Order placed with ebay seller floralivings
for a PanTech model PT-WH2950 weather station.
Notified that my purchase was ready for pickup from BigW, Cessnock.
Collected the weather station.
After struggling with the recommended WS
Tool app, I messaged the vendor:
I can't see my
device in the WSTool software. It shows up in my router's DHCP list as
"Client Name: ESP_2054A2" and has a valid IP address.
What can I do?
Is there PC software that will work with this model?
Vendor responded:
Thank you for
contacting Floralivings.
If possible could you kindly send us some screenshots of how you operate
on your device? Our technician will have a check and get back to you
asap.
Please ensure your mobile device connects to the router at frequency
band 2.4ghz, not 5ghz and then you can connect the console to the router
with WS TOOL on your device. The easiest way is to turn off the 5ghz
because the console cannot connect with 5ghz. According to our
experience, the IOS system is better to operate. Once your console
connected to your router, you don't need WS TOOL anymore.
And we are sorry there is no PC software.
Please kindly advise us if it works.
From me:
Thanks for that.
I found another app "WSView"
that could see my console. It successfully updated the device with
weather underground and weathercloud details, but the sites still aren't
updating.
I'm really not all that interested in uploading data to the web. If you
can recommend Linux or Windows software that will allow me to access the
console from my PC and download data from it, then I'll be happy.
From vendor:
Thanks for your
info. Very glad to see your console successfully connected to the
router.
Could you kindly advise us your ID on the Weather Underground? Our
technician will take a look at the website.
Once your weather station starts to upload data to the websites, you can
download the data from the Weather Underground or other websites we
mentioned in the product description. But very sorry that we do not have
Linux or Windows software because it is a cloud-based weather station.
Thanks for your understanding.
My reply:
Thanks for the
prompt response. My Weather Underground Station ID is INEWSOUT████.
Vendor's response:
Thanks for your
info and very sorry for the delay our staff did not work during the
weekend.
Our technician has checked your ID on the WU and noticed your weather
station is not updating.
The regular procedure is to register your device in WS TOOL, when you
get the username and password, fill in the info and select the WU on the
other page. Please kindly advise us if you have done all the steps and
also your device system since the Android and IOS system are different
to operate.
If possible, please provide the screenshots of the register page and
'fill in the info' page. That could help us identify your problem.
My reply:
The WS Tools app
doesn't show my device (screen shot
attached). I've managed to get the console attached to my network and
input Weather Underground registration through the WS VIew app (screen
shots attached).
The console is displaying data from the sensor unit, so the wireless
connection between the units is operating satisfactorily.
Network diagnostics show a solid connection from the console. A port
scan shows all ports closed, except 45000 (screen
shot attached).
Which username and password do you think might be not correct?
Response from vendor:
Many thanks for
your info and sorry for the delay we have been waiting for Pantech
technician's reply.
Pantech technician has checked your screenshots and could you kindly
help us confirm whether you click the ‘save’ in the attached
photo after you fill in the ID and password? Pantech technician
said that have to click 'save' and go to the next step.
Sometimes our customer would register on the website and fill in ID and
password of the website on the phone page, it would not work. So we have
to rule out this kind of case first.
Please kindly have one more try and check if it works.
My reply:
Yes, I've always
pressed the "Save" button. I've also consistently received a "Success"
message.
To make doubly certain, I sourced a new Android device. As before, WS
Tool showed nothing. WS View showed my device. Surprisingly, it also
showed the Station ID and Station Key without needing me to fill in the
details. Just to be sure, I pressed "Save" again and got "Success"
again.
I really just want to log data from the sensor unit. Can you supply a
simple 433MHz USB receiver/logger? I can probably build one, but I'd
need signal and data encoding specifications.
Vendor's response:
Thanks for your
info.
1 I really just want to log data from the sensor unit. Can you supply a
simple 433MHz USB receiver/logger? I can probably build one, but I'd
need signal and data encoding specifications.
