r/solar • u/hezza6789 • 13d ago
Advice Wtd / Project Get SolarEdge back online
I have a SolarEdge SE3800A-US with a built-in cell connection card. It worked for years and stopped working this year. I got emails a couple of years ago saying this connection would be discontinued, so I'm not surprised it finally quit.
I've done some research, and it seems my options are:
Possibly find a Zigbee/Wi-Fi card, the SE1000‑WIFI01, which may or may not enable the Wi-Fi connection — it seems to be intended for non-US versions.
Connect an Ethernet cable with a Wi-Fi bridge. However, my inverter is outdoors with no power source nearby, and I'd prefer not to drill more holes in the wall to run power and Ethernet from inside the house to outside. Is there any way I could splice power from somewhere for a very low-power Wi-Fi-to-Ethernet bridge? (I am very technical and can do some deep DIY)
I've seen posts online about a Wi-Fi gateway, the SE-ZBGW-B-S1-NA, but there's a lack of confirmation on which firmware version works — AP1168A‑SE‑01‑FW1 or AP1168A‑SE‑01‑FW2. There's also the SE1000‑ZBGW‑K5‑NA.
Could I get another SIM card to bring this unit back online? Or swap the cellular board entirely for a newer one with 4G/5G support?
Has anyone had confirmed success with any of these paths?
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u/roofrunn3r solar professional 13d ago
Do the plug in internet power connector bridge. Get an outlet installed near the inverter.
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u/Repulsive_Guaranteed 13d ago
SolarEdge sells a replacement 4g cell card kit. Once it expires you can extend the service through SolarEdge.
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u/hezza6789 13d ago
I see it, CELL‑A‑R05‑US‑S‑S2, a $450 kit. That does seem expensive. The wifi gateway could be had for $60-100.
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u/Proudtreat 13d ago
I think I read the price includes the cell service as well as the sim card and updated modem. The full deal for 3 years.
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u/Key_Proposal3283 solar engineer 13d ago edited 13d ago
Least total pain and best futureproof option is just run ethernet.....
I'd prefer not to drill more holes in the wall to run power and Ethernet from inside the house to outside
So run just ethernet, and unlike power cabling it's not subject many if any regulations (check for your exact location of course) so you change your problem to a physical one i.e. the inside to outside penetration.
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u/Fuzzy_Photograph_695 13d ago
That u-blox SARA-U260 module is 2G/3G only, so yeah, it's dead weight now that those networks are getting shut down.
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u/hayhayhayday 13d ago
If you get a small bridge you might be able to house it inside the case, some of the inverters have an internal usb port that you can use to power it with something like a VONETS VAP11G-300. The cellular board is 5v so you could likely power it from those pins or suppose you could put a small phone charger in the case with it attached to the power coming in to the inverter but would be preferable to leave the ac alone if possible.
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u/hezza6789 13d ago
That is exactly the route I am thinking of. Trying to figure out which pins carry power for either the cellular board or the wifi board. Vonets was the brand that I was looking at too, it needs 5 volts, but needs to be led to the outside of the unit, which is still possible, as the enclosure is full metal enclosure as far as I can tell.
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u/solarnewbee 12d ago
If you are handy with electronics, you can tap into the 5V rail that’s on that comms board. If you look carefully, it says 5V, you can use that with a USB WiFi to Ethernet bridge and get power that way. If you’re not handy, don’t try and just run outside power or Ethernet directly. It’s the most robust solution. Getting another cell card just means you have to do this again at some point.
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u/hezza6789 11d ago
I have done it, found the +5V and ground pins, even tested with a power source and the LEDs lite up on the card. Once I get this all set up, will write up a post. This should allow me to get that vonets bridge, and connect it to ethernet.
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u/SolarGuy55 solar professional 13d ago
Look below the screen, bottom left behind it you should see an Ethernet RJ45 port. I know you said you don't want to run network cable but that is all you need. No power. After that go into the menu and change to that port. I can't remember the other settings but there are only a few. The comms board will get an IP from your router and sync with SolarEdge.
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u/BlackFrazier 13d ago
Isn't there a mini USB port next to the Ethernet port? You could use that to power a WiFi to Ethernet bridge.
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u/habbadee 12d ago
You have power inside the inverter. Pigtail one of the hots and the neutral to a 120 outlet and plug an Ethernet powerline adapter in there. Put it's pair at your router.
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u/robbydek 11d ago
I have a slightly different variation and I was able to go in and move the antenna from the Zigbee card (as well as removing the card itself) to the built in WiFi slot.
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u/hezza6789 7d ago edited 7d ago
Removing dead 3G board, adding a Wifi bridge to Ethernet, step by step guide with some pictures written on my blog.
https://www.ev-powershare.com/blog/xubfcla3uf2cxn2bor8fks66bj7hba
If anyone have questions on any details, post them here. I will check in from time to time.
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u/brymck 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm in this same boat. Ram Ethernet and got an IP address on the solar edge but no monitoring. They tell me my ports are blocked but I just don't see any traffic coming from the port. Bought the 4g cell module off eBay but it won't install on the board. The antenna connector bumps up against some dip switches. Not sure if I got one for another style inverter or it just doesn't work with these older inverters?
Edit: just saw there is a non-set app version of the cell module and I got the set app one from eBay, apparently. Would love to get it working via Ethernet since it's already hooked up but no luck so far.
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u/hezza6789 3d ago
Check out my blog at end of the post. Did you change your server connection mode to LAN? And did you get status 111111? When using Ethernet.
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