When a connector is running, but one or more devices are no longer being collected from, they are considered offline. Reasons could include:
Device is retired (sold, refurbished, thrown out)
Out of reach (Printer gets new IP, LAN gets reconfigured, DNS/hostname change, etc)
Vacation (e.g. for 1 week)
Turned off (not in use/printing "that day"/"those days")
How are Offline Devices defined? Offline devices will appear in JetAdvice as a 'Warning' after 4 days of being offline and then they get promoted to 'Error' after 10 days of being offline. Device offline alert types do not get promoted to Critical.
Warning = 4 days offline
Error = 10 days offline
How to see/get Offline Device Alerts Users can view and subscribe to Device Offline Alerts through many options in JetAdvice Manager. Subscribing to the various methods can send the alerts directly to your email inbox.
Dashboard alerts section > Device Alerts
Alerts > Device Alerts
Reports > Device alert reports (fetch via API or setup email schedule)
Device alert email subscription (dealer or customer scope)
Why 4 and 10 days? One reason is to reduce spam-like emails and promote importance when these alert emails arrive in your inbox.
Reducing the number of emails: When subscribed to Device Alerts in the past, it was 3 days for a Warning then the following day for an Error email when devices go offline, often generating multiple Device Offline alerts if a connector is offline.
Improving the quality of emails: If a connector has gone offline, so will all of the devices. Allowing users to subscribe only to device offline alerts after 10 days, gives you more time to react on "connector offline alert", to avoid spamming the inbox with Device Offline alerts.
We want to allow users to subscribe to alerts after either 4 or 10 days with a noticeable difference between those choices, making them both meaningful and purposeful.
If you want to stay on top of the situation at all times (e.g. if you also monitor Hardware Alerts), we recommend you subscribe to Warnings and get emails after only 4 days
If you are mostly interested in monthly usage billing, maybe you can allow a device to be offline for 10 days before starting an activity to get the device back online (to read counters).
In any case we still recommend subscribing for account alerts to receive timely information about connectors going offline.