We are very sorry but we do not have USB receiver or logger and we can
not get data encoding specifications from Pantech.
2 For the first problem, both our technician and Pantech technician are
confused after they checked your description and screenshots. But since
your device is connected to the router, we think it is not very
difficult to solve the problem.
Would you kindly send us a video of the whole process of how you try to
connect the console to the WU on the phone and the info of the setting
and device list since we may miss some info in the writings, video, on
the other hand, will show more details? Please kindly send the video to
our email address as the attached pic shows.
Many thanks for your understanding and sorry for the inconvenience
caused.
My reply:
I couldn't
figure out how to attach a video in ebay's system, so I sent it via
email. I hope that works.
Email from Flora Livings Customer Service Team:
Thank you for
your reply but we are sorry we checked all emails and the video is not
received. Please kindly reply this email and attach the video.
Also we have a similar case recently and works out by following the
steps below, could you kindly have a try in the WS VIEW?
Please kindly follow the steps:
1 choose Your Device in the setting ( as the attached 1st
pic shows)
2 choose your device in the list (2nd
screenshot)
3 press Check Firmware and OK for update(3rd
screenshot). Then enter your ID and password and press Save.
If it not work, please kindly send us the video and both our technician
and Pantech technician will have a check.
My reply:
I've uploaded
the video to Google Drive. You should be able to access it at:
[I've deleted the video. It revealed a bit too much private
information]
The Android app doesn't show a "Check Firmware" option. The first time I
ran the app, I did upgrade the firmware to version 1.2.2 though.
Vendor's response:
Many thanks for
your video. Both our technician and Pantech technician are confused at
this stage since your steps seem correct and the firmware is the latest
one and they would like to see more video after you press "save". Please
kindly send us another video for them to check.
And once again please kindly help us confirm if you click the Register
in the app( please kindly check the attached
pic) and get the ID and password.
Many thanks for all the effort to take the video and offer us all the
info. And very sorry for the inconvenience caused.
My reply:
Now I'm
confused. There's no screen like your picture in the Android app. What
exactly am I supposed to register and with whom? My device is already
registered with Weather Underground.
From here, it looks like you have a choice:
- replace the hardware or;
- refund the purchase price.
Vendor's response:
Thank you for
contacting Floralivings. We have double checked with Pantech technician.
Please kindly help us have a try to follow the steps from page 33-38 of
the latest manual.
We will also send you the manual to your email address for your
reference. And the screenshots on the manual is the Android system,
please kindly have a check.
Pantech technician told us usually they do not suggest customers follow
these steps since they are complicated, but it is easier to connect to
WIFI.
Since your console has connected to your router, we assume the
[message ends there]
My reply:
I've done my
best. The menu options are not as shown on pages 35 & 37.
Screenshot
EasyWeather-WiFi connected successfully.
Screenshot
In the absence of "Provisioning Your Device", I used "Configure Device".
It's still not reporting.
The only anomaly I can see is that the WiFi indicator on the console is
pulsing, about once per second. The instructions indicate that it should
be solid.
Video
Vendor's response:
Thank you for
all the efforts and very sorry for the delay.
We have forwarded all the info to Pantech technician and are waiting for
their reply.
Since we have done almost everything to try to connect to WU and all
failed, and if you do not mind, could you please kindly allow us to use
your ID and password and try on our device? It will also help us to find
out if your hardware is faulty or not. We will also take a video of the
whole process and send to you for a check, maybe you will find out there
may be something missed in your operation.
Please kindly help us to try.
Many thanks for your understanding and patience.
My reply:
Comments on
Weather Underground indicate that others with similar weather stations
have been having problems getting them to report to the site:
http://disq.us/p/1tfx6xu
So I tried weathercloud again. The first thing I noticed was that the ID
and key, which I'd already input, weren't recorded in the console. That
seems to be fixed now. Sadly, it still isn't reporting.
By all means, try my details on your device. If it works, at least it
makes a hardware fault on mine more likely.
