WinCC Simulation Grayed Out Fix TIA Portal V14 SP1 TP1500 Comfort

1. Problem Summary

An engineer configures an HMI project in TIA Portal V14 SP1 with WinCC Professional V14 SP1 and a TP1500 Comfort panel as the target device. Compilation succeeds, download to the PLC works, but the Simulation icon in the toolbar is permanently grayed out (no clickable state, no tooltip, no menu activation). On other engineering stations that run the same project, simulation starts normally. The local installation behaves as if no runtime simulator package is present, yet the About dialog confirms WinCC Professional V14 SP1 is installed and the device type TP1500 Comfort is recognized.

This symptom is almost always caused by a missing or mismatched WinCC simulation runtime component relative to the device class. A TP1500 Comfort is a Comfort-class panel and runs WinCC Runtime Advanced in production — not Runtime Professional. Installing WinCC Professional does not automatically install the matching "Simulation for RT Advanced" component, and the panel simulator button is grayed out because the required add-on is absent on that station.

2. Runtime Architecture: Advanced vs Professional

Understanding why a single component swap fixes the grayed-out button requires separating the two WinCC runtime families in TIA Portal:

The two simulator packages are separate MSI components in the TIA Portal setup. Installing one does not install the other. A station that has only the Professional simulator will gray out the simulation controls for any device that targets RT Advanced — including every Comfort Panel.

3. Root Cause: Missing "Simulation for RT Advanced" Component

Three installation conditions can produce the grayed-out icon on a TP1500 Comfort project:

1. Only WinCC Professional is installed. The Professional setup includes "Simulate RT Professional" by default but does not necessarily include the Advanced simulator. The TP1500 Comfort is configured as an RT Advanced device, so its simulator entry depends on the Advanced add-on.
2. WinCC Advanced is installed below an existing WinCC Professional version. The TIA V14 SP1 setup refuses to install a lower version of a component over a higher one. The Advanced setup aborts before the Advanced simulator is copied, leaving the local system with only the Professional simulator.
3. The custom install excluded Simulate RT Advanced. During a manual TIA Portal V14 SP1 install, the "Simulate" sub-tree under WinCC Advanced must be explicitly enabled. A user who clicks through with the default selection on a Professional-only media can miss the Advanced simulator entirely.

4. Component Requirements Matrix

Use the matrix below to verify the exact set of MSI components required for a given engineering scenario in TIA Portal V14 SP1:

5. Diagnostic Procedure

Before reinstalling, gather hard evidence of the current component set. Open TIA Portal → Help → Installed Software → Detailed Information and look for the following entries in the list:

• SIMATIC WinCC Simulation for Runtime Advanced V14 SP1 — must be present for Comfort Panel simulation.
• SIMATIC WinCC Simulation for Runtime Professional V14 SP1 — required for PC-based RT simulation.
• SIMATIC STEP 7 V14 SP1 and SIMATIC PLCSIM V14 SP1 — required if you want a virtual PLC to feed tags.

Capture the full list as a baseline. Cross-check the install path %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\Sim — the directory Sim must exist and contain RTAdvancedSim.exe. A missing directory confirms the simulator binary was never deployed.

6. Step-by-Step Resolution (Primary Path)

The most reliable remediation is to install the WinCC Simulation for Runtime Advanced package on the engineering station. Perform the steps in order:

1. Close TIA Portal V14 SP1 and stop the Siemens.Automation.ObjectStore.Server.exe service in services.msc.
2. Insert the TIA Portal V14 SP1 DVD (or mount the ISO SIMATIC_TIA_Portal_V14_SP1.iso).
3. Launch Start.exe and choose Modify installation. The setup detects the existing products and presents a checklist of installed packages.
4. Expand WinCC Engineering → WinCC V14 SP1 → WinCC Runtime Advanced V14 SP1 and select WinCC Simulation for Runtime Advanced V14 SP1 (also labeled Simulate RT Advanced in some media versions).
5. If the checkbox is disabled, first install WinCC Comfort V14 SP1 as a prerequisite, then return to the Advanced simulator entry. The setup blocks simulator installation if no Advanced engineering or runtime package is registered.
6. Click Next → Install. Confirm the install logs show MSI: WinCC_Simulate_RT_Advanced_V14_SP1 with exit code 0 (success).
7. Reboot the station to settle the COM registrations of the new simulator OCX controls.
8. Reopen the TIA Portal project, right-click the TP1500 Comfort device, and confirm that Online → Simulation → Start is no longer grayed out.

For the official Siemens procedure describing the two Advanced simulator modes (Device simulation and Tag simulation), refer to the WinCC Runtime Advanced simulation documentation. The Siemens Knowledge Base mirrors the same content at 109747174.

