Pod Alerts

Modified on Thu, 2 Apr at 12:49 PM

Below is a tables outlining certain pod alert from the machines that you'll see on the individual pod pages in Mother VMS.

We've also included guidance on what each pod alert means along with the relevant action you'll need to take.

If you need more clarity then please feel free to get in touch with our support team at support@thisismother.com.

State	Meaning	Information	1st Action	2nd Action	3rd Action	4th Action
Pod has not been seen	Pod not been contactable	The machine is offline, it hasn't checked into our servers for an x amount of time	Check if router is reachable	Check if the screen is on	See if you can bring it back online remotely	Full power cylce , visit needed
Pay reader error	Issue with pay reader	Pay-busy errors mean the pay reader is stuck in an error state and cannot process new payments. Pay-local-comms errors indicate the pay reader has lost communication with the pod's vending machine controller.	First action is to determine whether the machine is having a pay busy or a pay local comms error. You'll be able to determine this by going into the order page.	If pay-busy: trigger a whole pod restart. This resets the pay reader and clears the stuck state. If pay-local-comms: check wether the payreader ethernet cable is secure if it is then raise a ticket with the Tech team.	Pay-local-comms issues are often connectivity or configuration or hardware related (loose cable or a faulty reader) . Tech will review Sauron logs to check connectivity metrics at the time the errors occurred. A SIM steer may be triggered if the pod uses a SIM-based connection.
Low orders	Low amount of orders than average	Machine hasn't had a lot of order performed on it recently	Check whether the UI is correctly displaying its product and not preventing any orders from being carried out. If you've noticed that the UI is failing then trigger a chrome restart from your mothership portal. Raise a ticket to tech if the issue still persists ideally with images and a video of the specific issue thats occuring. The following troubleshooting will be tech team related.	Check chrome debug logs to determine why the ui is failing. Attempt a software redeployement to restart the UI container	If an error is being thrown in the chrome debug logs then escalate that issue to the dev team for investigation.
Creditcall not reachable	Pay reader cannot currently communicate with its payment gateway	Pay reader cannot currently communicate with its payment gateway and can therefore not process payments.	Raise a ticket to the tech team. This will need tech intervention.	Look at sauron connectivity metric charts to check whether there was a loss of pod WAN connectivity around the specific time when the error was thrown.	Check payreader logs to confirm the lack of communication and try to pinpoint the specific time the order failed to complete in the payreader logs. try and redeploy containers to restart the pay reader software.
Vending error	A vending machine error has prevented an order from being carried out. The error itself is generic.	Vending errors can be mechanical (elevator jam, obstruction) or communication-related (vend-local-comms). Identifying the type early determines whether the resolution is remote, onsite Ops, or engineer-level.	Review the order logs to determine the error type. Trigger a vending restart and observe: • Does the machine return an 'out of service' message in the vending logs? • Can you hear the elevator move? • Does the machine shake during the restart? If the elevator moves: comms from the vending machine to the PC are intact - the issue is likely mechanical. This requires onsite Ops to clear the jam or remove the obstruction. If the machine shakes: this could indicate an elevator-related fault.	Elevator jam issues and item below the elevator require onsite assistance to fix the jam or remove the item below the elevator, while vend local comms could be related to a number of issues. Vend-local-comms: check onsite whether the vending machine cable to the PC is correctly secured (V6/V7 machines), or that the JSD -> Board and JSD -> PC connections are properly seated (V8 machines). Trigger a full pod power cycle, then perform a vending restart to check if the elevator moves.	If the elevator moves after the power cycle, comms are restored. Run a test vend to confirm a product dispenses. If it fails, raise a ticket with Tech to review the vending machine logs. Tech: check that the dev path is correctly set in the pod's devices. If not, run maintain-pod and redeploy containers to update it. Check vending machine logs to confirm communication with the pod. Restarting the PC can also help.	If the dev path is correctly configured and the issue persists, an engineer visit is required. Root cause could be the serial cable (PC <-> vending machine), the JSD -> vending machine cable, or a board-level fault. The engineer will swap cables and retest to isolate the issue.
Vending temp alert 16>18	The pod's internal temperature has fallen outside the acceptable operating range	Temp is between this range . It's outside the set temperature	Temperature deviations can affect product quality. This alert fires when the machine's internal sensor detects a reading outside the configured threshold. Possible causes include a refrigeration fault, door seal issue	Confirm the alert in Mothership and note whether the temperature is above or below the threshold. Check whether the pod door is properly closed and sealed	If the temperature remains out of range, arrange an onsite check to inspect the refrigeration unit and door seal.	If the issue is persistent or recurring, raise a ticket with the Engineers for further investigation
Pod payment qiba container failed to start	Qiba related Payment software has failed to start	Qiba is the payment software that manages communications between the pay reader and the PC. if it fails to start, the pod cannot process payments/communicate with the pay reader.	First ensure that the readers connections have been seated correctly. Power cycle the machine once those cables have been reseated. Retest a vend and if the issue still presists, raise a ticket with tech. Tech: Check whether devices have been set correctly with its correct devpath and if the PC can detect the reader.	Tech: Push a new inventory and run maintain-pod to update its sym-links. redeploy containers to ensure a new container is spun with correct sym-links. read through payment logs to check whether the reader is acking correctly.	Check qiba and reader cable connections and ensure everything is connected properly	If the issue persists, it will require engineers to intervene and replace the qiba device with a new one and retest.
Order software error			This relates to the "Software error" as one of the order error states. It's serious enough to have it's own alert	These are normally false-positives but if there are multiple in a row then a ticket will need to be placed with the Tech team to investigate