Vendor's response:
Thank you for
your reply. We have checked all our messages, we can only find your WU
ID but the password is covered.
Please kindly send us the WU ID and password in a screenshot.
As soon as we receive it, we will ask our technician to have a test and
take a video.
Many thanks for your cooperation and patience.
My reply:
Attached is a
grab from the Weather Underground web site. It's clearer than anything I
get from Android.
I've tried Weathercloud:
ID. ████████████████
and WOW:
Site ID. ████████-████-████-████-████████████
Neither seems to be working.
I've also tried software that should reportedly access the device from
my Windows PC. Cumulus doesn't receive data, though I've given it the IP
address. EasyWeatherIP doesn't even see the device on my network.
I won't be publishing the screen grab.
Vendor's response:
Very sorry for
the late reply.
Our technician has been testing the weather station with your ID and
took a video of how to connect to the WU for your reference.
We will send you the Youtube link tomorrow or day after tomorrow.
Please kindly have a check then. Again sorry for the delay.
Follow-up message from vendor:
We are very
sorry for the late reply. It took our technician time to take the
videos.
1 Please kindly check the youtube link and operate as the video shows.
The app on IOS and Android are similar.
Part 1. Register your PanTech PWS on Weather Underground
https://youtu.be/cwil62v4VRc
Part 2. Connect your PWS console to router and link to WU
https://youtu.be/z5MOnTplw6s
Part 3. Check your PanTech weather data from WS View from Weather
Underground
https://youtu.be/9b07GaI0kj8
2 Please have a try to log in the WU with our ID and password.
Weather Station ID: IVCTM█████
Password: ████████
Please kindly note the upper and lower case letter are sensitive, please
also check with your password when you enter it.
We will wait for your update and forward you info to both our technician
and Pantech technician and get back to you asap.
The videos proved hard to follow, but I did my best.
My reply:
I followed the
videos as best I could. The process seems identical to what I've done
many times before. The outcome was also identical.
Using your ID and password proved no better.
I provided a screenshot, which I will not publish.
Vendor's response:
Thank you for
your effort to try and sorry for the late reply we have been working on
the videos.
Please have one last try with our new ID and password since our staff
accidentally delete the one you used last time. So it did not work.
ID: IVCTM█████
Password: ████████
And please follow the steps in the youtube link below.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7R30WUJgwvMvDbJ4HDL-2aDx1xuPqrpj
If it does not work this time, then please kindly send the console back
to us for a check, if our technician believes it is faulty, we will
cover all the cost that occur including the postage. But if our
technician successfully update the data to the WU, then the postage we
send to you would occur. We will provide you with a video to prove.
Again we are very sorry since it has been a pretty long time for this
case.
My reply:
If anything,
this is getting worse. It's taking too much of my time. I want a refund.
I managed to register my device (yet again) through the WS View app.
Sadly, all else failed.
I provided video evidence, which I won't publish, but here's a
frame grab:
Something similar happened when I tried your Id: IVCTM█████.
On the plus side, the new videos are far clearer than your first effort.
Follow-up:
I've just tried
again, with the original details:-
Station ID: INEWSOU██████
Key/Password: ████████
I got the "Connected fail" message.
This was working. It looks like the WS View app has made a complete
mess.
Your only option now is a refund.
Vendor's response:
Thank you for
your info and sorry for the late reply, I am on an overseas trip having
limited access to the internet. Again we are very grateful since you
have done many efforts to try to solve the problem.
Please send the whole item back to us and our technician will have a
check first if it is faulty or not.
And to clarify in the first place, there would be 2 possible situations
after their check.
1 The item is faulty. Then we will issue you a full refund asap.
2 The item is not faulty. Our technician will take a video of how they
operate on your item for your reference. Then there would be some cost
occur.
1) if you still want the item, please transfer $12 postage for us to
send it back to you and $12(return label).
