I have this issue as well but I have learned one thing...if the app is open, then it will register the change (on/off) in status of a device. I have some lights set to OFF at 11:15pm and if I am in the middle of something, I have found myself sitting with the app open anticipating the lights to go off so I can turn them back on. When the CM15a sends the OFF command at 11:15, the app registers it and changes the status to OFF, I can then touch the icon and turn the lights back on.
I guess if the app is open, it sees the PLC and registers it, and if the app is closed, it does not?
And, a different issue I have is that if a particular outside light is turned on by the wall switch, no number of taps on the ON/OFF make a difference....
I haven't done that test, but I'm pretty sure that even if the app is closed, the WM100 will register the change, *if the command is sent from the CM15A or another powerline controller*. The app isn't what stores everything - that's all done in the WM100. Otherwise, putting the app on multiple devices would be pointless, as they would all have to be open all the time for anything to ever work.
As for your second issue, I'm not sure what you're reporting. If you're saying that turning it on manually will *never* update the WM100/CM15A/AHP, then that's a matter of the hardware itself, as I explained previously. The wall switch does not have a transmitter in it, so it has no way to inform any controller that its state has changed. There are other switches out there (the ones by Smarthome - if you get the ones that still support X10 - for example) that transmit their state change when operated manually. This can have the added benefit of being able to use it as a controller for linked lights. For example, I have two switches that control my outside lights. I put them on the same HC/UC, and when I toggle one, the other one toggles too (and the CM15A and WM100 are made aware of the change, because they see the command on the powerline).
If you're saying that once the light is turned on, it cannot be turned off with the software, then brobin's answer is probably correct. The bulb is probably creating enough electrical noise to drown out the signal. Try a standard incandescent bulb, to see if the switch responds. If it does, then it is a noise issue.