All Electrons go offline (blinking green) at once

Howdy!

Is there any reason all of my Electrons would go offline at the same time? I’ve got 8 or 9 running, and they were fine until today, when suddenly and for no apparent reason they went all greenie-blinky.

I thought it might be a billing issue, but I have a current card in the system (although the billing page doesn’t seem to accurately reflect all of the devices in my account - not sure that’s related to this issue, however).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Cheers,

L3

It could be that your nearby cell-tower glitched out, thus throwing them offline. Not sure though, but it’s a possibility.

Are they back online already?
If not, are the 2G devices (U350)?
If so, could it be that 2G got switched off/phased out in your area?

I had a glitch last night as well (Rogers, Canada) but the Electron came back online within a minute.

@Moors7,

Good thought, but not likely as it happened in two different locations, about 6 miles apart. The mystery continues… Cheers,

L3

@ScruffR,

They are 3Gs. We originally started with 2Gs but switched when we experienced provider issues with the phase-out you mention.

I don’t think they’re back online, but I will check in a few minutes when I get to work.

UPDATE: I just checked. They are still offline, blinking green as if they were laughing at me…

Cheers,
L3

I’ve just read your post about paid support (good thoughts)
I didn’t realise how “urgent” it would have been, sorry.

@leo3linbeck what happens if you hit reset on one device?

Are they are 3G or 2G electron?

There’s a tinker app that outputs debugging info so it will help narrow down a possible issue. Let me know if you want to test that. :slight_smile:

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Been there with the 2/3G :wink: all 3G

@leo3linbeck, how do they do with Safe Mode? Will they get into breathing magenta or also hang in blinking green?
How about flashing a previous firmware?
What have you changed just before that (even if it was a day or so earlier)?

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@kennethlimcp,

All 3G. I tried the debugging app; nothing really jumped out a me in the output. But I’d really need the Particle guys’ help to interpret it, which brings me back to my current conundrum…

@ScruffR,

No worries on timing - I don’t like to set off alarm bells with other people and waste their time until I know I’ve done all I can on my end. So that’s on me.

Can’t get to safe mode - drops immediately back into blinking green.
Tried reflashing - old, new, tinker, etc. Also updated system firmware. No dice.

I don’t really know what changed. That’s part of what makes this such a head scratcher. The best hypothesis right now is that something went awry with the billing - that would explain all of the devices going down at more or less the same time. I went in and put in a different credit card just to see if that would help, and it didn’t. I’m sure it’s something we did, since it only is impacting us, not system-wide.

So I’m stumped. Isn’t innovation fun? :wink:

Cheers,
L3

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If you PM me the debug output i can take a look

If it’s a billing thing for the SIM, you should be able to use a 3rd party SIM (or another Particle SIM not activated with the same credit card and account - or completely fresh one).

For the 3rd party SIM (e.g. out of your phone) you’d need to add the APN setup instructions tho’.

Having a few virgin Electrons and Particle SIMs in the drawer to spare might be an insurance against full blocks too.

@ScruffR,

Good thoughts. I do have a couple of extra Electrons, and if it was just one I wouldn’t hesitate to swap them out. However, I don’t want to keep around and activate 8 or 9 Electrons (and their monthly billing) and keep track of that inventory if I can avoid it. I suppose in retrospect that might have been a good way to get one device back online, and if I knew then what I know now, I probably would have pulled the trigger…

I’m sure we’ll get it sorted, as I’ve already heard from the support guys and they’re on the case. I do appreciate the advice, on both this and other counsel you provide here (your help is appreciated by those of us who lurk in the shadows).

Cheers,
L3

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