Heat link keeps disconnecting with error H71

[tryorgoaway]

Hello, 

today out of a sudden my heat link disconnected. It's not the first time and usually by pressing "check again" it reconnects. However today it didn't work and I tried all the possible troubleshooting I found online. 

The only one working was the following:

"1. Gather the 6-digit entry key located on the bottom side of Heat Link's case, near the screw that holds the case together.
2. Select the option "Replace Heat Link" on the thermostat (you will have a message saying that the thermostat failed to connect wirelessly to the heat link, you just need to continue and you will receive a screen with 4 options: check again, reset pairing, replace heat link and technical info, the correct option in the third)
3. Put the 6-digit entry key in there but don't confirm it. Just write it there and stop when you see the word "Connect" highlighted.
4. Press the "Nest" button on the Heat link and hold it for 45 seconds until you see a slowly pulsating blue light on the Heat Link. After that, wait about 5 seconds and press and hold it again for another 45 seconds until you see a slowly pulsating blue light on it.
5. Go ahead and press connect on the Thermostat's display and wait about a minute. You shall see the message "Heat link connected wirelessly" and the Heat Link's light shall be solid green. That means the devices are connected and working."

I had the possibility (the thermostat is on a stand) to bring the thermostat and the Heat Link as close as possible only for the pairing process as recommended but when I moved it back to the usual place (living room) it worked for a few minutes and I got the error message again. The heat link is in the loft which is less than the 30 meters radius (I'd say 5 miters max) and as you can imagine it's super inconvenient to start the hot water manually.

What should I do?

Many thanks in advance

Alf

[AndaD]

@tryorgoaway

Hi there and thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'm sorry to hear about the issue with your thermostat, but I'll try to help you out. apart from the distance between the Heat Link and the thermostat can be other factors that can contribute to the disruption of the signal. Please have a look at this article: https://goo.gle/3BVCazd, it will explain more about the wireless interference that can be one of the causes of the signal loss.

Check that there isn’t anything physically between your Heat Link and thermostat, like a large mirror or refrigerator. Large objects made of metal or other dense materials can block wireless signals

[tryorgoaway]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

The only thing that changed since I bought the Nest Thermostat in 2020 was the TV just above the display I bought 3 weeks ago. I tried the move the Thermostat in my master bedroom just below the loft where the Heat link is installed and in other rooms but it didn't work. My house is a typical English house with no concrete walls or ceilings. At the end I decided to move it just beside the Heat link and since then it worked fine (and I can use the app to change setting if needed). The only problem is that I cannot leave it in the loft, right? The temperature there goes up and down during the 24h and, like this morning, there is the risk to wake up with the heating on while in the room there are 20 degrees already while in the loft 14 degrees or less.

Since the Nest Protect is also operating well (it's located under the loft) as well as the Nest Hello ring bell and the rest of the wireless equipments in the house (nothing was added recently apart from the TV) I don't think that the interference option can be a possible cause of the issue.

Is it possible that after only 2 years and few months the Nest thermostat started to have some problem with the strength of its signal?   

Many thanks in advance for your support.

Alf

[AndaD]

@tryorgoaway

Thanks for all the details, really helpful. I totally understand the situation and based on what you described it seems that there are enough devices that use an internet connection which might cause signal loss. Including your Wi-Fi router can be one of the reasons why the thermostat sometimes disconnects from the Heat Link. If you're not using it remotely, you can give it a try for a couple of days and disconnect it from the network and use it as a traditional thermostat, just as a test to see if the connection keep drops. The thermostat connects to the Heat Link via a weave and not a network, but an internet router can interfere and disturb the connection. Also, the environment around the Heat Link is important as well. Feel free to attach a picture of the Heat Link's placement so I can see what's around. 

[tryorgoaway]

Morning I disconnected the thermostat from wi-fi and repositioned in the living room. However based on what you said, connected or not, shouldn't the router interfere anyway? Why only when connected to the router?

I tried to attach the pic of the Heat Link but I don't have permissions.

Thank you

Alf

[AndaD]

@tryorgoaway, what's the state of your thermostat at the moment, after being placed in a different room? Basically as I mentioned, this can also be due to the fact that there are enough devices connected to the internet around to interfere with the thermostat, including the router. From what you mentioned, you have multiple smart gadgets in your house that use a network.

[tryorgoaway]

Hello,

as suggested I disconnected the thermostat from the router and repositioned it in the living room. After 24h working without any problem I decided to reconnected to the router and I'm happy to say that it is still working fine. My question would be now: I have not changed anything neither added devices nor removed anything so why is the thermostat working now?

Thanks

Alf

[AlexD]

It is possible that at that particular moment there was more than the usual interference. A power fluctuation or a problem with the local network could also cause this kind of behavior. It is good to hear that so far it is working as expected. 

Keep an eye on it, me or my colleagues may check in later, and if anything comes up, make sure to let me know. 

[tryorgoaway]

I will, thank you!

[AlexD]

Great. We're all always here to try and assist. 

[CristianC]

Hi there. just checking in. How's it going with your thermostat? 

[DragosC]

Since I haven't heard from you in a while, I'll have to close this thread. Should anything else come up, please open another thread and we'll take it from there. Have a good one and stay safe!