Securifi Community Forum

Securifi Products => Almond 3 => Topic started by: kells75 on April 19, 2017, 09:11:11 am

Title: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: kells75 on April 19, 2017, 09:11:11 am
For the past week, my A3 stops working and just has a blank white screen w/ no response.  I have to pull the plug to reboot.  It's good for a day and then it starts all over.  I'm on the latest firmware.  Anyone else experience this? 

Thanks
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: fillibar on April 19, 2017, 11:04:02 am
I have not, sorry. Few questions:
What is your screen timeout set for?
Does it happen around the same time?
Do you have any Rules or common occurrences happening at the same time?
Is the network still up/web page still accessible when this happens?
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: kells75 on April 19, 2017, 11:23:02 am
Timeout isn't long, under a minute.  It seems to happen during the night when nobody is using wifi. I wake up and it's locked up.    No wifi, no web page access.    No rule set for middle of the night.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: fillibar on April 19, 2017, 12:25:10 pm
With the whole box locking up (not just the LCD) and no apparent influence otherwise, I would recommend giving support an email or call. They would probably be able to help check more or deal with repair/replacement if that is warranted.
Certainly nothing more I can think of for that scenario.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: elgobbes on September 13, 2017, 08:30:41 pm
I’m having the same issue and customer service hasn’t figured out what the issue is.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: jefflouella on September 21, 2017, 07:53:27 pm
I am having the same issues. It's annoying. I unplugging and plugging the router back in 2-3 times a day now. I am ready to just drop this whiole system. 1 thing I need is reliable internet and I can't seem to get it.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Ashok on September 22, 2017, 10:03:11 am
@ jefflouella, elgobbes,

Please do reach our support team at support@securifi.com and our support team will take care of it.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Jesjr on October 29, 2017, 06:50:43 pm
The issue I am having is that the primary unit is overheating (back of unit very hot to the touch), going to a white screen then failing and killing the signal downstream.  I have to unplug to make it re-boot. 

On the unit I was using as the primary, after too many days of unplugging and such, I decided to do a factory reset and then tried to use it again as the primary, eventually the same issue.  So, next I took one of the satellite units, did a factory reset and made it the primary.  Same issue there, it locked up, I assume due to overheating as the back of the unit was very hot.  The primary unit has been in the same place since installation and have proper ventilation.  Also, they all (primary and satellite) have the latest firmware, AL3-R021-64MB.  I am using Arris SB6190 modem.

Any ideas?
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: fillibar on October 30, 2017, 06:50:24 pm
Do you have any other devices plugged into them, such as in the USB port? Only using the power supply that came with them?

Otherwise... I would contact support as Ashok mentioned previously.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: kvnwht on November 26, 2017, 07:31:46 pm
any news on the white screen?  I get it 2-3 times a day. 
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: mparadis on November 29, 2017, 09:01:05 am
I had this happen 2 or 3 times BUT it was because my unit was overheated due to external heat sources with the cold weather now upon us. I have made a few changes to its location and no more issues since. None of mine have overheated on their own, only when there was something else causing it.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: kvnwht on November 29, 2017, 05:55:47 pm
thanks I will try moving it to a cooler area.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: mparadis on November 30, 2017, 07:51:00 am
Mine was significantly warm. It was near a burning wood stove in a book case with out much ventilation and numerous electronics... my own mistake. Good luck.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: wstocker on January 20, 2018, 06:41:53 am
I previously had this same concern.  I swapped my primary out with a satellite issue and it helped greatly.  But perhaps the biggest change was going from an SB6190 to a CM600 Cable Modem as I was having other issues I could attribute to PUMA6 overloading like video buffering and periodic congestion.

You might want to check out the resources at: http://www.dslreports.com/tools/puma6 (http://www.dslreports.com/tools/puma6)
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: joltdude on January 27, 2018, 12:30:14 pm
I had a silly question. Do you have any Chromecast devices on the network or Android phones chromecasting to chromecast devices on your network.... if so.. Do you have the current version of Google Play on the Android phones, and/or do you have the current firmware on the chromecast devices.....

