Hive heating woes. Other recommendations? Potential issues to watch out for ?

ChasingtheWelshdream

Hi All,

I have mentioned a couple of times about my Hive Mini not maintaining connection, and have today spoken to Hive again. They have basically said that the set up and layout of my house will likely always cause issues, so essentially I have an unreliable heating system.

There are three strands: 

• The hub is too close to other electrical devices (TV), and the interference is contributing to the connection constantly dropping out. This is where the router is and can't easily be changed. 
• Even in stand-alone mode (not using the hub so essentially becoming a standard wireless 'stat) the thermostat still loses connection. Our 9 inch solid brick walls are causing issues, along with the boiler being behind two closed doors, even when the thermostat is just outside the door (the boiler is in a bathroom cupboard).  
• Because I installed it myself, they state I am experiencing issues that an engineer would have known how to get around. But they haven't been able to explain what could have been done differently, other than that I shouldn't have wired it in myself. This is the bit that disappointed me most tbh.

So they have agreed to refund the cost of the signal booster they originally told me would fix the issues, and I need to see if I can take the mini itself back to the retailer.

In the meantime, I need an alternative and have spoken to Drayton about any potential issues with their Wiser system. I have gleaned this info:

• There is no separate hub (the hub/receiver are the same unit), but this needs to connect with wi-fi. 
• There is a 30m range for the radio signals, with variability for wall thickness. Our house is not that big!
• As our wi-fi in that part of the house uses plug-in wi-fi extenders, they should use 2.4 ghz (I don't pretend to understand that bit!)
• There is no problem with DIY installation, but using one of their approved installers provides an extended warranty. (I will be DIYing).

So it seems that Drayton could be a possibility, but I am looking for real-life experiences before I fork out some more money. Specifically reliability of connection. The router is in the ground front room. The boiler is up a flight of stairs and down a corridor, behind two doors. Total distance approx 10 meters horizontally, then up a floor. There are two solid brick walls between the router and boiler. In this part of the house, the wifi is on a different network via plug in extenders. 

Can anyone see any issues? Or have recommendations for other systems? Our old Drayfoss wireless thermostat didn't have any issues, although this was not a smart system.

As always, thank you for reading my ramblings. 

Mutton_Geoff

ChasingtheWelshdream said:

Hi All,

I have mentioned a couple of times about my Hive Mini not maintaining connection, and have today spoken to Hive again. They have basically said that the set up and layout of my house will likely always cause issues, so essentially I have an unreliable heating system.

There are three strands: 

• The hub is too close to other electrical devices (TV), and the interference is contributing to the connection constantly dropping out. This is where the router is and can't easily be changed. 
• Even in stand-alone mode (not using the hub so essentially becoming a standard wireless 'stat) the thermostat still loses connection. Our 9 inch solid brick walls are causing issues, along with the boiler being behind two closed doors, even when the thermostat is just outside the door (the boiler is in a bathroom cupboard).  
• Because I installed it myself, they state I am experiencing issues that an engineer would have known how to get around. But they haven't been able to explain what could have been done differently, other than that I shouldn't have wired it in myself. This is the bit that disappointed me most tbh.

So they have agreed to refund the cost of the signal booster they originally told me would fix the issues, and I need to see if I can take the mini itself back to the retailer.

In the meantime, I need an alternative and have spoken to Drayton about any potential issues with their Wiser system. I have gleaned this info:

• There is no separate hub (the hub/receiver are the same unit), but this needs to connect with wi-fi. 
• There is a 30m range for the radio signals, with variability for wall thickness. Our house is not that big!
• As our wi-fi in that part of the house uses plug-in wi-fi extenders, they should use 2.4 ghz (I don't pretend to understand that bit!)
• There is no problem with DIY installation, but using one of their approved installers provides an extended warranty. (I will be DIYing).

So it seems that Drayton could be a possibility, but I am looking for real-life experiences before I fork out some more money. Specifically reliability of connection. The router is in the ground front room. The boiler is up a flight of stairs and down a corridor, behind two doors. Total distance approx 10 meters horizontally, then up a floor. There are two solid brick walls between the router and boiler. In this part of the house, the wifi is on a different network via plug in extenders. 

Can anyone see any issues? Or have recommendations for other systems? Our old Drayfoss wireless thermostat didn't have any issues, although this was not a smart system.

As always, thank you for reading my ramblings. 

Always lots of misunderstandings about heating stats using "wifi". Indeed they do, but not your own home wifi, their own. Buy a 2 or 3 metre network lead (cheap) and use this to move the hive hub away from the sources of interference, perhaps even closer to the stat if you can hide the cable (buy longer network cable if you need to).

If you've got thick walls, many makes will still suffer same issues.

