i have multiple instances of Kwikset model 916 deadbolt installed. When I add these devices, ZWave-JS creates a sensor entity called “current status of the door”.
This suggests that maybe it should be capable of reporting the open/close state of the door without my needing to add another sensor for this. It totally makes sense that this should exist. However for all of the instances of this device, the entity never seems to change from the “open” state. in other words, it seems like this device doesn’t actually support this sensor. My conclusion is I should probably just disable all of these sensors in HomeAssistant, but before doing so I just wanted to check I was not missing something about how these were supposed to work. It might even be the case that these were initially not enabled, and I (wishfully) enabled them some time ago and just don’t remember…
So I’m just checking - does anyone see any useful data from Kwikset 916 (or 888)?
I think the current status of the door sensor is meant to show whether the door is opened or closed. This should only show up on devices that have a door sensor. I don’t think the 916 has a door sensor so I would perform a device re-interview to see if it goes away. If it doesn’t you can try to disable the entity or delete it.
To the best of my ability to confirm, none of the “current status of door” sensors on any of my 916 locks currently work or have ever worked. Re-interviewing does not change the presence of these entities. Thus, I have opted to just manually disable these entities for each of my model 916 locks. I would describe this as a mini-bug in the z-wave device library for this particular model of deadbolt.
As an aside, I honestly really do wish that these devices came with a reliable door sensor built into them! Seems like it would be easy and straightforward to include - I’m actually surprised this is not a standard feature. It would certainly make the auto-lock feature (which model 916 and many other Kwikset locks have) work better.
Even though new sensors are getting small, it is still kind of a pain to have to mount and align both a magnet and a sensor. It seems that “hidden” (embedded in door frame) models are rare these days. Hinge-side models, i.e. with push-button actuators are almost non-existent. There are solutions that involve cutting holes in door and/or frame, but I’m reluctant to do that. I find it hard to find a place to get a magnet and sensor to align cleanly - my door/trim configuration makes it difficult, especially for exterior doors. Mounting sensor on the exterior side would be easier, but is not a good option due to cold weather and security concerns.