My Inverter is Offline - TonyM1958/FoxESS-Cloud GitHub Wiki

If your app shows this, your inverter is offline (the data logger is unable to connect to the Fox ESS cloud):



While this could be a general cloud problem (affecting everyone), this is quite rare and quickly gets posted about on the FB group. Check the group as it is unlikely you will be the first to notice this.

Most of the time, it's a local connection problem however.

The data logger (also called a dongle or WiFi dongle) has a red flashing light and a green flashing light. When it's working, the red light flashes once a second and the green light flashes around every 10 seconds.

If the red light is flashing fast, the data logger has lost it's connection to the internet.

First, check your internet connection and router are working normally. Some people reset the router. Often, the connection is working but the data logger is unable to connect.

If your data logger is plugged in (not integrated or WL), then one option is to unplug the data logger from the inverter and then plug it back in again. This resets the data logger. The red light flashes fast for a few seconds and then (hopefully) settles down and flashes once per second. After 5 minutes, refresh the home page in the app and you should be back on line.

If this doesn't work, your data logger may have lost the WiFi password. With recent data loggers, you can reset the password via the app by going to Me, WLAN Configuration. You need to be next to the inverter as your phone will connect to the data logger over BlueTooth.

There is a rumour (not confirmed by Fox) that the Fox app v2.2.2 may corrupt the WiFi password but you may only notice this when the data logger needs to reconnect. Make sure you update to app v2.2.3 or later

If your data logger is integrated and you have tried to reset the password and it's still not working, you may need to do a full system restart. There is a video guide here

If you keep loosing your connection, it may be due to poor WiFi signal. Symptoms of this can the inverter showing as offline from time to time but, more commonly, timeouts when trying to change settings on your inverter. This is because changing settings requires real time 2 way communication between the Fox cloud and inverter, while updating power values every 5 minutes can recover from temporary connection loss.

The data logger connects using the licence free 2.4GHz band. Unfortunately, this means it is also used by other devices in your house, including microwave ovens, security systems, your neighbours WiFi, Bluetooth devices etc. The signal range is also limited and can be blocked by various household items, such as water cylinders, foil backed platerboard or metal appliances (including your inverter and batteries). Look at what devices you have and the path between your router and inverter: how direct is it and what lies between them.

You may need to look at adding a signal booster and creating a WiFi name (SSID) specifically for your inverter. If you have a WL model inverter (with integrated data logger), check that the antenna is attached to the inverter as you won't get a reliable connection without this.

If you still get connection problems, you may need to look at other options, such as swapping to a data logger with a wired connection instead of WiFi.

Another thing to investigate may be the router you are using. Most routers will happily run 24 x 7 but a few (such as Amazon Eero) have automatic software updates that cannot be turned off. This can cause the router to reboot unexpectedly and the data logger is unable to reconnect.

If your inverter is online but the values are not changing, check the power flow charts (Daily Production >).



If the power values are static (flat lines from 8pm here) and only the battery SoC is changing, then the inverter reporting process has crashed and is not updating the power values sent to the app.

You may also see the values are frozen in Home Assistant as the Modbus registers won't be updating.

You will need to do a full reboot to get it working again as described here.

This problem seems to be related to Mode Scheduler as it does not happen when Mode Scheduler is disabled. Contact your installer or Fox and make sure your inverter firmware is up to date.

You may also see the battery in the app but it's showing in Standby.

Go look at the battery and see if there are any lights on. You may just need to turn it back on.

Fox has been updating firmware and it seems the battery may decide it has been disconnected and shuts down to reduce power. When the inverter reboots after the update, it can't see the battery so carries on without one and doesn't flag an error (it used to error on gen 1 inverters but gen 2 inverters now just assume there isn't a battery and go into solar mode if they don't find one during POST).

If your inverter shows Off Mode after rebooting, you need to start your inverter. On most models, there is a shortcut, holding down the Enter button until the screen prompts Start? but on other models, you will need to go into the Menus and find the Start option.

After you run the Start command, the inverter should then show 'Waiting...', followed by a 60 second count down and then go to 'Checking...'. After some clicking (relays engaging), the screen should show 'Normal' with the output power and the battery SoC. If you see this, the inverter has started successfully.

In some cases, the inverter may return to 'Waiting...' after 'Checking...' and keep cycling. If this happens, try this:

• Stop the inverter (by holding the Enter key or using the menus)
• Turn off the DC panel isolator (black switch at the left hand side or bottom of the inverter)
• Start the inverter again
• When it has started, turn the DC panel isolator back on again

It's not clear why this problem occurs but it appears to happen more often when it's dark and the PV inputs are below the MPPT start up voltage. The inverter may be checking the MPPT but not getting the result it wants. Turning off the panels may allow it to bypass this check.