Adding Aeotec Range Extenders has made my BE469 and FE599 locks reliable

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78

Thank you for checking in! I set it up per our chat:

  • Virtual switch, controlled via cloud end point with a simple trigger rule. Virtual switch turns on, then after 3 seconds virtual turns off.
  • 2nd RM trigger tells the 2 locks to unlock when the virtual switch is turned on.

When I set it up like this, if the locks are triggered at the same time then the z-wave network freezes for 3-5 minutes just like before.

So, I set a 4 second delay between the locks which seemed to help but after a day one of the locks fell off the network again.

I just added a 4th repeater yesterday, hopefully this will be the final nail in this solution. :slight_smile:

I now have 1 repeater next to the hub and 1 repeater within 3-5 feet of each lock. I have loads of other beaming repeaters throughout the house and garage. If this doesn't solve it, I'm at a loss of what to try next, so my fingers are crossed!

79

Right on, good luck!

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UPDATE 5/28/19: After adding a total of 4 strategically placed Aeotec Range Extenders, I have zero reliability issues with all 3 of my Schlage BE469 Zwave Locks for more than a week straight.

Yesterday I decided to perform testing on these locks that I've previously described their locations/current repeaters/problems in the above posts. I decided to Exclude and remove the 2 problem locks and try to "pair in place" including them after adding the extenders.

One of the 2 I was successful and did not have to remove the lock from the door at all (which I had to previously) and it included with no issues at all. as well as adding lock codes from lock code manager from.

The other of the 2 (the farthest one away) I was "kinda" able to pair in place....Hubitat "found" the lock but apparently during the configure process something would not complete and the lock kept giving a red X, instead of the Green Check on the inclusion process, but HE DID actually "find" the device this was not possible at this location pre-extender adds. After bringing the lock closer to fully include I then put back in place and used lock code manager to create lock codes, and haven't had any communication issues since yesterday.

Side note there were a few zwave repairs ran during this process, and I will probably add at more repeaters until I get the ALL locks to pair in place, as these truly do amplify the zwave signal, so adding them can only help my mesh anyway. Prior to this testing I was in the camp of "I would never buy those as they don't perform any other function, and devices that do perform others repeat also" Camp.....After using I'm a strong believer that all zwave meshes should have these now.

@bobbyD, @patrick, @mike.maxwell Something to take note of. The lock that would not fully pair in place, during this process the "exclude" function of the hub would NOT reach the same distance that the "include" function did when it would find the device. Each time I had to bring the lock back by the hub to "exclude it" but the "include it" would find the device at it's location Also, each time I had this failure seldom could I just start trying to repeat the process and re-include again (at it's use location), WITHOUT first doing a hub shutdown and power cycle. The inclusion would fail everytime I tried to repeat the process, UNTIL I preformed the power cycle then everytime it would find the device during the inclusion process (at it's use location)

Something about after trying to pair these locks appear to really weaken the zwave radio signal from the hub, and power cycling the hub almost always fixes this.

Just my observation and test methods I felt like sharing, take them at your will

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@waynespringer79

Damn son - you been busy!!

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@mike.maxwell has said no need to pair locks in place, unlike other devices. Why are you go through the effort? Does it make them more reliable in the long run?

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Yes I know he's said that, but I have found that I like this statement (although not regarding locks) a lot better and seem much more reliable, if they do pair in place.

And actually somewhere I read (from Aeotec) that stated something to the effect of if you still have issues with locks after adding their repeaters to do a remove/readd to the lock to ensure the repeater finds your lock easier.

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And are we finding it necessary to press "configure" on the device page after installing or reinstalling the device into Hubitat? It seems to be a necessary step on my old fe599.

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Watching the logs if I brought the lock close (strong) enough signal to fully pair, the configuration/get codes ran automatically after inclusion (at least with my BE469's), But I did tap the configure a separate time for good measure (and mainly to see how responsive it was) between when I tapped it and when the log showed the events.

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I don't think configure is needed if the lock fingerprint is in the driver, which if it says it's supported, then it is. But can it hurt to do it anyway, or does it just not do anything?

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Yes it will log configuring again, but you are right, since it paired as a "Generic Zwave Lock" the driver automatically configured upon inclusion.

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I found this was necessary for the FE599, but not the BE469.

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I’m not quite ready to call this one solved yet as it had been driving me bonkers for weeks.

But... 4 Aeotec repeaters has so far been the magic number for me. 1 within 5 feet of the hub and 1 in the closest outlet possible to each lock.

For the past few days things have been running smoothly. I will give it at least a full week before I will consider it solved, however :slight_smile:

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90

Unfortunately my locks started getting flakey last night and today completely fell off again.

BUT there is hope due to this post! Adding user lock code failed on schlage lock

I will wait patiently knowing that it’s now being worked on, even though I am sure there are many priorities ahead of it. :slight_smile:

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Agreed, try rebooting your hub until then, When I had an occasional issue, that seemed to bring them back normal again.

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Im hoping this solves my issue, As I dont want to replace locks. Im thinking it will because if I move my hub in visual site of the lock it works fine. Move it back to the media closet and nothing happens.

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What generated the map image?

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I thought the native BE469 driver had fixed my problem, but I just had an issue over the weekend. So thinking some repeaters. Anyone else had issues since implementing repeaters?

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@staze

The map was made using z-wave toolbox.

I have had no issues since adding 4 range extenders.

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Same here no issues since adding 4 range extenders

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@mike.maxwell now that there is a dedicated driver for these locks would you consider adding the ability to change some of the extra functions from hubitat. Like turn on off the alarm and the built in auto lock feature?

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