IQpanel 2+ stopped detecting cellular network

My IQ Panel is having many issues lately, one is that it stopped connecting to the cellular network quite sometime ago. I didn’t move my house, and I am in an ubran area that Verizon claims is in the middle of a high quality coverage. I don’t have any other VZW devices to compare to, however I think the issue is more complex as the panel doesn’t even report having an IMEI and reports “Carrier: Unknown”. Did someone forget to pay for the bill with my monthly monitoring fee? Thankfully I have reliable home internet and WiFi, but I am paying to include cellular monitoring for redundancy.

Beyond the cellular piece, my IQ remote panel also has stopped working with the IQ2+. When it attempts to “connect” it downloads the entire app package and then reports “Patch verification failed”. Oddly I got an email notification that the remote panel was back online after telling it to reconnect manually. I tried doing a master reset on the remote panel, and on attempt to pair, but the same thing happens.

I also have a CO sensor that is ~15’ through a floor away that randomly bounces in and out of being offline/online, and has done so likely since the CO detector was new.

I also have a PowerG remote pin pad that stopped working with the panel.

At this point it isn’t confident inspiring that this system would even fulfill the task that it is expected to provide if an emergency was to occur. I have a lot invested in this for it to randomly give up the ghost.

however I think the issue is more complex as the panel doesn’t even report having an IMEI and reports “Carrier: Unknown”. Did someone forget to pay for the bill with my monthly monitoring fee?

If the panel is not reporting its IMEI that means the panel cannot interface with the cell communicator and SIM built in. The actual cell card may have failed.

Have you rebooted the panel?

Try this first: Settings > Advanced Settings > Power Down.

Leave the panel off for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, boot it back up, wait a few minutes, then check if you can run a cellular test under the System Tests menu. Any change?

my IQ remote panel also has stopped working with the IQ2+. When it attempts to “connect” it downloads the entire app package and then reports “Patch verification failed”.

After that power down, try the remote again too. The panel shows a pending download failure status, but has the latest available firmware. I am curious if that status will clear after the power down.

I am also seeing a huge number of Broadband network failures for the panel in history which occur and resolve after a short time. I would recommend trying to connect the IQ Remote to the IQ Panel’s access point mode instead of the home wifi network to rule out network issues.

For the IQ Panel, make sure it is connected to a unique 2.4Ghz SSID to rule out band-swapping connectivity issues.

I also have a CO sensor that is ~15’ through a floor away that randomly bounces in and out of being offline/online, and has done so likely since the CO detector was new.

Offline is a common status and is influenced by a lot of potential causes. See troubleshooting steps here first:

It looks like the sensor showing a history of a lot of offline events is labeled “Basement CO detector”

There are a ton of potential RF blocking concerns in basements, with an abundance of pipes, high voltage lines, vents, large metal appliances, etc. Try repositioning the sensor a few feet from the current location.

I am seeing a fair number of other sensors having reported Offline status recently. One other thing to be sure of with the IQ Panel 2 is that its thin white sensor RF antenna is in the wall behind the panel.

If the white RF antenna is left in the panel or pinched in the back plate it will affect signal reception for 319.5 mhz rf sensors. This is a common problem, I would recommend definitely checking for that to be sure.

I also have a PowerG remote pin pad that stopped working with the panel.

Do any other PowerG devices show issues or just the keypad? When did this start? Where is the keypad located? If you bring it closer to the panel does it function as expected?

When booting up it kept restarting itself several times, it would get to the Qolsys Home Screen showing WiFi turned off…and then a few minutes later it would restart, then come back up to the “Initializing the App”, get to Home Screen, repeat a few times. It seems I had to manually tell it to enable WiFi.

No change, it still shows no cellular details and obviously fails any cellular tests.

I have 2 distinct SSIDs, one for 2.4Ghz and one for 5Ghz. I do have multiple access points on behind the SSIDs, but all other devices maintain very reliable connectivity. Unfortunately they block ICMP (ping) on the panel so it is very difficult to assess connectivity overtime.

The antenna was pulled out and passed through the wall. This shouldn’t be that complex of an RF path, far less so than some of my other sensors…but to test it out I swapped locations of the CO detector with another that doesn’t report issues.

No, all other PowerG devices seem to be fine. The problem started a couple of weeks ago, with the pin pad showing “no response from panel” or similar.

No change, it still shows no cellular details and obviously fails any cellular tests.

Alright, unfortunately that sounds like the cell communicator has just failed.

Based on how it is reporting on the panel, the only other step would be to try a master reset of the panel, but note that will require reprogramming all devices and may not resolve the issue.

Just to check, does your panel use the 5.5VDC power supply version, or the 7VDC version? How long is the power cable?

I have 2 distinct SSIDs, one for 2.4Ghz and one for 5Ghz. I do have multiple access points on behind the SSIDs, but all other devices maintain very reliable connectivity.