-J
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Rod on February 22, 2018, 08:41:25 pm
Any solution for this problem? I am experiencing the same issue plus drop signals 5 to 6 times a day. Really annoying. All start happening after the latest update.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: mfierro211 on April 02, 2018, 02:50:48 pm
Hello,  I’ve been experiencing this issue for sometime now.  I have updated to the latest firmware AL3-R024-64mb and it was good for about 3 days.  I have a ticket opened with support and have sent them logs and pictures.  Anyone have any ideas why this is happening?  Please help..

Thx
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: jloveka on April 03, 2018, 09:10:50 pm
I have been experiencing the same issue with all 3 of my almond 3 devices. They are placed in the open so no chance they are overheating. They come back to life after a power cycle but inevitably lock up again in a day or two. Considering dumping them but after sinking money into 3 of them it would be nice not to have to!!
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: punkorambo on April 04, 2018, 10:00:30 am
I had a similar problem where my A3 would be powered on but the screen didn't work and I couldn't access it through the app. Upon hard reboot my screen would freeze on a white screen. If I unplugged my device for 10 minutes and put power back in, it would boot normally and work for 2-4 weeks before the problem happened again.  It ended up being caused by overheating and my device was under warranty so I exchanged it. My device was out in the open and not enclosed in a cabinet or anywhere with low air flow.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Ashok on April 04, 2018, 12:44:58 pm
@ punkorambo, jloveka

Please do reach our support team at support@securifi.com and will get the units replaced.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: max_g on May 02, 2018, 04:33:29 pm
hadnt got this problem before upgrading to r24 but now i m starting to get these white screen lock ups.

the almond 3 router seems to work again after a powerdown and reboot but its a nightmare if the internet dies whilst we are out or away.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Flyby on June 04, 2018, 07:30:55 am
Checking in to see if there was any resolution on this, it just became an issue for me.  We had an area 5-10 sec power loss so I have been blaming this on powerline work but it's been too long.  Was blaming cable, but it's Almond, white screen - no data.  No physical/connection/location/setup changes.  Have to reboot and keep your fingers crossed.

If someone who knows could give me a heads up if this is a known-but-unresolved issue, it would be a big help.  I'd rather change it out now than a week from now.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Fire69 on June 08, 2018, 12:59:54 am
Just saw this topic!
Have the same issue, but had only looked in the beta-forum  ???
https://forum.securifi.com/index.php?topic=6093.msg30710

Glad I'm not alone in this.  Hope that mailing to support will get things sorted.  :)
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Rod on June 11, 2018, 07:38:10 pm
Same issue here, it happends more than 3 times a day, do anybody have an answer and/or resolution from customer service?
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: KelloggKid on July 21, 2018, 01:43:59 pm
I am having the exact same issue.  For the past 3-4 months my main A3 (the one acting as a router) drops the internet connection at least once a day.  About 70% of the time it also goes into the white screen of death mode.  I end up having to unplug it for about 10 minutes and rebooting.  We are on fiber with no modem.  The fiber line comes into the house on Cat5.  The fact that I can't keep the system up for more than 24 hours means I have no security system so if I can't figure this out pretty soon I'm going to throw my 3 A3's in the garbage and switch to something else.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: engr.jpc on July 23, 2018, 09:47:58 am
I am having this issue as well. For the past few weeks when the weather is hot my A3 is doing this. I had to unplug it for about 10 minutes to get it to work again. Plugging the power right away still giving me white screen which makes me think it's overheating,
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: KelloggKid on July 24, 2018, 11:57:39 am
It seems like:
     Many folks are experiencing the white screen of death
     There has been no response from Securifi on this issue
     The reports of this issue have been going on for quite some time now

