I have a device (zooz zse29 motion sensor on battery) that is just 1 wall to far for my controller (zooz 700 dongle on a 30cm usb extension cable). If I place it so that the controller can “see” it, it works as expected. But when I put it just around the corner, it is not seen.
So I place an intermediary z-wave device (zooz zen25) that can be seen by both the controller and the. This second device works fine, but the motion sensor does not.
I was under the impression that Z-Wave dynamically built the network.
It is not instant. It may take some minutes or half hour.
Radio waves are not always logical, so you may think the devices can see each other, but it may still very unreliable, which is why Add ng multiple repeater devices is advised.
You also may need to repair the route or it has no idea it can use it.
AFAIK routes will repair themselves over time but that’s on the order of days not hours and assume you haven’t created any priority routes.
Whenever you add a device to improve comms you’ll need to force repair the end device before it discovers the parent or wait until the network does it on its own. Again… DAYS.
Repair the end node. Or try to join it again AFTER the new node is in place.
(note this is why I always pair in place if you can’t pair it won’t be reliable)
I will add that you might end up looking at the network map and think z-wave isn’t routing in a logical way. I spent time forcing what I thought was the “correct” routing and just made it worse.
My network is quite stable and responsive. The number one thing I did was watch the logs and adjust the parameters of devices that generate a lot of traffic. (I have quite a few devices that report voltage, amps, and watts and Wh.) I wonder if the extra traffic hurts battery devices more.
I also have extra z-wave js instances running on two Rpi3s that I have placed at far-to-reach areas where they only talk to a few devices. (I was concerned the extra controllers would just add more noise, but my main network seems to be fast and robust as ever, if not better.)
One of my devices is a Schlage door lock. The instructions specifically say to put the lock near the controller because when pairing it goes into “whisper” mode. I suppose if I have to re-pair it I’ll have to take the lock off the door.
I do like the concept of pairing a device in its final location.
I used to have three of those. I also have two Gocontro GDOs that use whisper mode that is the only exception. (in fact I think you’ll still find my post if you look up how to pair a Schlage ZWave and I still have that long cat5 patch for this…)
Still holds except for s0 whisper you take the NUC or your pi or your whatev coordinator TO the device hold it alongside while you complete the pairing. Climb off the ladder. Go put the box/controller back and Immediately repair. If it’s in range it should pull correct neighbors and try to route through them. If the repair doesn’t work move the controller halfway back and then bring it up and try again to repair the node. Continue until repair succeeds. (that repair is ultra critical with s0 whisper or you can island the node)
If you take the device to the controller you will likely need at least two repair cycles moving it back in position if it’s farther than about 75’ (where s0 3/5 chips start to fall off)
Yes, that’s why I dread the lock losing it, @NathanCu. In addition to the Zooz 700 Z-Wave dongle (Firmware: 7.18.3) and the power connection, I have an ethernet cable and a serial connection to the Insteon Power Line Modem. The lock only has two screws.
Either way, a big hassle. Thus my growing distaste for Z-Wave (grrrrrr)
I did consider this. The purpose, as I perceive it, is to minimize, to the greatest possible extent, a possibility for compromising the security. I will grant you that whisper mode isn’t really needed in a home because the possibility of someone electronically snoop at the right time is as close to zero as me getting a date with a super model.
But I have found with other devices, zst29, zse10, enlighten, that having the device close to the controller makes success more likely. Particularly if the device needs a firmware upgrade. This opinion comes for many hours trying to get this ……. system to work.
Schlage and yale locks are notoriously bad zwave devices.
I haven’t bought a zwave lock yet because they either look terrible and behave properly or look great and behave terrible. There’s no look great, behave great locks that I have found.
The newer Schlage are much better than thier older predecessors. I have replaced all three of mine with thier newer ZWave+ (read: S2/doesn’t need whisper mode) cousins which fit the old lock cylinder (read: direct swap. didn’t need to rekey)
My house came with a Baldwin Touchscreen, which is really what sent me down the z-wave path. No problem paring it, but it would often report unavailable immediately after unlocking/locking. I wanted better reach on other z-wave devices on the front of the house and so added another controller near the door. That was maybe 20’ from the Baldwin and then paired the lock with the new controller.
There’s only four devices total on that controller and the lock has been running perfectly since. Probably just blind luck, but who knows?
