C7 radio

Thinking about upgrading to a C7 now that I have a few 700 devices on the way. Is the C7 radio stronger in any way? For both zigbee and z-wave? I have 4 hubs (C4/C5) and I'm wondering if now would be a good time to upgrade to a C7 and go back to a 1-hub household... The multihub benefit is mostly due to ample processing overhead but I don't know if I'd notice the difference by going back to a single hub...

Zwave 700 has a higher transmit power maximum and more receive side sensitivity. How much that helps really still depends on the antenna design. That said, it is reasonable to expect SOME improvement in range on a 700 series hub versus 500 series (assuming no grossly mis-designed antenna).

In my case, I'm sticking to 2 hubs as you can't combine devices from one hub into another, so for me it is still easier to just have a zigbee one and a zwave one.

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I have mine split into upstairs, downstairs, and then a controller/admin hub. Fourth hub is for problematic zigbee bulbs. I can't decide how I'd want to restructure a new C7 into the mix. Devices are all on C4s so I'll have to migrate the long way anyway, but it's likely to come with a rethink of how the house is laid out. My thinking is that eventually future HE hubs will have stronger radios and more processing power, eliminating the need for multiple hubs, but I don't think we're there yet.

I would say that it depends upon how many Z-Wave devices do you have. In my installation, I've found that the 700 series looses stability around 75 devices or so, while 60 and under seems rock solid. I'm currently running 2 C7s and a C5 to cover my 120+ devices. FWIW, before moving to the 700 series, I ran all the devices from a single C5. Your Mileage May Vary.

Here is another recent post with a similar message. It bears reading a few times:

https://community.hubitat.com/t/is-hubitat-zwave-really-that-terrible/68754/41

In the end, like the other poster I decided that the cost of another hub, and the associated protection subscription, was minor when compared with the hundreds of hours I spent trying to make a single 700 series hub work.

Again, Your Mileage May Vary.

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I have 72 zwave devices on my C7 with no issues. :man_shrugging: But I 100% acknowledge there are a lot of variables at play, and what works for one may not work for another!

Yes the subscription appears to the be way forward. Will be nice to seamlessly migrate next post-C7.

Okay buying one now and will convert my upstairs first. SPRING21 BABY :tulip:

PS, @dennypage your link doesn't seem to work

Strange that the link doesn't work. It still works for me, but I have to be logged in to see it. Are you logged in?

Can anyone else see the post?

Link worked for me too.

I'm logged in but:

It’s in the Debate Chamber so depending on how long you’ve been a member you may not have access...

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Hmm. I've been here for years.

Yea, but you may not be as argumentative as the rest of us.

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Well yes. Agreed.

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I honestly didn't know that there were Time In Service restrictions on access to posts there. Shame the post was made in there then--it contains some valuable lessons learned.

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May have started out somewhere else and got moved there if things started getting a little rowdy,,,,

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