I can only conclude that either Securifi has no idea what is going on or they recognize there is a basic design flaw for which there is no solution.  In any case because we rely on our wifi for security I have no choice but to go with a different vendor as I really need a system I can rely on.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Kinggovernator on July 24, 2018, 09:33:45 pm
I have said this before on here somewhere, that I have had this issue with my main A3 for a very long time now. The solution I found was sitting it on top of a set of mini cooling fans. It tends to lock up due to heat. The cooling fans stop it from doing this. The only down fall to this solution is that once the fans are off for no more than ten minutes it white screen.I have only had this issue w my main A3 surprisingly neither of my satellites have ever done this even tho one sits on a radiator which gets pretty warm in the winter.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: fillibar on July 25, 2018, 07:31:57 am
What about plugging one of those little USB fans into it, and have it blow right on it? That should be powered as long as the A3 is.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Kinggovernator on July 25, 2018, 09:28:20 am
Very well could! I got mine from amazon and there are 2 wired together that plug in an outlet. I had them on a peanut plug for a bit to turn them off and on but yea they need to stay on or else the white screen 😬
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: engr.jpc on August 11, 2018, 08:21:37 am
This issue is happening to one of my secondary S’s now. I’m positive that it happens when it is overheating. Rebooting it doesn’t fix the issue... need to wait at least 5 minutes to cool down. The one in the basement works fine because it’s not hot in there.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Dragon7606 on August 13, 2018, 05:26:44 pm
This happens to me during the warmer times of the year.  In winter nothing.  Once it starts getting hot.  Frequent white screen locks and no internet connection.  I have resorted to hooking a USB fan to the AC3 and blowing directly in the vent holes.  This has helped for most of this year so far.  Except for one day where it kept locking on me after a few minutes after reboot.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Ohiomedic on September 23, 2018, 10:52:12 pm
The past couple of weeks I’ve started having this issue. It seems to be happening about every three days. I’m thinking of jumping ship to a SmartThings hub and router. The last firmware update was in March. Also the seem to jump ship on a product as soon as they bring out a new one, same thing seemed to happen with the A+.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: grouter on October 21, 2018, 05:37:08 am
Same issue here with the primary unit locking up. I finally but the bullet and reset the devices and made a secondary the primary and it seems okay so far, though I have had loss of Internet response a few times. I left the old primary offline for now.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Flyby on October 31, 2018, 07:06:28 pm
Just bumping this topic.  I had the white screen lockup on the primary a while ago, worked with it a little but got better in it's own.  Now it is back with a vengeance, primary and one of the secondary's.  When it works speed is horrible and might only work for an hour or two.  I'm going to reset everything tomorrow and give it a day before putting in another router.

Would like to know if anyone has found a magic bullet.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Flyby on November 02, 2018, 06:12:15 am
Just an update for anyone that's following.

We recently dropped cable tv and are streaming.  Two of the three Almonds that are dropping out are ones that feed tvs, they would only drop out while watching tv.  The third Almond had no issues.  I pulled the Almonds and put in another router and, so far, no drops with the same usage pattern.

This sounds like a classic overload situation, Almonds aren't broken, they work after cooling down.  The longer I let them cool, the longer they last.  I'm going to hardwire the rest of the tvs but I think I'll leave the Almonds doing lighter duty in AP mode.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Ohiomedic on November 04, 2018, 02:23:24 pm
Just an update for anyone that's following.

We recently dropped cable tv and are streaming.  Two of the three Almonds that are dropping out are ones that feed tvs, they would only drop out while watching tv.  The third Almond had no issues.  I pulled the Almonds and put in another router and, so far, no drops with the same usage pattern.

This sounds like a classic overload situation, Almonds aren't broken, they work after cooling down.  The longer I let them cool, the longer they last.  I'm going to hardwire the rest of the tvs but I think I'll leave the Almonds doing lighter duty in AP mode.
I noticed the same thing, I had put my old AirPort Extreme back into service as my router and just used the almond for smart home functions. Ever since I did that I haven’t had one white screen lock up. Prior to that it would lock up even when I wasn’t home if my computer was doing any downloading while I was gone. All most all of devices that we’re connected at the times of lock up we’re all hardwired.

