If you have any questions when using the TFA.me system, these answers to general questions will help you quickly.
TFA.me System: General Questions
The TFA.me system was developed in Germany by TFA Dostmann. The main focus of this system is its ability to receive a professional, multi-day weather forecast on a weather station and to monitor local measured values online at the same time. Other weather stations with WLAN functionality usually have no comprehensible display of this information, an unreliable WLAN connection and only very rudimentary weather forecasts (as they are often only attached to a general smart home system not specialised in weather data).
There is no technical difference. They are just different names. Internationally, the term WI-FI is more common for wireless network technology. In German, however, the term WLAN has become established for wireless network technology.
No. A connection to the Internet is absolutely essential for normal operation.
The normal or full range of functions is only possible with a mains adapter. However, the device can and should also be fitted with batteries. These act as buffer batteries in the event of a power failure or if you move the device. In battery-only mode, there is no WLAN and, therefore, no Internet connection either. This means that no new weather forecast data is received and the local measured values are not transmitted to our server. In battery mode, the display is only illuminated for a short time at the touch of a button. The reception of transmitters with TFA-ID radio technology continues in battery mode and all incoming measured values are recorded or temporarily stored.
No. A one-time setup (transmission of the access data by your local network) is required. Once the setup has been successfully completed, the network data remains permanently stored in the base unit and this would also automatically reconnect to your network after a restart.
The gateway button is usually located in the battery compartment of a TFA.me base unit (weather station/gateway).
You can usually find the individual 9-digit ID code on a sticker on the back/bottom of the devices and often inside the battery compartment in the case of transmitters. Most devices also offer the option of having the ID code shown on the display for a short time as well. Please refer to the instructions for the respective device to find out how this temporary display can take place.
It is only possible to completely delete the stored network data in a base unit with a factory reset. Please refer to the operating instructions for the respective device to find out how to carry out a factory reset. Please note that a factory reset deletes all data from the device and resets the device to its factory settings.
The location setting and also the reception of weather forecast data is possible worldwide. With regard to weather forecast data, however, individual additional values (e.g. UV index or wind data) may not be available in some regions of the world. In this case, dashes “- -” are displayed for the missing value.
A TFA.me weather station checks and updates its weather data once an hour, i.e. 24 times a day. However, exactly how often and when our supplier updates the forecast data varies from location to location around the world. As a rule, there is a full update of the forecast data twice a day. However, there may also be individual, smaller updates at any time.
We obtain the raw data for the weather forecast from the German provider METEONOMIQS/wetter.com.
No. The time is always set via the Internet after a location has been defined.
No. There are no additional costs to the user for the continuous reception of weather forecasts.
Registration is not necessary to set a location and to fully use a weather station, including receiving weather forecast data. However, if you want to view, monitor & export the local readings of your devices online as well, you need to create a user account.
No. There are no additional costs to the user for registering and using the go.TFA.me portal. Sending e-mail notifications is also free of charge for the user.
TFA Dostmann GmbH & Co. KG is the system operator. In the event that the system has to be discontinued one day, for example for technical or financial reasons, TFA guarantees that the online structures will remain available for at least 3 years from the date of announcement.
For reasons of clarity and performance, we recommend operating with a maximum of 50 channels (both per gateway and per user account).
Yes, network integration or forwarding through a WLAN repeater is not a problem.
Battery life varies depending on the type of backup batteries and is influenced by the number of transmitters that need to be received and cached locally. Here are two rough examples of battery life in pure battery mode:
For base units with alkaline backup batteries of size AA, approximately 7 days; and
for base units with alkaline backup batteries of size AAA, approximately 3 days.
If these are transmitters with “TFA-ID” radio technology (with the “TFA-ID” logo) and the transmitters have the individual 9-digit ID code, then yes. If your transmitters do not work with “TFA-ID” (do not have the “TFA-ID” logo and do not possess an individual 9-digit ID code), unfortunately no.
The interval is fixed and cannot be changed. Most base units and transmitters transmit their readings in 5-minute intervals. However, there are also transmitters that deliver new data every minute (for example IDA4 & IDA6) or even work with a flexible radio transmission (for example rain transmitter ID-A1).
No. If your base unit display (weather station/gateway) has only one temperature display available for the transmitter, but the transmitter always delivers 2 temperature values, only the first temperature value is shown on the display. Recording and forwarding takes place internally, but of course completely. All values measured by the transmitter are then available within the go.TFA.me online portal.
The transmitters work with a special protocol (“TFA-ID”) and are received over 868 MHz by a base unit (weather station/gateway). The transmitter data is then forwarded to the Internet from the base unit via WLAN. The transmitters themselves do not have a WLAN radio module.
TFA.me System: Further questions?
If we have not been able to answer your question here, you are welcome to take a look at the FAQs on initial setup and the FAQs on the TFA.me portal. Otherwise, our service team will be happy to help you.