2) if you do not want the item, then $12 postage( we sent to you on
16/5)+$12(return label) +20-30% of the original price for the
depreciation expenses of the outdoor unit
Please kindly have a check and advise if you agree with the condition or
not. If you agree, we will send you a return label.
Again many thanks for your understanding and patience, and sorry for the
inconvenience caused.
My reply:
Sorry for the
late response.
Given that the best I can hope for is to be able to do something that
I'm not interested in doing (upload data to the cloud), I don't see any
sense in spending more money. If you want to examine the unit, I'm
willing to send it back, at your expense, after I've received a
replacement.
I've begun to recount my experiences and review the weather station
here:
http://david.boxall.id.au/201808/
Vendor's response:
Again we are
very thankful for your cooperation and all the time you spent to try to
help us identify the problem, your understanding and patience during the
2 months.
And to clarify in the first place, there would be 2 possible situations
after their check.
1 The item is faulty, of any functions. Then we will issue you a full
refund or send you a replacement on your request.
2 The item is not faulty. Our technician will take a video of how they
operate on your item for your reference. Then there would be some cost
occur. ( we have listed the details in the last message.)
Please kindly confirm you can accept the conditions and we will send you
a return label asap.
Again sorry for the inconvenience caused.
My reply:
As documented at
the link I sent earlier, I've decided to give up on getting the console
to connect to "the cloud". Instead, I'll concentrate on logging data
directly from the outdoor sensor array. You've said that you can't help
with that:
http://david.boxall.id.au/201808/timeline.html#0615b
but any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
I'm no longer pursuing a refund but it does seem that the console is
defective. The fact that only a high-range non-standard port is open
strongly indicates a fault:
http://david.boxall.id.au/201808/images/nmap1.jpg
From my research, it seems these devices commonly communicate on port
80, which is not open on the console. That would prevent it accessing
the "cloud". As I said, if you want to check the console, then I'm
prepared to send it back at your expense, provided you first send me a
replacement.
Vendor's response:
Our technician
came up with a new idea after they checked your message. Could you
please advise your router's model No.? We have a case before, one of our
customers also had an issue of connecting to WU and finally found out
that it is his router, one of the ASUS high-end series, prevented
uploading the data to the Internet.
Please kindly check and advise.
My reply:
There are two
routers in the network path. The wireless access point is a TP-Link
Archer C7 https://www.tp-link.com/au/products/details/cat-9_Archer-C7.html
and the gateway is a D-Link DIR-850L https://www.dlink.com.au/home-solutions/DIR-850L-dir-850l-wireless-ac1200-dual-band-gigabit-cloud-router
Vendor's response:
Thanks for your
info. And sorry for the delay, our technicians have an overall look upon
our messages.
Could you please advise which router directly connects to the broadband?
And does the console directly connect to the router which directly
connects to the broadband? If possible, please confirm if the routers
have the security function or not.
We assume it is the time for us to check the console ourselves and
identify if the console is faulty or not. Please kindly understand the
questions and test we ask you to do, just want to save your time. And we
are also surprised that all the steps failed.
As we mentioned before and it is the best we can do. We can send you a
return label and please send the console back. If the console is faulty,
we will organise a new console to you asap.
If the item is not faulty. Our technician will take a video of how they
operate on your item for your reference. Then there would be some cost
occur, including the return label($12) and the postage($12) we send back
to you.
Please kindly check and advise your thoughts. And again we are very
grateful for your time and effort during our communication.
My reply:
The term
"gateway" refers to a device that joins two networks. In this case, my
home network and the National Boradband Network (NBN).
https://www.lifewire.com/definition-of-gateway-817891
The "wireless access point" allows wireless access to a wired network.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_access_point
In the past, I've built my own gateway hardware. NBN fixed wireless
proved incompatible with the network interface that I had useed, so I
swapped in the old D-Link. The D-Link has interfaces which work better
with the NBN.
As the TP-Link provides DHCP services and wireless access for my
network, both are turned off in the D-Link. While trying to get the
console working, I've turned off all security functions on both routers.
