I have an Aeon Labs DSA02203-ZWUS Z-Wave Z-Stick. I had some intermittent reliability problems with my z-wave network. So one thing I tried was adding a 4’ USB extender cable to get the stick away from the computer case and into a more open area from behind the computer.
I also unfortunately upgraded my system at the same time, and spent the next 3 days tearing my hair out over severe reliability issues with my z-wave network.
It turned out that when I removed the extender cable, my z-wave network reliability improved immediately.
I can’t say I understand how this could be the case, but there’s no doubt the extender cable caused me severe problems with my z-wave devices. Just thought I’d record this experience for future reference.
When the cable’s length increases the voltage drops. This is one explanation. However I have 1.5m USB extender cable and Aeotec gen5 stick. It’s working just the same as when I had it inserted in the Raspberry Pi directly - I.e. Still having issues only one node seeing the stick directly.
I think what happened in your case is that you misaligned the in-built antenna. Try turning the stick in a different direction and see whether connectivity improves. Don’t forget running heal network after changing the stick’s direction and/or location.
Nope. I aligned it several different ways, including the same orientation as the direct plug-in, and all of them were dramatically worse than the direct plug-in.
While reading this my first thought was it is the cable itself. I have run into multiple issues over the years using whatever cable I had lying around and finally updated to some ‘heavier duty’ cables that have a little thicker wiring.
I agree it is a power issue. If you are running off a Pi, you may be straining the power use as it is. Try connecting the Pi to a powered hub, then plugging the Z-Wave module / extension into that. Higher quality cables do make a difference for transmitting power consistently. I deal with this a lot in my work.