Addressing & Configuration
Why do I have duplicate DALI short addresses, and how do I fix them?
By Lichtvision Engineering · Published · Updated
Short answer
A duplicate short address means two or more devices carry the same address (0 to 63), so the controller can't tell them apart and control becomes unpredictable. Duplicates show up clearly in a ProbitSite SmartScan. With Expert Mode, isolate the conflicting devices one at a time, assign each a unique short address, and re-scan after every change, without re-commissioning the whole bus.
What a duplicate short address is
Each device on a DALI line should have a unique short address (0 to 63). When two share one, the controller cannot address them separately and behaviour becomes unpredictable.
How to spot it
A ProbitSite SmartScan shows duplicate short addresses clearly, so you know immediately that a conflict exists and which addresses are affected.
How to fix it without a full re-commissioning
With Expert Mode enabled, isolate the conflicting devices one at a time, assign each a unique short address, and re-scan after every change to confirm. ProbitSite's per-device addressing avoids re-commissioning the entire bus.
Diagnose DALI issues like this in seconds
ProbitSite is the DALI-2 certified handheld multimeter built for exactly this kind of on-site fault finding.