In my opinion I don’t know if it is really a heat issue, I think the almond just can’t handle sustained high data throughput. The few times it locked up when I was home the almond never felt hot to the touch I would nearly even classify it as warm.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: pabpoo on November 21, 2018, 06:57:24 pm
I replaced the main poly fuse with a bigger one.  No more lookups or white screens since then.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: joltdude on December 21, 2018, 10:29:24 am
Now that its winter I seem to be able to use the Almond 3.. Hasn't locked up in awhile... *knock on wood*
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: mparadis on December 31, 2018, 10:17:42 am
I replaced the main poly fuse with a bigger one.  No more lookups or white screens since then.

Have a write-up on that?
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: pasher on January 04, 2019, 10:36:49 am
Has anyone had any luck with Securifi Support actually solving this problem?
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: syshi on January 16, 2019, 09:30:59 pm
Happened to my main almond3 connected to fiber modem. Shipped the replacement unit at own cost back to Singapore. Resolved for awhile.
Now, started for all 3 almonds used. Tried to plug in usb fans for the 2 almond in my living room and hitched and it's been working well so far. Only the Almond which is in my bedroom still freeze daily and need to be reset as i can't add in usb fan which will be noisy and disturbing my sleep.
Really thinking of jumping ship and drop the Almond 3... Frustrated as have to keep resetting the bedroom unit every night when back home...
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: tvpccr on January 30, 2019, 10:42:17 am
Have a write-up on that?
I second that request.

Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: syshi on February 06, 2019, 11:43:09 pm
Have a write-up on that?

Looking for this also...  using PC fan to tap on the USB port of the individual Almond for the 2 out in common area. Only the one in main bedroom is not able to add fan as it'll be too noisy at night.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: punkorambo on February 08, 2019, 07:10:00 pm
Have now had this happen to three different A3s, the second that was my main router. I can quickly see myself getting tired of manually inputting all of the users and devices again.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on March 28, 2019, 02:34:23 am
I replaced the main poly fuse with a bigger one.  No more lookups or white screens since then.

Any details?
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen [SOLVED FOR ME]
Post by: tvpccr on April 01, 2019, 10:07:55 am
Its been summer where I live and my main router was in our upstairs which gets warmer than the rest of the house. This problem had been on going and annoying- I did the PC case fan to USB, and plugged it in to the USB port on the A3, placing the fan under. I have had 100% success. Not a single white screen or lock up since, and we are going on 2 months.

I used this as the guide:
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Convert-A-Case-Fan-To-USB/

I have one other A3 downstairs that is next to a PS4 and ChromeBox that does this once in a blue moon- It was such a simple solution that I am probably going to put another one there. 
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: punkorambo on April 08, 2019, 07:29:05 pm
I replaced the main poly fuse with a bigger one.  No more lookups or white screens since then.

@pabpoo. Any details on this would be great. Had a hot day today and my main A3 locked up twice three times so far.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on April 09, 2019, 02:41:42 am
First warm day of Spring and my Almond 3 also went 'white screen of death'; Summer is going to be MUCH hotter.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on April 11, 2019, 02:15:16 pm
Here is a picture of the fuse in question.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: punkorambo on April 11, 2019, 04:37:48 pm
Could you please take a picture of what it looks like after your replaced the fuse?
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on April 11, 2019, 04:48:33 pm
Even though I have some PTC fuses on the way, I have decided for now to just short across the fuse on the board.