ChasingtheWelshdream

Thank you, I can test that tonight, I have several spare cables. Tech didn’t mention that, simply that I would need to move the router.

Mutton_Geoff

ChasingtheWelshdream said:

Tech didn’t mention that, simply that I would need to move the router.

Oh dear

superstylin

My router and Hive Hub is right behind my TV, and above the sky Qbox and DVD player and it was a British Gas engineer that installed it. If it was a known issue then surely their engineers wouldn't be fitting them this way, or at least advising that you may encounter issues. Sounds like Hive haven't got a clue why your system is playing up and are blaming a self install for the issue. 

ChasingtheWelshdream

The whole conversation was along those lines. That it wasn't a DIY job and should only be installed by Hive engineer, and as it wasn't then that was why I was having issues. I did ask what an engineer would have done differently, and was told "they would have known all the potential issues in your house", but couldn't answer how to overcome them, other than as stated above.

I would much rather it work than not so will happily try any pointers!

What I don't understand (and neither do Hive), is why the thermostat is also unreliable when in stand-alone mode. As an example, last night before bed, I turned the target temperature down to 10. At 2am, the heating kicked in. The thermostat was saying our target temperature was 20 degrees. We never have it set to 20, so it had somehow re-set itself.  At other times, it simply says there is no signal and we have to override on the boiler. We didn't have those issues on the previous bog-standard wireless thermostat.

BUFF

It is worth knowing that should you be unlucky enough to have a problem with Drayton's connection between 'stat(s)/TRVs etc. & the hub (due to walls?)  their smart plugs act as extenders/repeaters for Wiser devices.

ChasingtheWelshdream

BUFF said:

It is worth knowing that should you be unlucky enough to have a problem with Drayton's connection between 'stat(s)/TRVs etc. & the hub (due to walls?)  their smart plugs act as extenders/repeaters for Wiser devices.

Thank you, yes the Drayton tech team did mention that, but also hoped it wouldn't be necessary. Hive simply told me last time that I needed to spend an additional £30 on a booster, that didn't sort the issues. So their tech team sounds a little more informed to start with - I hope.

But I will try again with the Hive on a longer cable before I start spending again.

powerful_Rogue

Another vote for the Drayton Wiser system.

5 years since installed and no issues at all.

ThisIsWeird

ChasingtheWelshdream said:

There are three strands: 

• The hub is too close to other electrical devices (TV), and the interference is contributing to the connection constantly dropping out. This is where the router is and can't easily be changed. 
• Even in stand-alone mode (not using the hub so essentially becoming a standard wireless 'stat) the thermostat still loses connection. Our 9 inch solid brick walls are causing issues, along with the boiler being behind two closed doors, even when the thermostat is just outside the door (the boiler is in a bathroom cupboard).  
• Because I installed it myself, they state I am experiencing issues that an engineer would have known how to get around. But they haven't been able to explain what could have been done differently, other than that I shouldn't have wired it in myself. This is the bit that disappointed me most tbh.

So they have agreed to refund the cost of the signal booster they originally told me would fix the issues, and I need to see if I can take the mini itself back to the retailer.

1) That seems highly unlikely. Most folk's routers are close to other electronic devices - cordless phones, TVs, etc, without any issue. And the Ethernet cable with the Hub is long enough to keep it ~1m away - usually plenty. Another reason why I doubt this is the issue is because of (2)...

2) Your MINI doesn't maintain reliable wireless contact with its receiver even tho' is kept practically adjacent to it?! There's something amiss there, and I cannot see it having anything to do with the Hub - as you say, you've tried this in 'stand-alone' mode too. I cannot think of any cause for these drop-outs other than a fault with the unit, or some localised source of interference, but that would surely have to be from close to the boiler/stat location? You have tried the MINI positioned just beyond the boiler cupboard doors - is that just for a test, or is that its permanent location?

Is your house detached? Could a neighbouring house be interfering with yours? (Clutching at straws...)

3) The hands-in-the-air get-out clause Whilst what they say is 'correct' - their 'engineer' would be looking for potential issues - there just doesn't seem to be any in this case; your MINI and receiver should easily communicate at the distances they are positioned. Whilst the Hub is not ideally placed for WiFi coverage - best to have them positioned in higher locations - that doesn't seem to be an excessive distance either. In any case, if the MINI is not talking reliably with its receiver, then the Hub position is moot, I'd have thought? Ie, this looks like a MINI-Rec issue, and not a Hub one.

Shame, because the MINI is a sweet wee thing, and the App really straight forward to use.

ThisIsWeird

What did you have before you fitted the Hive? Did you have an old wired wall thermostat? If so, where was that located, and are the old wires fully disconnected? What did you connect the Hive receiver to?