Aeotec Range Extender 6

šŸ›Žļø Get Help Devices
1

Anyone tried the Aoetec Range Extender 6?

There are Smartthings drivers, so I expect I can make it work. Mine will be hear by the weekend.

1 Like
2

I have 2 of them, Not sure they are working right now. They joined fine and are just using another driver

3

You can get them, but they donā€™t do any more than any other mains-powered zwave plus device, like a light switch or a plug in pocket socket.

Back in generation three of zwave we used to need these because not all devices transmitted at maximum allowed power. But thatā€™s no longer true. At this point any zwave plus (generation 5) repeater will do as much for you as the single purpose ones, so you might as well get the additional function from a light switch or a pocket socket and skip the single purpose devices all together. :sunglasses:

(All the advantages that the Aeotec marketing materials tout over their previous generations of extenders are just coming from the fact that itā€™s now a generation five (Z wave plus) device. The same would be true of any zwave plus repeater, including a pocket socket. :wink: )

Also, if I sound mildly annoyed at the marketing, yeah. I am. :rage: The whole point of mesh topology is that regular Devices can repeat for other devices and you donā€™t need specialty actors like single-purpose amplifiers or repeaters. I got interested in this type of network protocol because of the energy savings, so I find it annoying when marketing is encouraging people to add more devices that they donā€™t need. The age-old struggle between marketing and engineering. :grin:

3 Likes
4

I do not disagree, my specific use case is in locations where other plugin devices are less convenient. For example, I want to improve signal near a boat house and do not want to introduce a convenient option for someone to plug something in. I am also using one where I have a junction box for a septic lift pump. These are incredibly compact and easy to secure to a single receptacle outlet so no one else will attempt to use the outlet.

1 Like
5

I use one at the back of my house for the pool light switch and one at the front. Both of them say they have been inactive since installed. Not sure they are working or not at this point since no drivers for them.

6

Run a zwave repair utility. If the devices show up and they have no errors, they are working. There really isn't anything else that's needed, as long as they are active on the network, they will repeat. :sunglasses:

7

It comes up in Hubitat as Generic Zwave outlet and goes inactive after some time so this seems to be a driver related issue since there are none in Hubitat that support it.

Given the correct driver it should work as it did in ST (When it worked) :slight_smile:

8

You might try setting it to just ā€˜Deviceā€™. Thatā€™s what the Z-Wave repeaters in my Iris plugs use, and they seem to be happy with it (and pass Z-Wave repairs).

1 Like
9

@Tony So far since have turned it on with the device button its checked in twice the last time 20 mins ago. Iā€™ll keep watching it and if it does go inactive again Iā€™ll try the Device only for the setting. Thanks

10

That button is not an on/off button. That device is always on. The button, called ā€œzwave buttonā€ in the manual, is only used for configuration and network options like include and exclude. When you press it once you were putting it into insecure inclusion mode, which is going to confuse it.

1 Like
11

@JDRoberts well just learned something about that button. I reset it and connected back up and used the device driver. Its been fine since so Iā€™ll watch it to see if it goes inactive. Thanks

1 Like
12

So how do you know if this is working? I have added the repeater and have it set as device but status says unknown.

13

How did people end up configuring these? Mine has a Type of Device and always shows a status of Unknown :confused:

14

try changing it to Generic Zwave Repeater

15

Thanks, I changed it and it's all good now

16

I have successfully added this device but the LED remains red on it - can't solve...

17

@psyvision does your extender show a green LED?

18

Anyone got this working? I can't tell if it's working or not :relieved:

19

@bf1 sorry I haven't been on the forum in ages. it did, but, it didn't extend the range far enough to reach my shed so I'm no longer using it.

20

How did you tell it was working? My led stays red...