing a request every second then it's obviously not going to go to sleep.

I've pinged the hue bridge through network analyzer on IOS and CMD and no packet loss just varying MS. I get the part about a continuous test not being conclusive, if you have any method that can test as you have suggested let me know.

You didn't mention if you tried the new DLL with the 9 second timeout. In the case that you are using this DLL and it still fails when loading a scene, how long does it take for the error to appear in the VC history window?

Checking and testing this still, will revert back shortly.

There is no reason why a wired device would not be able to talk to a WiFi device (or vice-versa) on a properly configured network.  Not sure what's up there but I don't know how your LAN is set up.  I just realized that your bridge is on WiFi.  If possible you should attach your bridge by Ethernet as well.  I have an older bridge that does not even have WiFi as far as I know.  My Vera Edge has Wifi capabilities but I would never even consider connecting it by WiFi.  Ethernet is way more reliable.

It was an error on my part along with a fault in the network, i now managed to attach the wire to the same switch the hue bridge is on, i have 2 Wifi setups in my room (2 routers, i had to get a 2.4GHZ due to the broadlink Pro because even when i disabled the 5GHz on my older router, the broadlink refused to work until the router was changed) and the wiring was wrong, i now attached it to the same router as the hue bridge and am about to stress test scenes. Also my Hue bridge is not on Wifi, it is directly connected to the router via cable with a dedicated IP assigned to it. I mentioned them being on same network because the hue bridge has an IP assigned to it which is part of the current network. Again, i am still learning how these things work, I've never done any of this before.

Loading the scenes page on the plugin settings should also take a fraction of a second.  How long does it take?  Does it always load?"

It takes between 1-3 seconds for the scene to load, however sometimes, the scenes window takes about 3-6 seconds to load and freezes 10% of the times in which case i sometimes have to terminate VC and reopen.

Actually on that scenes window there is a "Refresh" button.  I would suggest testing using that refresh button repeatedly and let me know if it always works, and if it is sometimes slow, exactly how long is it taking?

Refresh takes about 2-3 seconds on the wifi, it used to take a second more but after i deleted over 100 scenes it goes through quicker.

I am about to test heavy with the wired connection so lets see how that goes. However i just left the PC alone for about 2-3 hours and ran a ping on CMD and IOS for the network and the bridge, no packet loss thus far, will keep checking and report back.

[cglobal]

Hello Sorry for the delay, been travelling on corporate work protocol.

James, you were right, VC works AOK when attached directly rather than through wifi, although it confounds me as to why this is really so. I do conclude that there is an issue with my Wifi but i dont know how or where to begin to resolve that issue, everything i do, i do through WIFI and i have had no issues; games, HD movies (Netflix, Amazon), download a ton of data, upload significantly etc. I know you stated it may work fine when actively being used, but i did ping it overnight and there was no packet loss.

I know this is a VC support forum, but could you possibly help me look for issues that may resolve the Wifi issue im having, where do i start?

Thanks in advance.

[Kalle]

I have no idea how the HUE bridge works or how it will be configurated, but if the HUE bridge is connected per DHCP to your router - you can try a DHCP reservation for the you bridge (static IP) - so you go save it has all the time the same IP and it is also better for debugging.

[PegLegTV]

if you are running multiple routers and or wireless networks within range of each other there are a couple things that you can check

1.) make sure that the SSIDs of separate networks are not the same

2.) make sure that any router producing a wireless signal is set to a different channel even if they are on the same network,

3.) make sure that your Hue bridge only has the ability to log into the same network as VC,

4.) if you are using a WiFi dongle on your VC PC make sure the on board Wifi Network is turned off (I ran into this issues a few years back)

5.) there are some apps that you can use to see what Wifi Channels that are being used the most, and there are some that can show you your signal strength as well (WiFi Analyzer: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en)

hope this helps

[jitterjames]

I know this is a VC support forum, but could you possibly help me look for issues that may resolve the Wifi issue im having, where do i start?

Sorry but this is really not my area of expertise.  It's also basically impossible to trouble-shoot issues on someone else's network without having complete access to it (I am not asking for access, just saying).

In any case it seems like you are worrying for nothing.  You've got VC connected by Ethernet and everything is working fine as well as all your other stuff that relies on WiFi so why waste time trying to fix something that basically isn't broken?

My only advice is to always use a wired connection for everything if it's an option and only use WiFi when you have to.  You'll have a better experience overall and for those devices that do need to be on WiFi there will be fewer devices competing for the WiFi bandwidth.