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How do I troubleshoot Controllers and Smart Readers?

Owned by Mihai Peteu (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Sept 16, 2024 by Chad Fay
2 min read

If your Avigilon Alta Controllers or Smart Readers experience issues, there are a few troubleshooting actions you can perform from Alta Access. 

To troubleshoot a Controller:

  1. Go to https://control.openpath.com/login and log in. To access the European Alta Access, please go to https://control.eu.openpath.com/login.

  2. Go to Dashboards, on the right-hand side of the page you will see a drop-down, choose Device. From the Device Dashboard, locate the Controller Status table.

  3. From here, locate the Controller you want to troubleshoot and go to the Remote Diagnostics column.

    • Identify: Identify a Controller to verify that the physical wiring matches the Alta Access configuration. Clicking this will cause the Status LED on the Controller to flash green. 

    • Refresh: Refresh a Controller to send the latest data from the physical device to Alta Access.

    • The Restart functions will restart individual software services on the Controller:

      • Restart API Server: The core application that processes authorization, authentication, and execution of unlock requests. Restart this service if you’re having issues with the mobile app, such as unlock requests not working.

      • Restart Cloud Communicator: The service that receives live messages from the cloud, including Entry-related configuration changes, User permissions changes, and cloud-based unlock requests. Restart this service if changes (new credentials, new schedules) made on Alta Access aren’t syncing with the Controllers or if you’re experiencing issues with remote unlock requests. 

      • Restart Hardware Communicator: The service that sends and receives data between the Controller and peripheral hardware. Restart this service if you’re experiencing issues with readers or expansion boards.

    • Mute: Muting a Controller changes its status icon to gray on the Hardware Dashboard. It will not affect any alerts or rules regarding the Controller, and it will only appear as muted on your browser. This feature is primarily intended to mute known offline Controllers or test equipment. 

Note: Restarting a service may interrupt the affected service for up to 60 seconds. We recommend restarting services one at a time, waiting a few seconds after restarting one before restarting the next.

To troubleshoot a Smart Reader:

  1. From the Controller Status table, click on the row of the Controller connected to the reader you want to troubleshoot.

  2. In the Reader Status table, go to the Remote Diagnostics column.

    • Identify: Identify a reader to verify that the physical wiring matches the Alta Access configuration. Clicking this will cause the following:  

      • the reader’s outer ring LED will light up.

      • the reader’s center dot will light up green.

      • the reader’s buzzer will beep several times.

    • Restart: Restart a reader to force a reboot. This will interrupt services provided by the reader for up to 60 seconds.

    • Mute: Muting a Reader changes its status icon to gray on the Hardware Dashboard. It will not affect any alerts or rules regarding the Reader, and it will only appear as muted on your browser.