When something looks wrong

Most of the time there's a simple reason and a simple fix. Find what you're seeing below. Each answer starts with the easiest thing to try.

The screen

What the hub shows at night, and when it doesn't respond the way you expect.

  • The screen is dark

    At night this is usually your hub resting. When its At night setting is Off, the screen goes dark after a minute of night with nobody touching it. Touch it anywhere to wake it. That first touch only wakes it, so it doesn't press anything by accident.

    Resting the light behind the screen overnight helps your hub last longer. If you'd rather it stayed lit, go to Settings, tap Display, then tap Night settings. The At night button chooses between Dim, Off and Keep.

    If it's dark in the daytime and a touch doesn't wake it, check the power. Make sure the power point is switched on and the USB cable is pushed in at both ends. Then unplug the hub, wait ten seconds and plug it back in.

  • Taps land in the wrong place

    Go to Settings, tap Display, then tap Calibrate touch. Tap the centre of each target as it appears. Your hub remembers the result.

The numbers

Every reading comes from your inverter's own data. Your hub shows what your inverter reports.

  • The numbers stopped moving

    A number that sits still can simply mean nothing has changed. Solar reads zero all night, and a quiet house can hold the same number for a while. One grey number on its own is normal too. It means that flow is too small to matter.

    When fresh readings stop arriving, your hub shows it. The numbers turn grey, the moving arrows stop, and the bottom left corner says "Waiting for data" or "Can't reach solar system". The numbers you see then are the last ones your inverter sent. The next two answers say what to do.

    If the whole screen is frozen and a touch does nothing, unplug the hub, wait ten seconds and plug it back in.

  • It says "Can't reach solar system"

    Your hub is on your WiFi but can't get readings from your inverter.

    1. Go to Settings, tap Connections at the top, tap Change solar system, then tap Check again. The hub tests the address and tells you what it finds.
    2. If it says "Nothing answered at" followed by an address, check that address against your router's list of devices. Inverter addresses can change after a router restart. The connection page shows how to keep your inverter's address the same.
    3. Check that Modbus is still switched on in your inverter. The steps for your brand are on the connection page.
    4. Check that your hub and your inverter are on the same home network.
    5. If it still doesn't connect, ask your solar installer and show them the connection page.

  • It says "Waiting for data"

    Your hub hasn't had fresh readings from your inverter yet. Right after the hub starts, this is normal while it finds your inverter. If it stays, follow the steps for "Can't reach solar system" just above.

  • A number looks wrong

    Accuracy follows your inverter, because every reading, daily total and dollar figure comes from your inverter's own data. Compare the number with your inverter's own app. If the app shows the same number, your inverter is the place to look.

    Some brands share their readings less often than once a second. When that applies to yours, its section on the connection page says so.

  • A total is missing from the top left corner

    Tap the top left corner to step through your totals. The hub only shows a total when your inverter provides it.

    On some inverters the exported and imported totals appear after your hub has seen its first midnight. The spent and earned totals appear once you enter your power prices. Go to Settings and tap Power prices.

    Spent today can disappear for the rest of a day. That happens when the hub restarts or loses its readings right as your free hours start or end, or when you change your free hours after they've started that day. The hub can't tell how much of that day's power was free, so it waits for the next day.

  • The forecast shows a temperature, not kWh

    Your hub is still learning your system. Each day it compares the local sunshine forecast with what your solar actually made. After a few good days it shows what tomorrow should make, such as "Tomorrow ~21 kWh". Until then the top right corner shows a weather symbol and tomorrow's top temperature.

    To see how it's going, go to Settings and tap About. The Expected kWh line says "Still settling in", with a day count, while your hub is learning. A factory reset starts the learning again.

    If the corner shows no forecast at all, give your hub your postcode. Go to Settings, tap About, then tap Set postcode. The forecast also needs your internet connection.

  • The battery or grid side is missing

    If your home has no battery, the battery side doesn't appear. If you do have one and it's missing, go to Settings, tap Connections at the top, tap Change solar system, then tap the Battery button to choose Auto, Show or Hide.

    The grid side hides when your home has been off the grid for more than a week. Your hub treats that as normal for your home.

  • There's a red "OFF GRID" banner

    Your inverter reports that the grid is down, for example during a power cut. Your hub keeps showing what your solar and battery are doing, as long as the hub and your WiFi router still have power. The banner goes when the grid comes back.

WiFi, updates and starting over

Your hub looks after most of this by itself.

  • It says "Connecting to" and your network's name

    Your hub is trying to join your WiFi. If your router was off or restarting, the hub keeps trying and carries on by itself once your WiFi is back. There's nothing for you to do.

  • You changed your WiFi name or password

    Your hub keeps trying the network it knows, so tell it about the new one.

    On the hub. Go to Settings, tap Connections at the top, then tap Change WiFi. Pick your network and type its password. If the new network doesn't connect, the hub keeps using the one it had.

    On your phone. Unplug the hub and plug it back in. When it can't find its saved network for about a minute, it shows its Setup page and opens its own WiFi network. That network is called "RayHub-" followed by four letters and numbers, such as "RayHub-3F2A". A hub on older software uses "HaymakerHub-" instead until it updates. Join that network on your phone, or scan the QR code on the Setup page. The setup page usually opens by itself. If it doesn't, open your phone's browser and go to 192.168.4.1.

    Your hub only sees 2.4 GHz networks. If your router shows separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, pick the 2.4 GHz one. If nobody uses the Setup page for 10 minutes, the hub closes it and tries its saved network again. Touch the screen to keep it open.

  • It says "Updating...", or it restarted by itself

    Your hub keeps itself up to date. Once a day it checks for a newer version of its software. When there is one, it downloads it, shows "Updating..." with a percentage in the bottom left corner, and restarts by itself. If a new version doesn't start up properly, the hub goes back to the version it had before.

    Your hub also restarts itself if its software gets stuck, and now and then in the early hours when it needs a fresh start. Your settings stay as they were.

    To see your software version, or to turn automatic updates off or on, go to Settings and tap Updates.

  • You want to start over

    A factory reset clears your hub's settings and starts it again from the Setup page. Use it if you are giving the hub to someone else or want a fresh start. If you only changed your WiFi, you don't need a reset.

    1. Go to Settings and tap Factory reset.
    2. The hub tells you what it will erase. That's your WiFi network, solar system settings, postcode, power prices, forecast learning and display settings.
    3. Tap Reset to go ahead, or Cancel to keep everything.

    Your hub keeps its touch calibration. After the reset, set it up again on the hub or from your phone.

Still stuck?

  • Ask your solar installer

    Show them this page and the connection page. Most inverter settings are a couple of minutes' work for them.

  • Write to us

    Email us at [email protected]. Tell us what your hub shows and which inverter you have. A photo of your hub helps.