Gateway does not come online

After linking, a gateway shows Pending in Gateways and in the header of the gateway page. As soon as the portal receives the first message from the gateway, the status changes to Online. The quickest check is whether the serial number in the portal matches the number on the gateway.

If the gateway was Online before and now shows Offline, see Gateway is offline.

The gateway stays on Pending

The portal has never received a message from this gateway. No offline alert fires either, because that alert only fires for a gateway that was online first. Work through the causes in this order.

The gateway is still starting up

After power-on, the gateway needs 2 to 3 minutes to start. If you link it while it is already on, it becomes Online with its next message. No Modbus device needs to be connected to the gateway yet, because the gateway reports in without one. Wait 5 minutes after switching on or linking before you look further.

The serial number in the portal is wrong

After a typing error, the portal has linked a different number and waits for a gateway that never sends anything. The linked serial number is shown on the gateway page under the name. Compare it with the serial number on the back of the gateway.

If it does not match, decommission the gateway and add it again with the correct number, as described in Add a gateway. Only the owner of the organisation can decommission a gateway.

The gateway has no power

The voltage on the power terminal of the gateway must be between 9 and 57 V DC. Measure it with a multimeter and check that plus and minus are connected the right way round. How to connect the power supply is described in Mount the gateway and connect the power supply.

The gateway has no internet over the cable and no 4G

The gateway sends over the cable in the WAN port. If no cable is connected, or that network has no internet, the backup SIM takes over. Without a working cable, the gateway therefore stays on Pending if 4G does not work either.

The cable to the network belongs in the WAN port, where the gateway requests an IP address by DHCP. The LAN port is for a Modbus TCP device that you connect directly to the gateway. The gateway gets no internet through that port. Which port is used for what is described in Connect to the network via WAN and LAN.

The backup SIM is inside the gateway, and ModbusCloud activates it before shipping. Do check that every supplied 4G antenna is attached to the gateway. If the gateway is in a metal cabinet, place the antenna outside the cabinet, because metal blocks the signal. More about 4G is in 4G and the backup SIM.

The network blocks port 8883 or DNS

A network can give the gateway internet and still block its messages. The gateway sends its data by MQTT over TLS to port 8883 and opens that connection outwards by itself. It looks up the address of the server through DNS. A firewall that only lets web traffic through, or that blocks DNS requests from the gateway, stops its messages.

To test whether the network is the cause, let the gateway send over 4G only. This works only if there is 4G reception at that location. For the last two steps you need the role owner, admin or technician.

1. Unplug the cable

   Remove the network cable from the WAN port. The gateway now sends over 4G.

2. Wait for the status

   Wait 5 minutes. If the gateway then shows Online in Gateways, the network is blocking it.

3. Have the network changed

   Ask the IT department to allow outgoing TCP traffic to port 8883 and DNS requests from the gateway.

4. Plug the cable back in

   Plug the cable back into the WAN port.

5. Open the gateway

   In Gateways, click the gateway.

6. Open the settings

   Click the pencil at the top right of the header (Gateway settings).

7. Check the connection

   Reload the page until, in the Uitlezen via de SIM (readings via the SIM) block, Verstuurt nu via (sends now via) shows the value Kabel (cable). The gateway then sends over the local network again.

If it stays on SIM, the gateway is not yet sending over the local network. Port forwarding and a fixed IP address are not needed. All requirements for the IT department are in Network requirements for the gateway.

Contact support

If the gateway stays on Pending, contact us through the support page. Send the serial number, a photo of the connections and the time at which you switched the gateway on. Also say whether a cable is connected to the WAN port and what you have already checked. What else helps support is described in Get help.