C1M1 Isssues?

[Brannon Fussell]

We have put around 10 C1M1 units in place and have had problems with almost half of them locking up. At least 2 of them have been bad from the box. Our company is new to monitoring security systems and we are wondering if we are doing something wrong with the setup of these units. We also have 3 different types of control systems talking to them. It doesn’t matter what system is connected to the units, we have had the same issues. The C1M1 will lock up and need to be rebooted to connect to Telgard, ElkLink and the control system. Once or twice we had to reboot the unit and default it to get it back on the network and working again.  I have never had these issues with the M1XEP. We are thinking that we will just spec an M1XEP for control communication and use a Telguard TG4 as a cell backup if wanted.

Please, if anyone has any ideas let me know.

[Dave Febbraio]

We have the same issue across multiple units.  I’ll be following this to see about any resolutions.  Unfortunately i cannot offer you any help as I am here searching this thread because I am in the middle of a reboot process with a client now…

DF

[John Galt]

I have the same issue.  I just replaced my M1XEP with a C1M1 about two months ago.  Twice it has failed to connect and required the power to be reset.  Once the power has been reset it works fine.

I have my firewall setup to log everything coming from the C1M1.  If it is locked up or not every two minutes it was sending a UDP request on port 53 which I presume was a DNS query.  Once it was rebooted I can see the requests to external servers on port 8888, 8899, 3066, etc. which should be the ones connecting to Telgard.

When the system locked up it still appeared to be sending the DNS queries, but not the queries to Telgard.  I could also not connect to it using EkRP (local network and C1M1 proxy), but I didn’t try mini USB.

I thought about an automation rule that would flip a relay to reset power if there is an ethernet trouble.  However, this is pretty annoying considering the C1M1 is supposed to be an upgrade from the M1XEP and separate Uplink module that was a part of the cellular sunset.

 

Is anyone else having this issue?  Any suggestions?

 

 

[John Galt]

I should also add that I was getting an E07 error (Unable to communicate with M1) both times.  The serial cable is firmly connected.

[Kris Nelson]

INTERESTING     ? define locking up?   We too have 50% success rate with connectivity to elklink. M1 System comes up and says failure to communicate, sometimes we can get it to clear with manual test sent through Menu 8. And more often than not, reboot clears for present time until few weeks go by.

Killer issue which is burning up a lot of tech time, with no discernible issue or correction measure available,  is the M1 beeping for “Ethernet loss” error. The system will ping C1M1, all three,  lights will be lit on unit, then 4 hours, two days, week, it goes back to ethernet problem. Sometimes it will reconnect, though seldom. Then it goes silent, unit “offline”status on Elklink portal.  The beeping is becoming a customer complaint issue,

All units have set IP addresses reserved, ports forwarded, and on first incoming router.  Wondering what to try next

[Michael Burrell]

@Kris Nelson – We have been actively working to improve the C1M1 and the cellular offering. Below are some of the improvements outlined.

Firmware Update: In late 2022, we released updated firmware for the C1M1LTEV (Version 0.0.1.17) & C1M1LTEA (Version 0.0.1.07) that addressed internal issues causing undesirable behavior in areas with unstable cellular signals. These changes were necessary due to instability related to the high level of cellular traffic today. This firmware update directly addresses the “Ethernet Loss” trouble condition and other issues related to the device’s stability.

Cloud Services Upgrade: In addition to the firmware update, we also examined the cloud connectivity of the C1M1. We identified that the connection to ElkLink needed improvement to enhance its robustness. Due to the number of devices, we observed that some devices were experiencing difficulty staying connected or establishing a connection to ElkLink. To address these concerns with cloud connectivity, we deployed a new cloud service with enhanced throughput in May 2023.

Proxy Service Improvement: Continuing our efforts to evaluate and improve this service, we identified a TCPIP timing issue that only came into play when using LAN and specific ISP services like Starlink, which have tighter session timeouts. This issue was affecting our proxy services that allow for 3rd party app and RP remote connections. In June 2023, we made a change to our Proxy service that resolves our connectivity issues when utilizing service providers with these types of requirements.

Secondary Antenna: We have also included a secondary diversity antenna in our new units to improve stability, if you have units that need secondary antennas please let us know. Please note that the secondary antenna does not improve signal strength or reception. It is there to improve the device’s ability to maintain a connection to the tower by providing the primary antenna a reference point.

Firewall Changes: Lastly, we examined connectivity from outside of North America and found that our services were blocked when users attempted to make connections. This posed an issue for clients who traveled and wanted to access their systems, appearing as a connectivity problem with the service or device. We have since made firewall adjustments to allow for additional access to our services in the event that clients travel. For security purposes, some regions are required to remain blocked.

We will continue to actively test and monitor our connectivity for improvements and resolutions to issues reported in the field. I cannot thank you all enough for the feedback, as it is invaluable in helping us improve our product offering.

Feel free to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

-Mike

 

 

 

 

[John Galt]

Thanks Mike for the detailed reply!

I am currently using the remote antenna in my attic with the C1M1LTEA in order to get a better signal strength. I consistently have 3 bars per the device 7 segment LED.    I checked the manual and it looks like the cord is only 18 inches long and it recommends mounting it 5.5 to 7.5 inches away from the primary antenna.

 

Can I still use a secondary antenna?  Do you think this would help?

[John Galt]

Well I am stuck and don’t know what else to try.  It got stuck with an E07 error again which prevents my from connecting to it remotely or locally until I do a power reset.  I am on the most recent firmware for ELK M1G and the LTEA.  I am routinely getting 4 bars of signal strength.

I don’t know what else to do other than remove the C1M1 and use a different communicator.  Any other suggestions?

Does the Elk M1G know that the C1M1 is locked up?  I was thinking I could setup a rule to use switch a relay for a few seconds to reboot the C1M1 has a connection error.  I don’t know if this status is reported to the M1G over the serial port.

[Brad Weeks]

What is the last 4 digits of the MAC address for the C1M1? Do you know if the unit is running the 0.0.1.17 Firmware?

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