Honeywell Thermostat Waiting for Equipment Message β (4 Fixes)
After a long hectic business trip, I finally got to visit my home. The first thing after leaving my home for almost 15 days was to turn ON my thermostat. I rushed towards my thermostat and was expecting it to turn ON right away but hey wait! What did I just see? My thermostat says waiting for equipment.
Was it a glitch? Was there any error? What was it? I had no clue! Before going on this trip I dealt with 2 major issues of my thermostat. Out of those two, one was to figure out whether my thermostat was on permanent hold or not. While the second one was to figure out why wasnβt the thermostat working even after the battery change.
HONEYWELL THERMOSTAT WAITING FOR EQUIPMENT:
Honeywell waiting for equipment message is a part of its safety feature. You donβt need to worry about it as this feature only concerns the safety of your thermostat and nothing else. The rare situation where this message occurs is when your thermostat is turned OFF but due to a sudden change in temperature, it turns back ON.
HONEYWELL THERMOSTAT DELAY MODE:
Honeywell thermostat has its own delay mode. The purpose of this delay mode is to protect the components of your HVAC system from any kind of damage. The first thing which you need to know is the relation between your thermostat and HVAC system.
Basically the thermostat dictates the HVAC system to do all the tasks accordingly. You see the βWaiting for Equipmentβ message on your thermostat because in that time duration, the thermostat is waiting to activate the HVAC system.
All the dictation is given by the thermostat to HVAC system. You will be amazed to know that the working of its compressor also depends on the instructions of thermostat. The thermostat tells the HVAC system when to start cooling, heating or when to stop. However, if the thermostat starts the compressor too quickly then there are high chances that short cycling might occur.
WHAT IS SHORT-CYCLING? β EXPLAINED!
Short-cycling refers to the malfunctioning of the HVAC system. During this phase, the HVAC system will turn ON and OFF automatically without generating any warning. However, to prevent this condition of short-cycling the safety feature has been introduced which is known as Wait Signal.
The purpose of wait message shown to you is to prevent the compressor from any damage. The quick starting might damage it in the worst possible way so the HVAC system takes about 5 minutes to start the setup. Now you must have gotten the idea that how important this safety feature is for your HVAC system.
HONEYWELL THERMOSTAT WAIT MESSAGE β FIXES EXPLAINED!
Waiting for equipment Honeywell is a good practice for the sake of your HVAC systemβs safety. However, different fixes are there to handle this issue. Make sure to give a proper read to this section of the article if you want to know more on the fixes.
WAIT FOR SELF-FIXING:
Your first approach to fix the wait signal should be to wait for 5 minutes. After waiting for 5 minutes or so, you will see that your system has started working in no time. This waiting time is essential because during this time your HVAC system will get ready to come into working position.
You just have to relax, donβt worry if the time gets exceeded by 5 minutes. Usually it is 5 in most of the cases but if this isnβt the case even then the only thing that you need to do is relax.
REPLACE THE BATTERIES:
After trying the first fix, if you are still witnessing the same message then it is time to try another fix i.e. replacing the batteries of your thermostat. If your thermostat has weak batteries, then it will be unable to activate the HVAC system in the right way. The heating and cooling units wonβt start up and you will keep seeing the wait message for a long time. That message will never go away! So make sure your thermostat is using new and powerful batteries for its working.
HOW TO FIGURE OUT WEAK BATTERIES?
If you want to check whether the batteries which are being used are weak or not, see for the low-battery indicator present on the Honeywell thermostat. If you have figured out that the batteries are weak then it is time to replace them.
You just have to take off the cover plate of your thermostat and replace the old batteries with the new ones. Also make sure that your thermostat has a correct C-wire installation.
RESET THE BREAKERS:
If the previously mentioned fixes didnβt work out for you then it is time for you to consider the third fix i.e. resetting the breakers. The first thing that you need to do is power OFF your HVAC systemβs main supply. Then find its controls and power them OFF as well. After waiting for around 20-30 seconds switch back the equipment of your HVAC system in reverse order. This might do the trick!
VOLTAGE CHECK:
Your HVAC system might be showing certain fluctuations due to low or high voltage. In order to get this thing confirmed, make sure you know what voltage your thermostat is operating on. There could also be some faulty wires present which might be causing the voltage to fluctuate. For voltage checking, it is important to use a multimeter or a voltmeter. If you are comfortable working in this domain then you can do so otherwise call the professionals for this task.
HONEYWELL THERMOSTAT STUCK IN DELAY MODE β WIFI ISSUES:
The latest models of Honeywell thermostat operate on Wi-Fi. Due to this feature, they become a part of your smart-home ecosystem. However, with this there comes certain connectivity issues as well. For instance, there might be a weak Wi-Fi signal range which is insufficient for the proper functioning of your thermostat, or your thermostat is trying to establish a connection with a new Wi-Fi network. There could be multiple reasons associated with Wi-Fi connectivity which could lead to the occurrence of Wait message.
When your thermostat is trying to connect to a new Wi-Fi network then it might take some time to verify it, secondly if there is a weak signal range then you will be informed right away with the display of connectivity error.
WHAT ARE THE FIXES FOR WIFI PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTATS?
Even with Wi-Fi programmable thermostats, it is easy to make the wait signal go away. You just need to follow the below mentioned fixes in order to get the job done.
RESTARTING YOUR WI-FI ROUTER:
If you want to restart your Wi-Fi router then make sure you include the below mentioned steps as well.
STEPS TO FOLLOW:
STEP 1 β Make sure that you unplug the router
STEP 2 β If you see a power button, press it
STEP 3 β After waiting for almost a minute, plug back the router
STEP 4 β Check whether the thermostat is working fine or not
RESTARTING YOUR THERMOSTAT:
If restarting your router didnβt work out for you then you can also try restarting your thermostat as well. The best and the easiest way to do this job is to unplug your thermostat from the wall plate and wait for some time. After that, plug back the thermostat again in the wall plate and see if the issue still exists or not.
Restarting your thermostat will definitely fix the issues which are causing the wait message or which are causing the lagging in the working of your thermostat. The restarting process can vary from model to model. So if you donβt know about your model then use the manual for this cause.
RESETTING WI-FI SETTINGS:
The last recommended fix is to reset the Wi-Fi settings of your thermostat. The reset procedure will be different for every model so make sure that you consider the user manual of your device in order to get relevant information about your purchased model. Doing this process will clear all the Wi-Fi settings and may as well the issue.
FINAL WORDS:
Getting every issue of your thermostat fixed right away should be your top priority. However, these small issues can become extremely frustrating for you but then again you have to solve them for the sake of your comfort. Make sure that you solve majority of the issues by yourself because only then you will be able to gain maximum knowledge regarding every matter associated with the thermostat.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q β How Do I Get My Thermostat Off Wait?
A β You can get your thermostat off wait by replacing the weak batteries with the powerful ones, by checking the voltage, by resetting the Wi-Fi settings or by restarting your thermostat.
Q β How Long Is Delay On Honeywell Thermostat?
A β The delay time duration on Honeywell thermostat is of 5 minutes.
Q β Should I Be Worried About The Wait Message Shown By My Thermostat?
A β No, it is just a safety feature of your thermostat and nothing else. It is present for the protection purpose only.
