MELCloud linked to Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump lost internet connection- Won't re-connect?

Hello everyone,

I’ve had a new Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump installed very recently.

I’ve been looking through the MELCloud app and noticed that if I run the Energy Usage report its not showing any charts - just blank where the charts should be.

I’m a software dev, and was able to look at the request it’s making to get the data and I can see that the response has zero/null values for everything - so it appears that the data is not there as opposed to some bug in the app.

Is this normal for a new install - maybe it has to run for a while before collecting energy data, or does it perhaps indicate something not working on the ASHP?

Many thanks for any help,

Nice post, @lycandroid and nice spot here:

I’ll check to see if @James_N knows about about MELCloud app

Hey @TonyShep ,

You shouldn’t use WPS anyway as it’s ridiculously inherently insecure. Your router manufacturer is actually doing you a favour by not supporting it at all.

My suspicion is that the server went down for a while.

Non-standard characters in passwords are fine. My UniFi kit accepted ’ in a password for a test Wi-Fi network and I was able to get a client to associate to that testing SSID no problem. Same with having a space in the password and even both at once. It just works.

What router do you use? It may help me figure this out if you can tell me the exact manufacturer and model of your router.

This troubleshooting may also help you.

https://library.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/pdf/book/MAC-567IF-E_Quick_Set_Up_Guide#page-1-2

Also, may I please bring some security notices to your attention. I strongly recommend you review them and consider whether you need to take action. You’ll find them at the link below once you choose the UK.

https://www.melcloud.com/Support

Do not try to use WPS to avoid any of those issues. While you might dodge a bullet with one of them, you’ll just open yet another can of worms that’s even more dangerous and expose your network to even more nasty stuff.

Ahh nice. A Ubiquiti AirRouter! :)

It sounds like an older model though. Resources for it aren’t easy to find. You may want to be aware that it’s considered Vintage now under Ubiquiti’s policy. https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500001268521-Ubiquiti-s-Vintage-and-Obsolete-Products

It’ll still get security updates and critical fixes, but nothing else. Your provider may need to upgrade your router to a newer model like the Ubiquiti UISP airCube in the future.

I know Ubiquiti stuff really well as my entire network setup is Ubiquiti UniFi (specifically UniFi Network) and I previously managed the IT at a charity where I deployed UniFi Network and UniFi Protect.

There’s nothing you can do in an AirRouter that I can think of that’d brick a MELCloud device and there’s been no recent updates to UISP (the thing that manages your AirRouter) or any product firmware that would cause it either. I’d know if there was because I monitor basically all of the release notes.

Try shutting down the MELCloud device for 30 minutes and then fire it back up. Sometimes that helps.

No worries. :)

When it comes to ISP Routers, Ubiquiti kit is literally the best you can get by literally miles. Chances are the dish on your roof is also Ubiquiti AirFiber as well, amazing stuff. But that’s a story for some other time.

I’ll go away and think about this, in case I come up with other ideas.

If you need us again, you know where to find us! :D

I’m afraid that app report isn’t telling me anything useful about your Wi-Fi signal. Try using Ubiquiti WiFiman instead. It’s a lot more helpful.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubnt.usurvey

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ubiquiti-wifiman/id1385561119

I often recommend this one because I use it myself and I’m pretty happy to trust the results it gives.

In this case, no.  The issue on this thread concerns wifi connectivity whereas my problem just relates to a particular report (energy usage) not working.  My wifi connection has not been a problem and I have not seen a MELCloud outage.

The screenshot above from @TonyShep shows the wifi signal strength from the ecodan side.  It shows that it’s connected ok but at mid strength so, of itself, doesn’t indicate a problem.  My strength is actually less than that and has been working ok.

@TonyShep I am new to all this myself and so don’t want to confuse matters or waste anyone’s time - but what exact problem do you experience?  Do you get something telling you that the ecodan connection has failed?  A screenshot of that may be useful.  I only ask to reduce ambiguity about the core problem.

@Hillsides what does the wifi strength show for you via Reports → Wi-Fi Signal Strength?

Also does Reports → Error Report show anything useful?

@Hillsides Not much to go on.

If it matters, I can say that I have a TP-Link Deco M4 mesh network and, so far, it seems to be working ok - bearing in mind I’ve had it less than a week.  My mitsubishi wifi is in the loft, next to cylinder.

In https://library.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/pdf/download_full/1008 it mentions:

Not all Routers will be able to connect to MELCloud service, if you are not sure please check with the Router manufacturer
before purchasing Mitsubishi Electric Wi-Fi Interface (MAC-557IF-E). Mitsubishi Electric have tested Edimax BR6428-NS
for use with the MELCloud service

However, that refers to MAC-557IF-E and I have a MAC-587IF-E so not sure if the same applies.  Nevertheless, that would obviously bring the signal strength up to near max, as it would be right beside it.

With that, you’d have to run a cable from your existing router (or access point, or whatever) to the edimax sited near the mitsubishi wifi box.  It also will of course need power. It would probably also work with a similar tp-link device which might be cheaper.

If you had a mesh network then similarly you could put a mesh unit beside the mitsubishi wifi as well.

Painful though and no guarantees of working.  Also annoying that to make something work that is supposed to be electrically efficient - you end up having to buy and power more electrical devices :(

Hi @lycandroid @Blastoise186 thanks for the thoughts. It’s been running fine for the last 18 months without data loss or connection loss. I have a netgear mesh with a satellite nearby. 
 

last week the ecodan lost connection and I got the standard email like a power outage. But it’s not been happy since. 
 

it’s not sent data since. I’ll chat with ecodan to see if they can shed light on it. 
 

cheers. 

Interesting as the problem seems to manifest as a local wifi connection issue, not a melcloud server connection issue, which suggests a firmware update broke things.  Anyway... we’ll see what mitsubishi say.

I can’t find anyway to submit a support ticket. 

If you go to https://les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/homeowners/homeowner-welcome-pack/connect then click Product Support it opens a form to post an issue.  I’ve not had to use it though so far.

I don’t really want to go off topic but have others signed up to the “Homeowner Portal” at https://les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/homeowners/homeowner-welcome-pack ?  I have not done so as yet.  For anyone that has, does it then allow a more direct way of logging support requests?

Just a random comment possibly, and maybe everyone knows this already (did I mention I’m new to all this) but you can go to https://app.melcloud.com/ and you’ll just get the same interface you get via the app on your phone.  I personally find this more convenient than the app as I’m normally working on my laptop.  If you’re familiar with these things, it also allows you to gain some insight into how the app gets data.

@lycandroid I use the web based app a bit. But I’d like to meet someone who could extract any insight from the data. I’ve looked at it regularly for the last 18 months and it’s heavy on charts and very light on insight. 
Questions like…  the freeze stat setting is more frequently on these days. Is that something I need to be concerned with?

it also says a lot of some stuff is indicative data but it’s not clear which

generally  it’s fairly useless Without trend or some clever stuff to alert you to issues.