7. Step-by-Step Resolution (Mixed-Stack Workaround)

On stations that have only WinCC Professional installed, you can keep the Professional license and add Advanced simulator support by using the lower-version media trick. The TIA V14 SP1 setup will reject an exact version downgrade but will accept a higher build number that contains the Advanced simulator. The field-proven path is:

1. Uninstall WinCC Simulation for RT Professional and WinCC Runtime Professional V14 SP1 (keep the engineering license, the simulator and runtime are separate MSIs).
2. Insert the TIA V14 SP1 media and run a clean install of WinCC Advanced V14 SP1 with the Advanced simulator sub-option enabled.
3. Reinstall WinCC Runtime Professional V14 SP1 and WinCC Simulation for RT Professional V14 SP1 from the same media.
4. Verify with reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\Automation\WinCC" /s | findstr Version that both RT Advanced and RT Professional keys list the same V14 SP1 build number.

8. Correct Use of the Simulation Toolbar

Once the simulator is installed, three buttons in the HMI toolbar (left to right) control different runtime actions:

For pure offline testing of a TP1500 Comfort project on an engineering PC, click the 2nd button. The 3rd button stays inactive unless a runtime is loaded on the local system. The menu path Online → Simulation → Start is functionally identical to the 2nd button.

9. Verification Checklist

After installing the Advanced simulator, run the following verification sequence to confirm the project simulates end-to-end:

1. Open the project, select the TP1500 Comfort, and press F7 to compile. The output window must report 0 errors, 0 warnings before simulation will start.
2. Click the 2nd toolbar button (Start simulation). A separate window titled WinCC Runtime Advanced Simulation opens within 2-4 seconds.
3. Confirm the simulated panel boots to the configured start screen. Tag simulation is enabled by default; cycle one tag with the internal tag simulator to validate connectivity.
4. Open Online → Tag simulation from the simulator menu. Toggle a boolean tag. The HMI screen value should update within the configured acquisition cycle (default 1 s).
5. If a real or virtual PLC is involved, start PLCSIM V14 SP1, load the matching S7 program, and confirm the configured S7ONLINE route resolves. The HMI tags should now receive live values from PLCSIM.
6. Exit the simulator cleanly via the close button. Confirm that no RTAdvancedSim.exe process remains in Task Manager; a stuck process is a known cause of subsequent launch failures.

10. Extended Troubleshooting Matrix

11. Best Practices for Multi-Station TIA V14 SP1 Environments

Stations that commission the same multi-project HMI/PLC code base repeatedly benefit from a controlled imaging process. Apply the following rules to avoid drift between engineering PCs:

• Pin the component set. Define a single install manifest (text file or PowerShell DSC) that lists every TIA V14 SP1 MSI, including the Advanced and Professional simulators. Use it to build every engineering station from a known baseline.
• Document the Advanced/Professional decision per project. A Comfort Panel project can be opened on a Professional-only station, but the simulator will not run. Store the required component set in the project README.
• Use a shared license server. Local license dongles are a common source of intermittent simulator launch failures. Centralized license handling on a server ensures that all engineering stations have the same Advanced and Professional entitlements.
• Capture install logs. TIA setup writes verbose logs to %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\Logs\Setup_*.log. Archive the most recent log per station alongside the project archive. A failed "Simulate RT Advanced" install leaves a clear error code in the log.
• Test simulation immediately after OS patch cycles. Major Windows updates reset DCOM permissions and the COM+ catalog. Run a smoke test (open project, start simulator, toggle one tag) on every station after each monthly patch to catch regressions early.

12. Reference Paths and Quick Checks

Use this quick-reference list during commissioning to confirm a healthy TIA Portal V14 SP1 + TP1500 Comfort setup:

• %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\Sim\RTAdvancedSim.exe — must exist (Advanced simulator binary).
• %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Professional\Sim\RTProfessionalSim.exe — must exist for PC-station projects.
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\RT Advanced — registry key with build number 14.0.1.x.
• Control Panel → Programs → "SIMATIC WinCC Simulation for Runtime Advanced V14 SP1" — visible in the installed programs list.
• TIA Portal → Help → Installed Software → Detailed Information → search for Simulation for Runtime Advanced → version must read 14.0.1.0 or higher.
• Service Siemens S7DOS Help Server and Siemens PLCSIM → both must be set to Manual and started on demand.

For the canonical Siemens descriptions of the two simulator modes used by WinCC Runtime Advanced (Device simulation and Tag simulation), consult the WinCC Runtime Advanced simulation page. For PC-station projects, the matching guide is Runtime Professional simulation. The Siemens Knowledge Base entry 109747174 mirrors the Advanced procedure and is suitable for offline reference.

13. FAQ