This is actually a potential issue for the IQ Remote. The Remote connection needs to be an unchanging LAN connection to be reliable and connect to the panel. If it can be swapped between access points around the house that can interrupt the connection, causing the Remote to have to sync again. If this happened during a firmware update this might explain what is happening.

Try using the access point mode in the IQ Panel to connect the Remote directly to it. Any difference?

No, all other PowerG devices seem to be fine. The problem started a couple of weeks ago, with the pin pad showing “no response from panel” or similar.

How old is that keypad? Have batteries been replaced?

I’m not sure I am keene on a master reset, as that is just as much work as replacing the panel with no upside.

I don’t have an easy way to check this right now due to the power adapter being behind an appliance. The cable is likely ~4-5’, it is using the wire and power adapter it shipped with from Surety when purchased. Nothing has changed on this since it was purchased end of 2018 to replace a 2Gig panel that had also become painful to use.

At this point I am going to leave the remote panel out of the mix and just leave it powered off.

The WSOLCDIF9 was purchased in February 2019, I have replaced the batteries recently but it also powered by a wall wart.

I’m not sure I am keene on a master reset, as that is just as much work as replacing the panel with no upside.

I understand, and it does sound like a hardware failure of the cell communicator. Replacement would be needed if a reset does not work, and a reset is unlikely to work in this case I think.

The cable is likely ~4-5’, it is using the wire and power adapter it shipped with from Surety when purchased.

Thank you, just checking. Chronic underpowering can have an impact but unless the power supply was malfunctioning there is no reason to suspect this using the included cable.

The WSOLCDIF9 was purchased in February 2019, I have replaced the batteries recently but it also powered by a wall wart.

Have you tried deleting and re-pairing this device? If not that would be my next step.

It seems the cellular died entirely, my only next option was to see if this was a removable module and to re-seat it…but it seems dead. The panel seems to be displaying its age with several other problems occurring.

If I was to buy a new IQP4 is it possible to “transfer” anything to the new panel? Or would I have to manually re-add every sensor and other device…which of course is a complete nightmare, considering I did all of that to replace a failing 2Gig panel with this IQP2+…at least I won’t have to replace every sensor this time…

I’ve attempted to re-pair it several times, it never completes successfully. Is the RF module at all tied to the one used for cellular that is clearly dead?

I would recommend first trying this update:

There is a critical cellular radio update in 2.8.1 which addresses a specific bug that causes the radio to no longer connect after a drop in connection. Your system may be encountering this rare bug.

I’ve attempted to re-pair it several times, it never completes successfully. Is the RF module at all tied to the one used for cellular that is clearly dead?

No. The cell radio has no impact on the PowerG keypad signaling. And looking at the system other PowerG devices seem unaffected.

Out of curiosity, it looks like it may have been labeled as “Garage.” Was this keypad actually located inside the garage or was it in the home just inside the garage door? Temperature/humidity may have caused issues with the board if in a non-controlled environment.

I attempted to upgrade, as mentioned in this other thread Qolsys IQ 2+ Panel Stuck on Bootup - #5 by russel.callen but then ran into the failed boot loop.

It is in the garage, I chose this specific device (WS9LCDWF) because of its environmental ratings as taken from the install manual:

Specifications

  • Temperature range: -10°C to +55°C (14°F to 131°F) UL/ULC: 0°C to +49°C (32°F to 120°F)
  • Humidity (MAX): 93%R.H. non-condensing

I am fortunate to live in a temperate climate where my garage never sees below or above those temperature ranges.

Are you seeing an actual loop where it retries over and over or does it just boot once and sit on the qolsys icon like the user in that other post described?

A boot loop would be a little different but this may be indicative of the panel having corrupted software. Just to be sure, can you try powering that IQ Panel off and disconnect the battery? Try a boot up without a battery.

It is possibly indicative of a failure which cannot be restored, factory reset requires access to the UI. You do have an automatic backup from earlier this month which can be used for a backup restore process on a new panel. Your panel was on sufficient firmware to restore to an IQ Panel 4.

It goes into the same loop even without the battery connected. It completely cycles to a black screen, loading Qolsys software, flickering Qolsys logo…LED turns solid red, and the process eventually starts over.

I assume it is completely dead, which is frustrating as I also have a Qolsys remote panel that died a similar death quite some time ago…so to refresh to a full equal new setup is not cheap. Does Qolsys offer any discounts/credits for when their hardware just stops working entirely?

What is the process to order an IQP4 and get it “restored from backup”, just insert notes into the order? As not having IQ2+ is now starting to be an issue as we have home automation invested into it being there that doesn’t work without it.

Products under warranty would be covered, but if it is outside of warranty unfortunately it would need to be replaced. The IQ Panel 2 is a discontinued panel and replaced by the IQ Panel 4.

We offer a free month of service applied to your subscription when you upgrade the panel with one purchased through Surety, to help offset cost. The panel by itself can be found here.

Backup restore process steps are described in the post linked below. The backup is already run so the first step would be skipped.