This topic helps you diagnose communication or range problems that may occur between XBee for Wi-SUN Nodes and the XBee Hive for Wi-SUN Border Router. Many communication failures can stem from a non-running Wi-SUN application, configuration mismatches, authentication failures, or RF range limitations.

Verify that the Wi-SUN application is running on the border router

Before troubleshooting node communication, confirm that the Wi-SUN application is active on the border router.

In the web interface, open the Dashboard page and look under the Wi-SUN Network section. If the message Wi-SUN Border application is not running appears, the border router is inactive. If it shows Status: running, the Wi-SUN service is operating normally.

If the Wi-SUN application is not running, check the following:

  • Ensure the Wi-SUN application is enabled.

  • If the Wi-SUN interface network mode setting is configured to prefix delegation, the Wi-SUN application will not start until a valid IPv6 prefix is received from the upstream network through DHCPv6 prefix delegation. See Use DHCPv6 prefix delegation for more information.

  • If the Wi-SUN interface network mode setting is configured to transparent proxy, the Wi-SUN application will not start until the upstream interface has an IPv6 address.

  • Wait up to five minutes after system boot for the application to initialize.

  • Enable more detailed logging:

    (config)> action wsnm debug true
(config)> action wsbrd debug true
(config)> save

  • If the issue persists, contact Digi Technical Support.

Check the XBee for Wi-SUN Node

If you have direct access to the XBee for Wi-SUN node, several AT commands can help identify a communication issue.

Check ATAI (association indication)

The AI command reports the node’s current join state. A value of 0x00 means the node is connected and operational. Any other value indicates the node is in a joining, stopped, or error state. If the value does not advance to 0x00, monitor it periodically to see where it stalls.

Common ATAI states and what they indicate

AI = 1 — Router is selecting a PAN * May indicate the node is out of range or network parameters do not match. * Verify the Wi-SUN application is enabled and active. * Confirm configuration matches between node and border router (network name, PHY mode, channel plan). * Check antenna connections and range. * Ensure the border router’s upstream network has received its DHCPv6 prefix if prefix delegation is enabled or has an IPv6 address if using transparent proxy.

AI = 2 — Router is authenticating * Check which authentication method is configured on the border router (Allow-list, RADIUS, or Open). * If Allow-list only is used, make sure the node’s information appears in the allowlist. * Verify that both node and border router share a valid CA certificate and trust root. * If the problem persists, review certificate configuration on both devices (for more information on securing devices see Security)

AI = 3 — Router is acquiring PAN config * Not advancing past this state means that the node has found a possible network to join and is determining whether it should join. It may also mean it was joined correctly in the past but became misconfigured. * Check for matching network settings and proper Wi-SUN activation. * Ensure the border router’s upstream network has received its DHCPv6 prefix if prefix delegation is enabled or has an IPv6 address if using transparent proxy.

AI = 4–8 — Routing and address configuration steps * Normally progress to AI = 0 within a minute. * If the node stalls, verify the following: The node has a local IPv6 address (ATML). The node has a global IPv6 address (ATMY). The node reports a parent address (ATMP). The node reports a border router address (ATMB). ** Missing addresses indicate problems in upstream communication or DHCPv6 configuration.

AI = 0x0A or 0xFF — Disconnected or unknown state * Execute the ATJN command on the node to restart the join process.

If none of these steps allow the node to reach AI = 0 or you don’t have direct access to the node, contact Digi Technical Support for additional ways to diagnose the issue.

Network communication checks from the border router

If you have command-line access to the border router, use the following tools:

  • ip addr — Verify the Wi-SUN interface (wsbr0) is up and has both link-local and global IPv6 addresses and check statistics.

    # ip -s addr show wsbr0
9: wsbr0: <POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST,NOARP,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1280 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP group default qlen 10
    link/none
    inet6 fd71:a109:cf71:0:8a0f:62ff:fe10:a001/128 scope global
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::8a0f:62ff:fe10:a001/64 scope link
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    RX:  bytes packets errors dropped  missed   mcast
             0       0      0       0       0       0
    TX:  bytes packets errors dropped carrier collsns
          1088       8      0      12       0       0
#

  • ping — Test connectivity to a node’s global or link-local address.

    # ping -c 2 fd71:a109:cf71:0:0:0:0:5d3
PING fd71:a109:cf71:0:0:0:0:5d3(fd71:a109:cf71::5d3) 56 data bytes
64 bytes from fd71:a109:cf71::5d3: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=108 ms
64 bytes from fd71:a109:cf71::5d3: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=96.4 ms

--* fd71:a109:cf71:0:0:0:0:5d3 ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 0ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 96.419/102.041/107.664/5.622 ms
#

  • tcpdump — Analyze traffic on the Wi-SUN interface (wsbr0) to confirm whether packets reach the border router.

    tcpdump -i wsbr0

When to contact support

If none of these steps resolve the issue, contact Digi Technical Support for advanced diagnostic methods and guidance.