I have been running Z Wave very successfully in our holiday home with a Aeotec Z Stick 5+ (upgraded from just the 5)and have decided to add some zwave to out home property (EU Frequency) both properties use dockers eg HA in a docker and zwavejs2mqtt in a docker
So went out and bought newest one - Z Stick 7 then saw below…
Aeotec Z-Stick 7 USB stick (ZWA010) (the EU version is not recommended due to RF performance issues)
Does anyone know if this has been resolved with latest firmware or am I wasting my time and should buy something else?
Myself I have zwave running it two different locations. I use the Aoetec Gen 5+ in both. I have a 700 sitting on my desk unused. Here’s why
a) consistency - I run the same HASS version, zwavejs, stick, hardware and try to use the same zwave devices. This reduces variation and solving the inevitable problems. I update zwave and HASS every 3 months, first on one system then after a week update the second, always running the same versions. Since the gen5 has been rock solid, I have no reason to try something else.
b) backup hardware - I keep extra gen5 sticks and have practiced restoring NVM backups and swapping the backup stick in. If the stick goes bad and you don’t have a backup or discover you can’t restore the backup that’s a bad place to be. So now I can rotate sticks and right now am running on the backup stick.
If I was going to move to Gen 7, I’d restore the NVM backup from Gen5, swap the Gen 7 in, map the new stick into zwavejs, start it and see if the devices come up, if so I’d then run it for a week, with the ability to roll back to the gen5 if problems arise.
Regarding your question, if it was me, I’d use the Gen 5+ in the new location also. Get a couple extra for backups, make sure they are all on the zwave aoetec firmware version. Get your new system working. Practice backup and restore. This way if you have problems in the new location it’ll likely be the strength of the zwave mesh and not the hw / sw.
If and when there is some important functional reason for moving to a new stick, then you’re in a good stable place to experiment from.
I’ve been running Aeotec 7 stick EU for over a year, no issues detected. I don’t have a comparison to other sticks, but the range was absolutely decent. Z-wave sensors operate fine 2 floors below stick. I have 16 sensors.
I’ve been so satisfied that I bought another one, and later on I’ve read the warning on HA site at least it works for me
Does anyone now where to find more info on the statement
Aeotec Z-Stick 7 USB stick (ZWA010) (the EU version is not recommended due to RF performance issues)
Coming to @schford s question - is this issue solved with firmware update?
My Gen 5 stick is broken and I need to replace - now I’m wondering if getting a Gen 5+ or 7 stick. I orginally wanted to get a Pi hat from aotec - but I learned in another thread that it might be advantageous to have it as a stick instead of a hat (e.g. for firmware upadates)
The statement originates from the Z-Wave JS developer, who is based in EU, and reports from Z-Wave JS users. There’s no know firmware update that solves the issue, I’d guess it’s a hardware design problem. I didn’t see any reports if the Z-Pi 7 has the same problem.
That said, I did my own measurements with 4 different controllers yesterday (Z-Stick 7, UZB 3 and 7, and a Razberry 7 Pro). The Z-Stick 7 performed significantly worse than the others (20-35% less range, 15-30 dBm worse SNR margin) and had troubles including a node in some locations where the others had no issues.
Also, where are you located? This doesn’t seem as bad as some results I’ve seen with the Z-Stick 7 - so probably US? The EU version has range issues, so that might affect throughput aswell.
I’ve experienced very poor range with the Aeotec Z-Stick 7
There are probably EU users that aren’t having any problems, so it may just depend on your specific scenario.
There are no advantages of a USB stick over a Pi-hat specifically for firmware update purposes. Either one can be updated with Z-Wave JS. If you want to use Windows-only software (PC Controller), then USB is necessary.
I’d say you are better off going with a Zooz 800 or sticking with Gen5+, based on the above reports. Haven’t heard of any issues with the Zooz yet.
I’ve been running it in the UK with about 50 nodes and it is perfect for about a year now.
I swapped out my holiday home five with the new seven about six months ago and have substantially better range and faster through put now - where as before it would use a repeater or two to connect to my cellar now it is a direct connection.
Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend sn upgrade - just make sure to get latest firmware on before migrating.
Anyways, the question was where the statement about the RF performance issues regarding the Z-Stick 7 came from. I was simply answering that. I don’t need any personal experience to relay information.
The question was has firmware fixed the issue - the answer is yes. Linking to posts several years old with no personal experience doesn’t help now does it.
To re-iterate, I’m just a messenger. I don’t need personal experience to explain why the HA documentation is recommending against this controller. The statement is based on the information provided. Not sure why this is being argued. If you have some new information, something besides “personal experience”, then please provide that so the HA documentation can be addressed.
at least it works for me