Frequently Asked Questions

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The Domoticz FAQ

General

  • Q: Which devices are supported by Domoticz?
  • A: A lot! Domoticz supports a lot of hardware interfaces, e.g. RFXcom, ZWave stick. Consult the documentation for these devices or check the relevant area in this Faq.
  • Q: Why can I not find my hardware in the hardware Type list ?
  • A: Please also check the Hardware supported by the Python Plugin Framework.

Configuration

  • Q: When i click "Check for update" no update is available.
  • A: In Setup|Application settings tick "Check for Updates" and select Beta channel. However realize that beta's are not fully tested yet.
  • Q: My devices don't appear in the device list.
  • A: Make sure you have added hardware, have it enabled and tick "Accept new hardware devices" in Setup|Application settings.
  • Q: My sensors only show a single day of data. I would like this to be more.
  • A: In Setup|Application settings increase the value of "Short Log Sensors" to the number of days would like to see (maximum of 7).
  • Q: I am unable to add dummy switches.
  • A: Add hardware device of type Dummy and enable it. Check "Accept new Hardware devices" under settings. Go to switches tab and use "Manual light/switch" to create device of Hardware Dummy, Type X10 and a random unique code. Virtual sensors like temperature need to be defined in the Hardware tab by pressing "Create virtual sensors" See also page Dummy for Virtual switches

Device Widgets

  • Q: Why is my Utility or Temperature device greyed out?
  • A: The related Hardware is not active or present. Check the following forum post to solve: link
  • Q: My device is colored Yellow, what does it mean?
  • A: It means that the battery is low.
  • Q: My device is colored Red, what does it mean?
  • A: It means that your device is not being updated for a long time or not connected to the Domoticz server. Check the log for more info.
  • Q: Can I move a device widget to another page (ie from Temperature to Weather)?
  • A: No this is not possible. It is possible to setup floor plans and filter on those. Also you can use the dashboard to show the most important devices in one page.
  • Q: (A lot of) my Devices are not visible anymore in the various tabs (ie Dashboard) after an update of Domoticz?
  • A: Check the assigned devices for the logged in user (menu Setup - Users). For an admin this list should be empty.

RaspberryPi

  • Q: My Raspberry Pi has one of these issues: network dropping, spontaneous reboots, rfxcom interface errors, com port errors. What do I do?
  • A: Make sure you use at least a 1.5A power supply with 5v stable. Exact power needed will depend on power drawn by the attached USB devices. Measure at least 4.95 Volt between TP1 and TP2 on the Raspberry Pi.
  • Q: My Raspberry Pi does not have a monitor or a keyboard attached, how do I access the Linux command line?
  • A: Use ssh from a remote machine, Linux / Mac OSX have ssh installed - ssh pi@piIP then enter your password as normal i.e. ssh [email protected] On Windows follow the instructions on the Scripting in Domoticz page to install putty.

KaKu / CoCo

  • Q: Why do I see more devices in Domoticz than I installed?
  • A: Chances are your neighbors also use these devices. It is up to you if you want to start controlling your neighbor's devices :).
  • Q: Why does my device sometimes not respond / I have to send an on command several times
  • A: These devices use a very basic RF system that is vulnerable to interference from other products that generate RF. You can try to find the source of the interference (e.g. Microwave) or limit the use of devices that send a lot of RF and block the airwaves for some time (like the AWST-6000 and AMST-606). Also keep receivers separated by a minimum of 30cm.
  • Q: What can I do to increase RF performance?
  • A: If your significant other approves, or you do not have one, you could install this: [1]. Be aware it is not completely legal in some countries to use this for RF transmitting.

X10

  • Q: Why can't I dim an X10 device or roller shutter using an rfxcom device?
  • A: X10 Dimming is not supported via RF. Only the marmitek powerline interfaces can send dim commands.

RFXCom

  • Q: Which devices are supported when I use an RFXcom device with domoticz?
  • A: See the rfxcom website, go to downloads and download the usermanual. In it all supported devices/protiocols are listed.
  • Q: My transmitting device is supported by RFXCom, but I can't find it in Domoticz. Where is it?
  • A: In order for Domoticz to work with your device, it has to operate at 433MHz, the protocol its using has to be supported by RFXCom (see above), the protocol has to be enabled for the RFXCom device (under Setup / Hardware / Set Mode), the device has to be within range. If all these are correct then the device will show up under Setup / Devices / Unused and it can be added to the appropriate page of Domoticz by cliking the white arrow on a green circle.
  • Q: I have seen this great 433 Mhz transceiver for US$ 2,00 on DealExtreme, Ebay or Alibaba. Does Domoticz support it?
  • A: Most likely: NO. The RFXCOM interprets the various vendor specific protocols and is actively supported. No effort will be put by the developers in redoing this work which is available at a fair price.