The network path is:
Console <WiFi> TP-Link <wired ethernet> D-Link <wired
ethernet> NBN Fixed Wireless NTD <NBN fixed wireless> local
tower <NBN microwave> remote tower <NBN optical fibre>
Internet (via my ISP).
Details of the NBN setup can be found here:
https://www.internode.on.net/pdf/products/nbn/nbn-wireless-users-guide.pdf
and
https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/documents/network-design-rules.pdf
If you want to check for faults in my hardware, I'm quite willing to
send the console back at your expense, provided you first supply a
replacement. If the hardware is not faulty, then the problem is with the
design.
Vendor's response:
Many thanks for
so many details.
Unfortunately according to our store policy and our standard procedure
to handle the case（reported within 30 days）
, we cannot supply a replacement first, the best we can do is to send
you a return label for you to send back the console and prioritize your
case, we will ask our technician to check asap once they receive your
console and take a video record. We will test the console in 2 different
places, one is the Telstra NBN in our office and the other is with
Telstra cable.
As we mentioned to you before:
1 If the item is faulty. Then we will send you a console replacement
asap.
2 If the item is not faulty. Our technician will take a video of how
they operate on your item for your reference. Then we would charge $12(a
return label)+$12(the postage we send back to you).
If you can accept the conditions, we will send you the return label asap
and find out if there is any problem or not.
Please kindly understand and advise your thoughts.
My reply:
My principles
remain unchanged. If you want to find out whether the issue springs from
faults in the design of the product or whether there's a problem with
the unit supplied to me, then you will need to change your policy.
Meanwhile, I will continue logging events on the public record:
http://david.boxall.id.au/201808/timeline.html#0829a
Vendor's response:
Thank you for
contacting Floralivings.
Please kindly understand changing store policy is a slow process would
take a long time.
And we need to handle your case with the current store policy since your
purchase from our store means you accept our current store policy.
Please kindly understand as a customer service, I am very thankful for
all your efforts, cooperation and patience during our communication even
though it did not go very smooth but I also need to follow the policy to
handle the case.
Please kindly have a check and consider our option.
Thanks and have a nice day.
____________
Kindest Regards,
Emma
4-9-2018
Flora Livings Customer Service Team
My reply:
Noted and
logged:
http://david.boxall.id.au/201808/timeline.html#0904a
If the case has progressed beyond your authority, then perhaps you need
to hand it off to someone with more authority, Emma.
Vendor's response:
The options we
offered before was approved by our manager. And we double check with our
manager today. We think the key point of this case is to confirm if the
console is faulty or not. So we can send you a replacement console on
your request, but please kindly understand we need $95 as the earnest
money.
1 if our technician tests the console and believes it is faulty, you can
keep the new console and we will refund the earnest money.
2 please also consider there is a chance that the console is not faulty,
our technician will take a video of the whole process form unpacking to
testing as an evidence for you. Then there are much unnecessary cost for
you to pay for.
$12 return label we send to you
$12 postage we send your console back to you
$12 postage we send you the replacement console
$20-25 postage you send the replacement back to us
Approx $60 unnecessary cost would occur that waste your time and money.
So please kindly re-consider the options we offered before, it will save
much money and time for you and we will try our best to solve the
problem.
My reply:
I have no
intention of sending any more money. In the absence of countervailing
evidence, I conclude that the product is not fit for purpose. You might
find some incompatibility with Australia's fixed-wireless National
Broadband Network.
http://david.boxall.id.au/201808/
Vendor's response:
We still suggest
that you can send the console back to us for a check when our offer is
still effective until 30/9. After that, if there is any problem with the
weather station, we will handle it as a standard warranty case. If the
outdoor unit or console needs to be returned and fixed, we can only
cover the postage after we fix and dispatch.
My reply:
As I've said
repeatedly, I'll send back anything you want, at your expense and
provided you first send a replacement.
|
|
 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. |
Feedback: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
