Symptom. A dispenser in Dispensers Management, Dispensers Telemetry, or the dispenser details page shows a status you do not recognize — something other than Healthy, Low Refill, or Low Battery.
Where the status comes from decides who fixes it
Hand Hygiene shows three kinds of dispenser status, and they are resolved in different places.
Statuses Kio Cloud calculates. Low Refill is calculated from the dispenser's refill level and your Low Refill Threshold. Offline means no recent report arrived in Kio Cloud. These are yours to act on: refill the dispenser, or check the room's gateway.
Statuses the Dispenser Beacon reports about itself. Dispenser Communication Error, Dispenser Communication Timeout, Accelerometer Error, and Invalid Configuration come from the Dispenser Beacon, not the dispenser. Check that the Dispenser Beacon is seated or mounted correctly, then contact Kontakt.io support.
Statuses the dispenser reports about itself. Everything else, such as hardware errors, battery issues, and distributor code faults, originates in the dispenser's own electronics. The Dispenser Beacon receives the code and passes it through unchanged. Kontakt.io displays it; it does not generate it and cannot clear it.
Important: To clear a status the dispenser reports about itself, contact the dispenser manufacturer's support, not Kontakt.io. Kontakt.io support can confirm what a code means and that it is being relayed correctly, but the condition is in the dispenser.
Which Dispenser Beacons report these codes
| Model | Reports dispenser error codes | Reports Dispenser Beacon error codes |
|---|---|---|
| ES8 Dispenser Beacon | Yes — it plugs into the dispenser's module | No |
| ES10 Dispenser Beacon | Yes — it connects over an infrared link to the dispenser's module | Yes |
| Universal Dispenser Beacon | No — it has no connection to the dispenser | Yes |
If your site uses Universal Dispenser Beacons and a dispenser is empty or broken, no dispenser error status appears. The Universal Dispenser Beacon senses motion through the dispenser housing and knows nothing about the dispenser's internal state; it reports only its own errors. Watch the refill level and dispense activity instead: a dispenser that stops being used, in a room that is still busy, is the signal available to you.
Common statuses and what they mean
| Status | What it indicates | Who resolves it |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy / Ok | Reporting normally | — |
| Low Refill | Refill level below your Low Refill Threshold | Your refilling team |
| Low Battery | The Dispenser Beacon's battery is low | Replace the Dispenser Beacon battery |
| Battery Issue | The dispenser's own battery needs replacing. Treated as critical | Dispenser manufacturer |
| Offline | No recent report arrived in Kio Cloud | Check the room's gateway first |
| Bad Communication | The ES8 and the dispenser module are not communicating reliably | Check the Dispenser Beacon is seated, then the dispenser manufacturer |
| Dispenser Communication Error, Dispenser Communication Timeout | The Dispenser Beacon reports it cannot communicate reliably with the dispenser | Check the Dispenser Beacon is seated or mounted correctly, then Kontakt.io support |
| Accelerometer Error | The Dispenser Beacon reports a fault in its motion sensor | Kontakt.io support |
| Invalid Configuration | The Dispenser Beacon reports that its configuration is invalid | Kontakt.io support |
| Hardware Error, Fault Current | The dispenser reports an internal fault | Dispenser manufacturer |
| Wrong Distributor Code | The dispenser's own configuration is mismatched | Dispenser manufacturer |
| Incomplete Dispense, Refill Missing, Lockout, No Eos Signal | Conditions the dispenser detects during operation | Dispenser manufacturer |
Before escalating
- Check the room's gateway. An Offline dispenser is often a gateway problem, not a dispenser problem. If several dispensers in one area go offline together, look at the gateway before the dispensers.
- Check the Dispenser Beacon is seated correctly. On an ES8 or ES10, a communication error is commonly a Dispenser Beacon that has shifted, or whose sensor is no longer aligned with the dispenser's module. Re-seat it and close the housing without forcing it.
- Confirm the status is persistent. A single transient code that clears on the next report does not need action.
- Note the exact status text and the dispenser model before contacting anyone. The dispenser manufacturer will ask for the code as it appears, and their model names differ from ours.
If the issue persists
For a status the dispenser itself reports, contact the dispenser manufacturer's support — Kontakt.io cannot clear it.
If the status looks wrong, is not clearing after the dispenser has been serviced, or you are unsure which kind it is, contact Kontakt.io support. When submitting your request, include:
- The Dispenser Name and Dispenser ID as they appear in Hand Hygiene.
- The exact status text shown, and how long it has been showing.
- The Dispenser Beacon model — ES8, ES10, or Universal — and the make and model of the dispenser it is installed in or on.
- Whether other dispensers in the same room or on the same gateway are affected.
- The dispenser's last telemetry update time, from Dispensers Telemetry.