Your HM-5 will give you many years of enjoyment and beehive insight. However, sometimes technology likes to mess with us.
Here are a few suggestions if your HM-5 is not working as expected:
Symptom | Possible causes | Try this |
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We just bought a new HM-5 and we read it with our smartphone with different weights on it but it always reads the same with no visible change. | It is likely that the HM-5 is working as designed. | The monitor is designed to take a weight reading only every hour, on the hour. Adding different weights and then immediately taking a reading will not change anything visible on the monitor list on the smartphone. As designed, the monitor will record hourly weight readings on the hour so you can add a weight and then wait to pass an hour threshold before reading again. That new weight will now be recorded in memory. When using an Android, it is possible to use the Live Data function to take instantaneous weight measurements. They will, however, not be recorded in data storage. Recorded weight readings are only done automatically on an hourly basis, on the hour. |
The weight graph has suddenly dropped to zero or near zero but the temperature curve is accurate. | The hive monitor was inadvertently tared (zeroed) with the hive still on it. | Need to remove the hive and tare the hive monitor again without the hive (or anything else) on it. Once zeroed, place the hive back onto the hive monitor. Note that the HM-5 can only be tared with an Android smartphone. |
The HM-5 cannot be read with the smartphone. | 1.) You may not be positioning your smartphone correctly for a good NFC read. 2.) On the iPhone B-Ware app only, your Flomio setting might be set to ON. 3.) The battery may have popped out of the battery holder in transportation. 4.) The battery may be depleted. 5.) The unit may need to be restarted. 6.) The unit may be defective. | 1.) Make sure that you are positioning your phone correctly. The top edge of the iPhone has to be touching the electronic module. The back side of the Android must be placed up against the electronic module. See the videos in this knowledge base that show the correct positioning of the iPhone and Android smartphones. 2.) Turn the Flomio setting to OFF if not using the Flomio device (very, very few people are using the Flomio therefore the setting should be set to OFF for almost everyone). 3.) First, make sure that the battery is placed in the battery holder in the correct orientation. The monitor will stop recording hourly weight measurements if the battery has popped out of the holder even once. In order to get the unit recording again, you must use an Android in order to kickstart the unit by taking one reading. This also sets the clock. After this step it will be possible to read the monitor with an Android or an iPhone. 4.) Purchase a new battery from an online store and install it in the hive monitor. The HM-5 battery is an EVE ER 14250 battery. Learn more here. 5.) To restart the HM-5 an Android with the Android B-Ware version is required. There are two ways to restart the HM-5. One simulates a battery removal and insertion. The other resets the unit to factory defaults. These are explained here. 6.) Return the hive monitor to Solutionbee for service. |
I installed the hive monitor but it is not registering any weight no matter how much weight I put on it. | The hive monitor was installed upside down. | Remove anything on the hive monitor and install it right side up. |
The upper and lower frames are not well aligned. | The screws holding the frames to the load cell are not tight. | Using an appropriate Allen wrench, tighten the four screws (two on each side) holding the frames to the load cell. |
There are gaps in both the weight and temperature data. Both start and stop at the same time. | You may not be reading the data often enough. | There are 40 days of both weight and temperature data that can be retrieved with the Android. The iPhone reads about 11 to 14 days worth of data when set for 1 hour interval data. More days can be read if configured for 2, 3 or 4 hour interval data. How to modify this configuration is performed using an Android to change a configuration on the HM-5 and is described here. When using the iPhone - set at its default 1 hour interval readings - try to read the HM-5 at least once per week to avoid any data loss. |