RFLink Gateway

  • Q: Which devices are supported when I use an RFLink Gateway device with domoticz?
  • A: See the rflink website, section supported device list, where all supported devices are listed.
  • Q: My transmitting device is supported by the RFLink Gateway, but I can't find it in Domoticz. Where is it?
  • A: In order for Domoticz to work with your device, it has to operate at 433MHz, the protocol its using has to be supported by the RFLink Gateway (see above) and the device has to be within range. If all these are correct then the device will show up under Setup / Devices / Unused and it can be added to the appropriate page of Domoticz by clicking the white arrow on a green circle.
  • Q: I have a device that is not or not properly supported by the RFLink Gateway, what can I do?
  • A: Use the forum to report details about your device. Most likely you will be asked to supply some logs. New or unhandled devices will be tried to add to the RFlink firmware.

ZWave

  • Q: Which interfaces are supported in Domoticz?
  • A: OpenZWave (deprecated!!) and ZwaveJS-UI are supported. Using Zwave-JS-UI with MQTT is advised. OpenZWave is being deprecated in beta 2023.2 from 1-Aug-2023 in Domoticz as this project has stopped its development.
  • Q: Which ZWave devices can I buy to use with Domoticz?
  • A: Check if ZwaveJS supports it. If it does, there is a big chance Domoticz supports it. If it does not (yet), chances are this will change soon. Donating to the project (so we can buy the device to test it) will even increase those chances.

Events (Blockly/Lua)

  • Q: Lua is too complicated for me. Why can't I do everything in Blockly that Lua can?
  • A: The idea is that people who don't know how to script use blockly for simple events. Lua is for more complex situations, and people should move from Blockly to Lua when they need more complexity. The point is that when you can come up with complex event logic, you should be scripting. Blockly needs to be kept simple.
  • Q: I want to start writing scripts. Where do I start?
  • A: This wiki page can serve as a good starting point.
  • Q: When in Lua i switch a device on and off, it only executes the off command
  • A: Commands in Lua are only executed upon return. So regardless the number of changes during the script, only the last value will be executed. Don't use delays in the script, it serves no purpose. As Domoticz waits for completion get the things done as fast as possible.

Plugins

  • Q: How do I install a hardware plugin in Domoticz?
  • A: Goto the the page Using Python plugins for general installation instructions. On the page Plugins all the available plugins are listed. On the plugin link (mostly Github) the special plugin installation instructions are normally listed. Else check the Forum
  • Q: Can I develop my on hardware plugin?
  • A: Ofcourse you can, go the page Developing a Python plugin for more instructions.
  • Q: My Domoticz has issues after installing a Python Plugin. How to troubleshoot?
  • A: Please go to the Python Plugin Troubleshooting section for more instructions..

Troubleshooting

  • Q: My web browser can't connect to Domoticz.
  • A: First check your Domoticz machine is on-line - on the command line of your computer your web browser is running on type ping DomoticzIP i.e. ping 192.168.0.22 to ensure you have network connectivity, then check Domoticz is running: Windows use task manager to look for Domoticz processes; RPi type sudo service domoticz.sh status - if Failed then type sudo service domoticz.sh start.
  • Q: I updated Domoticz, I know Domoticz is running, but my web browser displays a partial page or it says Domoticz is offline.
  • A: Sometimes, but especially after an update, you need to refresh your browser cache, as the contents have become corrupted.
  • Q: After my last update Domoticz does not start anymore and shows Segmentation fault message (RPi)
  • A: Somehow the upgrade failed. This can be solved by doing a manual install from binary. See Wiki Installing and running Domoticz on a Raspberry PI paragraph Installing from Binary and start service. Then update again from application.
  • Q: When updating the counter runs to 100% and then displays "Error while downloading Update..." (RPi)
  • A: If the update could not be downloaded within the time it takes the counter to reach 100% this message will be displayed. Either you are on a slow internet or GitHub is slow. Try to update again later.
  • Q: I still cannot use Domoticz after i updated Domoticz or added a plugin.
  • A: Please go to the Troubleshooting page for more instructions.
  • Q: After a Cold Boot ( eg after power failure) Domoticz runs for several minutes and stops.
  • A: Please go to the Troubleshooting page for more instructions.

Other supporting channels

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