Zwave problems with only 3 specific devices

Configuration Z-Wave
#1

I am running home assistant in a VM on Proxmox.

Home Assistant 2023.3.3

  • Supervisor 2023.03.1
  • Operating System 9.5
  • Frontend 20230309.0 - latest

Utilizing the Zwave2MQTT addon

  • zwave-js-ui: 8.9.0
  • zwave-js: 10.10.0
  • home id: XXXXXXXXXX
  • home hex: XXXXXXXXXX

I have (2) Schlage/Allegion BE468 Touchscreen Deadbolts (Front Door Lock & Back Door Lock) and (1) Trane XR524 Touchscreen Comfort Control Thermostat.

These 3 units have intermittently become unresponsive/“not available” on my Z-wave network for several weeks now.

It started with just one of the deadbolts. I excluded it and then included it and that fixed the issue. Then several days later the other deadbolt and the thermostat dropped off. At first I just re-interviewed them and that fixed it. Since then it seems they are dropping off all the time and the only way to get them back is to exclude/include them.

I should mention that I have an Aeotec Zstick Gen5 USB controller.

I have 20 other Z-wave devices on my network most hard-wired (switches, fan controllers, etc) and some battery operated (door sensors) and have no issues with them staying responsive/connected.

This seems to have started somewhere with the February updates. I update my installation as soon as they come out.

Any suggestions on resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Chuck

#2

First step is look at stats for the devices in HA UI or zwaveJSUI and see if it show some communication issues. Retries and such.

#3

A poster on reddit suggested I look at the network graph and then click on each problem node and look at the statistics provided. Before I did all three problem nodes were reporting alive (I didn’t test this by sending a command.) When I checked the network graph the thermostat was 2 hops away which didn’t make sense as it is within 12’ of the controller.

When I clicked on each node and then clicked on check health the scores I got back were less than 7/10. For the Front Door Lock (furthest from the controller and showing 2 hops) I got a 1/10 score. This node has been my biggest problem. Yet there is a Zwave switch (mains wired and pretty sure it is a repeater) with 3 feet of the lock.

So with that I told the network to “heal”. When completed it moved the thermostat to 1 hop directly connected to the controller (which I thought it should have been). The (2) door locks were still 2 hops. The routes shown each included the thermostat (closest Zwave device to the controller) as one of the routes.

However when I checked “health” I got a low score on the front door lock, the back door lock now showed “dead”, and the thermostat showed 7/10.

From the other comments on the reddit thread I think I need to replace these items.

I have a Honeywell TH8320ZW that I used at my previous house and couldn’t get it to include when I moved into this house so I am going to try that first. If it fails then I will be in the market for a new thermostat and (2) new deadbolts.

On the deadbolts I am looking at the Ultraloq Zwave no finger print. Currently on Amazon for $159. In the reddit post someone suggested the Kwikset 620 prox $169 on Amazon. I am open to suggestions here. Also on a thermostat if the Honeywell won’t work.

Thanks for your reply

#4

I have 2 Kwikset locks and about 7 wired devices.

My locks were always problematic. Partly distance, part as they are battery, and lastly I was doing Zwave through my ISY994-

I recently upgraded to the ZST39 LR- Hooked it up with a USB extender cable, made my ISY994 a secondary controller, and the performance has never been better.

Might want to try a 700/800 controller first. Maybe use your Gem5 as a secondary controller. 700/800 is supposed to extend range as well.

A new controller is $50 so maybe try that first, and at worst you upgraded to the latest. It improved my experience tremendously where my locks are now rock solid and before they were more of problem than they were worth.

#5

That crossed my mind also. Before migrating HA to the VM I ran it on a RPI4. I had an issue with the RPI USB and this controller. Had to plug it into a powered USB hub as a work-around. They have since introduced the new chipset.

This morning all devices (locks & thermostat) are alive. Thermostat is definitely responding to commands. Haven’t tried locks.

I will have to give this some thought and choose a direction.

Thanks for your post!