Hello everyone. I've had great help from this community so far. I have two schlage locks with a C-5 HUB. I've had some recommendations on what range extenders to buy that i desperately need.
I keep seeing Aeotec pop up. There 6 and of course their new 7. Are these both compatible with a c-5? I want to buy 2 of them. one near each lock and possibly a third one to put near the HUB if thats necessary. Any help would be much appreciated.
They both are.
I’d recommend placing each about 1/3 to 1/2 the way between the hub and the lock.
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I'm a fan of Aeotec repeaters, but you can also use a z-wave plug too -- it doesn't have to be a dedicated repeater-only device. Any reputable mains-powered z-wave plus device (smart plug etc) will work fine as the lock repeater.
Just something to consider in case the added utility of a smart plug etc may be helpful -- 2 birds, 1 stone for the same price (likely even cheaper in the case of Aeotec repeaters lol).
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Ok cool. A far as putting it 1/2 to 1/3 away. If I wanted to put each repeater near each lock. For the method people say about also putting one close to the HUB.....I would only need one near the HUB right? Not one per each lock near the HUB? Just so I know Im understanding thigns right.
Correct.
I don't know the geometry of your house. But in general, z-wave routing algorithms favor fewer hops over more hops (z-wave is restricted to no more than 4 hops between the controller and the device).
Assuming your locks are 30 feet away from the hub in two different directions, then placing one repeater 10-15 ft in the direction of one lock and the second repeater 10-15 ft in the direction of the other lock is all that you should need. You likely will not need a third repeater right by the hub.
BTW, I do like @hydro311's suggestion for you to consider z-wave outlets as your repeaters.
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OK that makes sense. I think Ill start there. You're probably dead on btw. 30 feet in each diretion sounds about right. lol
All I meant though. If I needed two hops(hypatheticaly speaking so I understand this) therefore putting one near the HUB. Im not asigning that third repeater to a lcok right? Another words it can hop off of that first repeater in either direction to either repeater 15 feet away right?
Ive thoguht abuot the plugs too there are just so any diff brands I dont know fi some or better than others. chances are slim to none that Ill need the actual plug, becausd Ive already ran insteon, philips hue, wiz, kasa through my house over the past several years. This is my first wack at Z Wave to get the locks up and running.
They all have the same z-wave chip in them (there' a single vendor for z-wave chips). There are some that have 700-series chips (zwave+ v2) and others that have 500-series chips (zwave+). I'd recommend either variety over ones with 300-series chips (zwave).
The Aeotec Range Extender 6 is 500-series, and the Range Extender 7 is 700-series.
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Yes, but I'm guessing you will not need a repeater near the hub.
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OK perfect. Ill start with the Two then. So 700 series chip will work even though I only have a C-5? I was under the impression that C-5 i only 500?
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A 700 device wil work fine on the C-5 -- z-wave is reliably backward compatible in that sense. Getting a 700 device is always nice for better future-proofing, so likely a good move 
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So I plugged in my Aeotec 6's. They flash red. I tried holding the button down for 20 seconds like it said but they continured to flash red. i ran an inclusion with hubitat for one of them just to see what would happen. And it worked. now the light is a solid red. And its showing up in hubitat. Log says that its active. The red light seems wrong to me. Red always means bad with electronics. am I missing something? only instructions I found was a PDF from 2017. Talking about the lights changing colors. maybe things are different now? Any help would be appreciated before I send these back.
Is there a way to know if these are working? I see it under devices
Use this driver from @srwhite. Be sure to click on the "Configure" button in the device page for your repeater after changing drivers.
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I think the real test is if the locks are working. You might try a Zwave Repair and see if that makes a difference. It can actually take a while for Zwave to change routing, so simply waiting might also be necessary.
What about the solid red light? Have you guys seen that before? The manual from 2017 says I’m supposed to get a greenlight
No clue. I don't have any of these. Assuming we are talking about the Aeotec Range Extender 6?
Do they show up in your Zwave Details and in Devices tab?
I think you can use that driver Aaiyar linked above to run a test of the device to see if it is communicating.
Maybe...?
It has a small light on the side of it. You can change its color to any color. Barely notice mine
Omg it says this no where In Their manual lol is that Definitly the aeotec extender 6 that you pulled that question from? The link only brings me to that question. If it is then my research is done and I have my answer. Thank you
Well it is Amazon, but yeah, upper left of the Q&A page is the link back:
