Factory Defaulted Main Repeater - How to Re-Activate?

I was experiencing odd behavior with my previously rock solid RA2 system. I upgraded the firmware and Essentials software around the same time the odd behavior began, but I'm not sure the two are related. I was given the advice by my dealer to factory default the main repeater, delete it from the system, and then add it back in. I followed the factory defaulting procedure, but did not see any way to delete the main repeater from the system within the Essentials software. I then attempted to transfer my programming back to the system, and it fails on all devices, with the following message for every device: 10:38:49 PM: Error: Unable to transfer to Master Bath > Master Bath Entry > Shower. The device is not communicating. Either the device is not powered on, out of range of any repeaters, or has been deactivated. The software still shows that all repeaters (1 of 1) controls (56 of 56) and shades (5 of 5) have been activated, and all of the devices appear in the integration report. But nothing will transfer within the software, and my system is functioning only as standard light switches. None of the keypads, motion detectors, or shades will work. How do I recover my system? Thanks.

A system must have a minimum of 1 main repeater. You can delete a 2nd main, but you must always have 1. It's possible the dealer meant for you to delete/add a device, which is a fairly common procedure.

You need to re-activate the main and aux repeaters. This will create a new system and all of your devices will be on the old system. Depending on the version of the software you have, under Activate-Controls click on "Show advanced options..." Then click on reactivate all devices. If you are lucky it will actually reactivate everything. If it doesn't or you don't have that option, you will need to set each device back to factory default and re-activate it. You do not have to exit activate mode while resetting the devices.

For future reference, I would reboot the main and aux repeaters first. If that didn't work I would upload the program again. There is also an option under Tools to update firmware only. The program will notify you if you need to upload the database after the firmware update. Resetting the main should be the last resort.

The Advanced Options reactivation did the trick. Thanks Randy.

@randyc- I used to default during activation mode all the time. I had an issue where it would not activate. Called tech- they said you should never default in activation mode. That being said, defaulting in activation mode works 99.53% of the time.

@SDR-Mike. I think part of the factory default process is the device telling the main repeater that it is leaving the system. If the repeater is in activate mode it may not be able to accept that signal so you could get an address in limbo. I have never experienced that though.

It's been a while but I remember being told the opposite. Our network tech, knowing that others were working in the house, dropped the network during an upload. 180 devices in limbo. This was before the auto-address option. The tech at Lutron told me I didn't have to go out of address mode to default.