I am now running with the fuse bridged and await the Summer to see if the Almond 3 can now take the heat.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on April 15, 2019, 09:47:09 pm
Room again reached 73F, white screen of death with the PTC fuse bridged; so it is not the fuse.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: punkorambo on April 16, 2019, 10:38:10 am
I decided to start with the easy USB fan approach. I have it plugged right into the A3 and blowing on it. So far so good.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen [SOLVED]
Post by: anwar.shiekh on April 16, 2019, 10:42:16 pm
Got the solution from Securifi, a bad capacitor (0805, X5R, 10μF, 6.3V) see attached picture for placement (need to login to see it); the problem is that the capacitor is just 2 mm long and so quite challenging to replace. The 'white screen of death' seems related to the hot boot problem whereby the unit needs to cool down before it starts to reboot and the delay can be as long as 5 minutes.

After replacing the capacitor the reboot delay is gone and so far no 'white screen of death'

I recommend against trying this repair and take no responsibility for work gone wrong.

The hot boot delay is the fastest way to test to see if there is an issue; get up to heat (wait half an hour), disconnect and reconnect, the boot process should start right away.


P.S. Had a repaired black Almond 3 unit in direct sunlight and running very hot; no white screen.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on July 02, 2019, 10:40:24 am
Found a practice kit on ebay for those who might want to do the repair themselves (login to see the picture)

The 0805 size means .08" x .05" (2012 metric: 2mm x 1.2mm)
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: joltdude on July 14, 2019, 08:47:52 pm
Iv actually shelved my Almond 3 units due to this issue..  Though that SMD component.... Eugh.. I got tired of them white screening or rebooting on me...  if this would fix it.... Need to find someone who can do the board level repair for me..

-J
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on July 14, 2019, 09:10:22 pm
It is finally hot out here and not one crash; the fix is a good one.

You just need to find someone local who is good with a soldering iron; be sure not to cheap out when getting the replacement capacitor.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: Cali9dub on July 27, 2019, 01:24:52 pm
Just curious where you got the capacitor?  All I see is 10 packs (at the least)
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on July 28, 2019, 08:57:37 am
I got a 25 pack on ebay for $7.70 with postage; was happy to get Panasonic and not generic.

I used a low temperature solder alloy (based on bismuth) to help with removal, copper braid with lots of flux (Kester 186) to clean up the pads and leaded solder for the new component to keep installation temperatures down; then a cleanup with isopropyl alcohol to make it look clean as if no work had been done at all. It helps to have a small magnifying glass to check the work.

This is not for everyone, and I don't intend to do any more (have fixed four so far).
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: litzdog911 on January 15, 2020, 10:19:35 pm
Anwar,

Two of my three Almond 3's have this white screen issue, so I was happy to find your fix. I have no problem replacing that surface mount capacitor. But what exactly did you replace it with?  Did you use a larger non-surface mount cap, or simply replace this with the same 10uF@6.3V value surface mount cap?

And now several months later are you still convinced that this is a permanent fix?

Thanks again!

Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on January 17, 2020, 10:59:07 pm
I used an exact replacement (one can't even tell they have been repaired) and they no longer crash, no matter how hot it gets; it is indeed a permanent fix. I remain indebted to Securifi for telling me the solution; once repaired they are delightful units.

Now it might be argued that the original problem took time to show itself and that the same might be true for the replacements, but so far all is well.

One (black) unit was left in the Sun and was almost too hot to touch, but it just kept on working as if it didn't have a worry in the world.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on April 17, 2020, 04:45:12 pm
I think I may have found a mail-in place that might do this work

http://northridgefix.com/about-us/

They gave an estimate of $50
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on July 31, 2021, 11:34:55 am
It's been over 2 years now since replacing the capacitor and the one unit I have had running shows no issues and the room can get quite hot in the Summer. Problem now is that the firmware is over 3 years old.
Title: Re: Almond 3 locks up with blank white screen
Post by: anwar.shiekh on April 05, 2022, 08:37:49 pm
3 years now, and while I only run 1 of the 4 repaired units 24/7 it has not crashed even once, and the room is not air conditioned.