Aeotec Door/Window Sensor 7 sporadic contact status

Hi, I have Aeotec Door/Window Sensor 7. It only a few meters from my hub but I don't always get reliable contact open/closed status. Battery report status from contact seems to come through regularly but not open/closed status. I open my door and see the red light flash on sensor but no event is reported on hubitat. Then on other occasions is works. Any suggestions?

Just curious. If you try the Generic Z-Wave Motion Sensor driver (hit save device and then the configure button after changing the driver), does it register active and inactive motion when you move the magnet towards it and away?

1 Like

I have been curious about this device but have been concerned about reliability due to the tiny magnet..

I can't find anything on the chips in these. Z-Wave 700 or 500? Doesn't make sense for them to be so big still if they're Z-Wave 700 modules, since that is supposed to allow 10 years on a coin cell. :man_shrugging::thinking: Only the recessed door sensor 7 and the Range extender 7 are the Z-Wave 700 module.

I wonder if the driver needs to just be the Generic Z-Wave Motion Sensor, modified for contact sensor. It seems to work with the Ring contact sensors and they are intended for the Ring hub obviously, which is using the Z-Wave 700 modem. I'm not sure if they're using Z-Wave 500 or 700 modules either, but it just has me wondering if it's an S2 security issue. [Correction] The Ring hub uses the 500 series modem. No controllers with the Z_Wave 700 modem are approved yet (March 3, 2020)

@mspanesar0108 If you take a screen shot of your device details and post, that might show a clue to the issue. It will look similar to this

Yours may show security info, and that might be the issue. Also check the log to see if it is registering the state change.

Make sure the lines on the device and magnet are aligned perfectly and the magnet is as close to the device as possible.

I noticed during my testing that the reports can become sporadic if the magnet is slightly out of alignment.

Make sure that before testing you enable debug logging (and enable it every 30 minutes while testing) because the device might be sending reports and you're just not seeing them because they're not changing the contact state.

1 Like

I believe it's 700 and it does support S2, but this is the dedicated driver for it and it's already been updated and tested.

1 Like

Then perhaps it's a range issue with that sensor. I found that the Ring needed the extender even with their own hub and the sensor just at my back door. That's just 25 feet from the Ring hub. :man_shrugging:

1 Like

Hi, thanks for the reply. here's the screenshot:

Thanks, I the magnet and sensor is aligned and is no more than a 1mm apart. The sensor LEDs flashes when opening and closing. I understand this means it detecting open and closing. Logs does not show any events:

My hub and door sensor are in the same room, probably only 3-4 meters apart. Range should not be a issue. I have motion sensors in other parts of the house and they communicate fine to the hub.

Different chips in the motion sensors correct? The point Iโ€™m trying to make is that these 700 modules are different. My experience so far is their range is nowhere near what the Z-Wave 500 modules had.

Iโ€™m not saying this is 100% correct information, but more of an educated guess based on my experience with Z-Wave 700 devices so far. It seems at this point in time, that we are really going to have to enforce the mesh concepts in our systems with these 700 modules. They have significant advantages in set-up and security, hoeever they are designed to operate at lower power levels and therefore it would make sense that we are not going to get the same end device range out of them. My own experience with the Ring contact sensors, which likely also use the new 700 module (The Ring hub certainly is using the Z-Wave 700 modem) is their range alone is terrible. But once an extender is in place, theyโ€™re fine and have not cause me any trouble at all.

Do you have other devices with the Z-Wave 700 module in them? Do you have a Z wave plus extender, preferably the 7 series, that you could add to see if this improves the reliability?

[Update] This post was just wrong. The ring devices and hub are all 500 series. Only the Aeotec recessed door sensor 7, the Range extender 7, and the Sensative Strips Door sensor are the only sensor devices using the Z-wave 700 module at this point (Mar 3, 2020).

Yeah my motion sensor have 500 chipsets (Fibaro FGMS-001 motion sensor). I don't have a range extender. Any that you would recommend to buy?

What country are you in?

United Kingdom

It makes sense to buy the Range Extender 7, but I don't see any range extenders on Amazon.co.uk

Check your other sources. Preferably Range Extender 7, but range extender 6 in lieu of Range Extender 7 availability. Or just send back the Door/Window sensor 7 and get an aeotec door/window sensor 5.

Or just go Zigbee. A lot less expensive, better battery life than the Z-Wave 500 modules, and you won't need any extenders for just that one device at that distance.

All z-wave devices are backwards compatible so if you have powered devices between it and the hub, and the device is aware of them, then I find it unlikely that the weaker signal with the 700 chip would make a difference, but I could be wrong...

If you didn't join the device in the same location that you mounted it then I recommend removing it and joining it again from that location because doing that should ensure that it knows about those repeaters.

After that you might want to run a z-wave repair. It won't affect the sensor because it will be sleeping, but it should ensure that the devices it's routing the commands through are using an optimal route to the hub.

I can't find anything on the Aeotec site about this sensor using the 700 series chip and there was nothing released from z-wave alliance about Aeotec certifying any new devices. At this point I think Aeotec is using 7 in their name as simply revisions just like they used 6 before this and there was no 600 series z-wave chip. Aeotec naming of devices has always confused people.

I have mixed views of this sensor (I do have one on my desk). I don't have any issues with reporting when the magnet is perfectly aligned. However the slightest unalignment (mm) and it will sometimes double signal off/on or on/off and gets into an odd state. I think if mounted and perfectly aligned it would work fine. As typical YMMV.

I knew I tested some 700 series Aeotec devices recently, but it turns out it was the recessed sensor 7 and range extender 7 which are both 700 series...

2 Likes

Marketing strikes again!

"Amazing wireless range.

Z-Wave Plus cements its position as the best platform for wirelessly connected devices with 700 series. With a wireless range of up to 800 metres / 2,600 feet (hop mode), Z-Wave devices can now communicate 250% further using significantly less power."

So confusing to those with no prior experience in Home Automation. UP TO 2,660 feet outdoors with no obstructions or interference and 4 repeaters in place, all healed and settled down. :crazy_face:

First thing a new user is likely to do is pull the device from the package, and without excluding it or resetting first, they will join right next to the hub, then move it away from the hub with no repeaters in place. :upside_down_face:

But I love the chart and wish more people with some experience and old repeaters could just see this first. Then it would be hopefully understandable from the start that their 300 series device is not an appropriate repeater.

Confirmed that the Aeotec door/window sensor 7 is a 500 series module. You can see in the listing for its Z-Wave Hardware Platform that is ZW5101. Any devices that list ZW5101 or ZW5202 are 500 series. I checked all the available Ring devices and they are all 500 series modules. Only the hub is 700 series (I think). It's interesting to note that the Ring hub was actually certified under a 500 series modem (SD3503), not the 700 series (EFR32ZG14)

[Edit] Hmmm, never noticed this before...Ring Alarm hub tech specs

"Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, Zigbee, Bluetooth for Setup (plus Cellular Backup with Ring Protect Plus subscription)"