My CONTROLLER is not LR compatible, the actual controller/coordinator that is connected directly to Home Assistant…not the blinds.
Ah… that’s interesting. But are the modules in the shades labeled with “LR”? (It willl also be on the bottom label).
I’m curious if we have the same physical modules in the shades.
I tried adding mine on a dual controller as standard z-wave protocol, not long-range, and they failed. I did not try hard, but I actually got a failure message in the logs of unsupported. So I did not keep trying. It’s interesting if you have the same firmware and modules but it works with your non-long-range protocol controller. Is it a 700 series or something older?
I just checked, and yes the label on the blinds says Plus LR. My controller is an Aeotec Z-Stick Gen 5, so yes an older 500 series controller. I picked it for stability reasons when I installed it about 2 years ago. I haven’t run into a compelling reason to upgrade yet.
That’s interesting. Someone suggested I try a 500 series but I didn’t see any available now. Though if SW did this right, their LR module should actually work better with the 800 series, no relays, faster links. But reality does not always live up to marketing promise.
My replacement shade and new modules have shipped, maybe arrive this coming week. More then.
Good luck.
OK, I have a progress report.
SmartWings sent me a replacement shade for the one I could not get to work at all. It worked out of the box, included without issue, and functions. I think the motor in that shade had failed in some fashion; I suspect from the double-reset they had me do, but could just be a loose wire.
They also sent me replacement z-wave modules. I replaced one that was an older firmware, it worked fine (well, almost, more on that) and I left the other unchanged as it was already working.
In doing this I found one aspect that I think contributes to their issues. I believe they are using a feature of the LR protocol that dynamically lowers transmit power to save battery. Or they rolled their own. Below are the two shades that stayed connected the longest. Notice the significant falloff over time; it is dropping to the same range or slightly above the noise levels reported by my stick (which vary from about -96 to -101 depending on some televisions on in the are). I think they are two aggressive at whatever they are doing. I should also note this does NOT reset on power cycle, so if one falls too low to communicate, it appears to require a exclude/include cycle.
I did not try including these as standard z-wave vs long range (I tried earlier and failed but there have been a lot of firmware versions sent me so not sure which failed). This may prevent the power drop off and if I start having trouble will try again.
The other issue I am now convinced about is that their z-wave module physical case is poorly designed. The PCB inside has an RJ11 socket that is not well centered (in the image the black RJ11 is too far to the left). The actual connection pins are then difficult to reach without pushing in hard and in this image angled to the left. I had several times I tried and it would not work without pushing and shaking (the clip engages easily but is inadequate to pull it into the right spot).
So if you have these and they stop working for z-wave at all, pry them up from the double side take (a thin knife will do it but it takes work), get where you can hold it in your hand, and push hard and shake a bit.
At this point I am hopeful. I also think they did a nice job hanging in there with me through this process, though they have not been very forthcoming what they think caused the issues. The long shipping delays from china were a nuisance; they answered email the next day consistently.
Hopefully this is the last you hear of my issues. Hope this helps others. Would I buy them again? Well, maybe. I love the shades, if I get the idea they learned from this and improve these issues, yes. They certainly are a LOT cheaper than others, like Lutron or even Bali.
Linwood