Support

Troubleshoot Inactive LTE devices

My AirSuite LTE sensors are offline/inactive! How do I reconnect them?

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If you’ve visited your AirSuite Monitor Portal or Monitor App and noticed your devices are displayed as “inactive” or “offline”, don’t worry - this can happen occasionally and it’s normal. You may notice it more often if you’re in an area with limited network coverage.

Read on for reasons why your device has gone offline or inactive, what happens to your data in this instance, and how you can restore connection.

What happens to my data when my device is offline/inactive?

Don’t worry, your sensor is still recording data. Data will be safely stored on your device for up to 24 hours and is transmitted automatically when your sensor is next able to connect to the Cloud.

How do I know if it’s an issue with the cellular network?

Your AirSuite devices are powered by the LTE Cat-M1 Spark IoT network in New Zealand and Telstra IoT network in Australia. In regions outside Australia and New Zealand, AirSuite uses a network of global partners to ensure coverage all around the world. Rarely, these networks may need to undergo planned maintenance (usually isolated to specific locations), or may be experiencing an outage outside the network operator’s control.

To check if your device may be affected by a network outage:

• New Zealand: visit Spark’s outage notification website and make sure to select the “Mobile” tab.
• Telstra: visit Telstra’s outage notification page and enter your address.
• Rest of world: please contact us so we can investigate further.

We have independently verified the reliability and robustness in many key regions to ensure you will have a great experience with your AirSuite devices, and we have excellent relationships with our network partners to ensure any issues are resolved quickly.

What happens if my sensor loses connection to the network for more than a few hours?

If your device loses connection to the network for a long period, such as when an outage occurs, your device will save up to 24-hours of data. It will keep trying to reconnect periodically.

Please note that if your device continually fails to reconnect, it will try to reconnect to the network less and less frequently (known as “backoff”) and at a lower power level. This is normal, and is designed to preserve the battery in poor network conditions, or when an outage is occurring.

If your device has been disconnected from the network for a long time, it will eventually reconnect on its own, but might not do so immediately due to the backoff algorithm. You can force your device to reconnect with full power by turning your device off and on again (by holding down the reset button).

What happens if the LTE signal is poor?

AirSuite LTE devices are extremely robust, so in most cases, even in poor network conditions, you won’t notice any problems. If the device is unable to connect to the Internet, data is saved on the device for up to 24 hours until it is next able to connect, and then it is uploaded to the AirSuite Cloud all at once.

If your sensor is frequently having problems connecting to the network, or if its signal strength (RSRP) is consistently measuring below -115dBm, this will have a significant impact on the device’s battery life. In this case, you have a few options - you can either:

• Move the device to a location with better coverage, or;
• Plug the device into mains power with a micro-USB cable and standard USB power supply, or;
• Configure the device’s reporting interval to report to the Cloud less frequently, to save battery life - please contact us to discuss this option, or;
• Ask us about our Wi-Fi devices which may be more suitable for your location.

What about routine maintenance to a network? Will this affect my AirSuite sensors?

From what we’ve seen, it’s possible but extremely rare for routine maintenance to have a noticeable impact on AirSuite devices.

Most planned maintenance is very short (less than a few hours), affects only one tower, and the maintenance window is often scheduled for the early hours of the morning when you won’t notice it.

Usually when maintenance occurs on one cell tower, your device will automatically connect to a different cell tower nearby, in most urban areas. In rural or less densely populated locations, you may be more likely to be impacted by maintenance on a specific cell tower since there is no other tower available to connect to. However, your device will automatically reconnect when the maintenance is complete, and you won’t lose any data from that period.

Is there anything I can do to plan ahead for an outage?

If you’re aware of a future outage – or your device will be out of range of any cell towers for a while (such as when it’s being shipped) – we advise you turn off the device to help preserve its battery. That way, an outage won’t waste battery continually trying to connect to the unavailable network.

And more generally – how do I know if an LTE or Wi-Fi device is best for my needs?

If you don’t have LTE coverage in your area, or if you need to place devices right at the heart of your large steel-and-concrete-constructed commercial building, AirSuite Wi-Fi devices might be a better fit for you.

Since AirSuite Wi-Fi devices require a mains power source, they may not be best suited to all use cases. You can use a combination of AirSuite LTE and Wi-Fi devices to meet your needs. Have a chat with us before we ship your devices – we can give you custom advice based on your location and requirements.

My devices are ‘sleeping’ - what does that mean?

If your device is displayed as ‘sleeping’, this means that the device is in a low-power state and some functions (including network connectivity) are limited to conserve battery life. This is normal behaviour and is designed to ensure your device can operate for as long as possible before its battery needs to be replaced.

While your device is sleeping, it still takes all sensor measurements at the normal measurement interval. After it wakes up, it will transmit all those measurements to the Cloud.

Recap of main points:

• Your data is safe during an outage: Your device will save data for up to 24 hours until it is next able to connect, and then it is uploaded to the AirSuite Cloud all at once.
• Your AirSuite sensors are extremely fault-tolerant: In most cases, even in poor network conditions, you won’t notice any problems.
• Plan ahead for an outage: Turn off your device if you know about a planned outage or when your devices are being shipped to preserve battery life.
• Trying to reconnect to the network uses battery life: If you are experiencing persistent connection issues, plug in your device or change the reporting interval to reduce battery usage. You can talk to us at AirSuite for specific advice.
• Your device will automatically reconnect to the network: but you can force it to reconnect once the network is available by pushing the reset button on your device.