One of our clients, while they were setting up and testing a Wirepas mesh network, found that they were missing an important part of the picture. They could see data coming in from devices, but it was harder to know how the network itself was doing. Were the anchors in the right places? Did the nodes have reliable connections? If messages were delayed or missing, where should they start looking?
Without that information, checking an installation and adjusting the placement of anchors was much trial and error. We wanted to give users a clearer way to see what was happening and check whether their changes helped.
That led us to add two levels of diagnostics:
- Network diagnostics in Tags app checks what happens inside the mesh network (link quality, routes, re-routing, delivery delays). It helps you check anchor placement and find weak areas in the network.
- Channel and gateway diagnostics in GPS-Trace Console looks at data delivery to the platform. It helps identify setup problems, such as a gateway sending data in the wrong format or devices that have not been registered. It also separates delays into time spent in the mesh, on the gateway’s internet link, and in platform processing.
Today, we’ll focus on one of these levels: network diagnostics in Tags. We’ll explain how to enable it and how to use it to check your mesh network.
Network diagnostics in Tags
Wirepas devices (sensors, anchors, and the gateways) can send periodic diagnostic reports about their connections, routes, delivery delays, and network events. You can enable this reporting directly in Tags, then view the results on the Network diagnostics page.
To enable diagnostics, select a gateway, open its Configuration tab, and set the diagnostic reporting interval. The app sends the command to the gateway, which distributes the setting across the mesh network.
You need full permissions for the Commands module in Tags account to send this command.
For a large-scale Wirepas Mesh deployment, the recommended reporting interval is 30 minutes. Periodic reports are sent only while diagnostic reporting is enabled.
Once reports start arriving, open the gateway’s detail page and go to Network diagnostics.
The page brings them together to show how nodes connect, where links may be weak, and what happened during the selected period.
When checking changes, remember that diagnostics are updated according to the reporting interval. For example, after moving an anchor, wait until new reports arrive before evaluating whether the connection has improved.
Network summary
The summary at the top of the page gives you an overview of the network for the selected period.
- Nodes heard - the number of nodes that sent at least one diagnostic report.
Node is a member in wirepas network.
- Routing - the number of nodes that reported a next hop in their latest report.
Hop is a radio communication between two devices when the data is sent Uplink or Downlink. There might be multiple hops in the network to reach the destination device.
- With errors - nodes whose latest report contains a problem that needs attention, such as a weak signal, as well as relays with no route.
- Packets lost - diagnostic reports that were sent but did not reach the gateway.
- Incidents - reported errors and network events, including bursts of discarded packets.
- Re-routings - route changes reported by the nodes.
- Slowest delivery - the longest recorded travel time for a single packet through the mesh.
Below the summary, three tabs let you look more closely: Current state, Incidents, and Reboots.
Current state
The Current state tab contains a routing diagram and a Nodes table.
The diagram shows how nodes forward data towards the gateway, based on their latest diagnostic reports.
The black base node is the gateway’s mesh module. It is the destination for traffic travelling towards the gateway. The other nodes are coloured by their state:
- Blue - no current errors requiring attention.
- Yellow - an error needs attention.
- Grey - a silent relay.
The connections show each node’s next hop. This helps you see which anchors carry traffic from other devices. If several devices have problems, you may find that they all forward through the same anchor.
The diagram shows the latest known routes, not continuous radio activity. With a 30-minute reporting interval, a change may not appear immediately.
Nodes
The Nodes table shows the latest known state of each device, along with measurements for the selected period. You can choose which columns to display.
When checking anchor placement, start with Quality. This is the node’s own installation-quality score:
- 50% or higher - good.
- 25–49% - moderate.
- Below 25% - poor; check the device’s placement and nearby anchors.
These thresholds are defined by Wirepas in Step 3: Check radio quality.
Errors add context. A node may report that it has no route, cannot hear enough good neighbours, or has a weak signal to its next hop.
Read these values together. A single route change may not matter. A low quality score, a weak link, and repeated route changes on the same node give you a stronger reason to investigate its placement.
Incidents
Sometimes a device has already recovered by the time you open diagnostics. The Incidents tab helps you see what happened and when.
For installation and coverage problems, three events are especially useful:
- No route to the base node - the node had no path for delivering data to the gateway.
- Too few good neighbours - the node could not hear enough nearby routers with good-quality connections.
- Weak signal to next hop - the signal on the link to the node it forwards through was weak.
Other events help explain changes in the network. For example, Re-routed means a node switched to another relay. Lost sync with its route means it lost time synchronization and had to recover. You may also see failed transmissions to or from the base node, routing loops, channel scans, transmission-slot conflicts, or missed transmission times. These provide context when you are investigating gaps or delays in delivery.
Not every event means something needs fixing. A node can change its route or switch between router and non-router roles during normal operation. Frequent repeats on the same node, or several events happening together, are more useful clues than one isolated event.
Reboots
The Reboots tab lists recorded node restarts, their reasons, and reboot counters.
An ordinary restart may be expected during installation. For example, sending a remote command to change the sensors’ reporting interval through a Teltonika Wirepas Mesh gateway can trigger a restart. In this case, the Reason column shows the Requested type.
Repeated ordinary restarts can also be a useful clue. Compare their timing with incidents and delivery delays to see whether they coincide with the problem you are investigating.
Understanding packet loss
A mesh network uses radio, so occasional packet loss is possible even in a working installation. There are several common reasons:
- Interference and collisions. Other radio traffic can interfere with transmissions.
- Obstructions. Metal structures and industrial equipment can weaken or block signals.
- A device moves out of coverage. If a mobile tag moves beyond the range of nearby routers, there may be no node available to receive and forward its packets.
- Route changes. When a router goes offline, nearby nodes need to find another path. Some packets may be lost during the transition.
Network diagnostics shows what is happening inside the Wirepas Mesh network. In the next article, we’ll follow the data further and look at Channel diagnostics in GPS-Trace Console.