How my Schlage Lock is paired. I need an opinion

I've had my Schlage lock since I moved to HE. Maybe a year and a half ago. So I have it paired with the old driver. It works fine. I think that I would like to base some rules on lock code, etc, but am not sure if the new driver will support that. I've also heard that pairing securely with the new driver is less than desirable as you have to bring the hub to the lock or vise versa. So, my question is it it worth it to update to the new hub? I'm not having issues with it the way it is. I live in a rural area, so intercepting the signal isn't really an issue so I don't care that it's paired non secure. What would you do? What are the benes of updating to the newest? Will I gain functionality? I'm truly tossing this around.

I am a rare one here, I paired my locks in place even with a less than perfect, but stable Z-wave mesh. It sounds like you have a pretty good overall setup from what you said in a post a while back so you should be able to pair in place too.

I have used the newer drivers since they came out without issue. I don't see why you wouldn't want the updated features. The newer driver seems to help battery life for some of us too.

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I would, if you have any issues, almost guarenteed that adding aeotec range extender 6's will fix it. I previously had to take 2 of my locks off the doors to pair them next to the lock. After adding the aeotecs I can pair them in place. Those secure devices are the only items you may experience issue with going to the new hub.

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Thanks! I would like to say that my mesh is pretty stable. I set it and forget it. Other than secure pairing, what am I going to like about the new drivers? I might be missing out on something really great?

Can you post a link to the extenders you use?

Answering for Wayne, it looks like he listed the Aeotec 6 above.

I ended up with some Iris outlets that are combo Zigbee switch and Z-wave repeater. They go for about $50-65 for five of them on Ebay.

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I also forgot to add, I didn't have these repeaters until just recently. I don't think I really needed them for the Z-wave repeater, but they had it built in so it was a bonus. I really wanted the smart outlet with power monitoring that this has.

I paired the locks and every other Z-wave without them, and these are literally the last Z-wave I added to the mesh. I don't see any difference with or without them other than the Schlage's batteries MIGHT be lasting longer now.

I never noticed this before. I went to the device to see if it shows battery life and found that secure pairing shows true. How I managed that?
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I think it's been 6 months since I've changed batteries.

Try the new driver. You shouldn't even have to re-pair it. Just swap driver, save, configure, and you should be good!

ok

Regular repeaters won't solve the Schlage issue, you need amplifying repeaters these are the ones I'm referencing. https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Range-Extender-Z-Wave-repeater/dp/B01M6CKJXC

Here is the thread that discusses the in depth resolving of the issue Adding Aeotec Range Extenders has made my BE469 and FE599 locks reliable

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That was painless. So. what's the difference. Can I do anything new with this driver? I just see the difference of enable lock code encryption. Am I missing some kind of greatness?

According to the release notes:

2.1.3 Schlage BE468/BE469 Lock, additional event decoding for BE469.
2.1.2 Schlage Schlage BE468/BE469 Lock, added missing event decodes.
2.1.1 New drivers: * Schlage BE468/BE469 Lock

I think they mostly deal with Rule Machine and using those codes for automations. I don't think the locks sent the codes before this. There was a thread by I think Mike Maxwell discussing the 2.1.1 difference in the driver, but that reason isn't in the release notes.

Edit for maybe clarity. I think the locks previously sent only "locked" or "unlocked" events and not specific ones like "april's code XYZ" or whatever.

I think I found it.

Did you mean new hub, or just changing to the new Schlage Z-Wave lock drivers? The former is an endeavour that will gain you little besides a slightly prettier hub (if you have/had a C-3 or C-4)--and actually slightly less functionality at the moment since the Z-Wave radio is internal, unless you take your stick with, in which case you've negated the former possible benefit.

The latter, changing the driver, is easy (no need to re-pair, as you've now read) and likely to be problem-free. I switched as soon as they were available and haven't noticed any issues since (except an ongoing apparent bug where Notification child apps trigger on any lock code, not just the specified one, but it's fine in Rule Machine, so I don't think it's a driver or device issue).

The above advice on repeaters is good advice in general, but that is handled at the protocol level, not with the driver, so it won't make a difference here. The Dome and Aeon advertised as being signal "boosters" too, which is confusing to me since "repeater" in my book already means something that receives and re-transmits a therefore-less-attenuated copy of the message it received, but there must be something extra-special about those with the way some people rave about them. FWIW, I don't have the either, but I did switch out all of my Z-Wave repeaters to Plus (not really necessary but I wanted benefits elsewhere--but certainly couldn't hurt here with the range improvements) and made sure as many as possible supported beaming (helpful with "sleepy" devices like locks to take some work off the hub). If you're not sure what your repeaters support, you can check the certification doc on the Z-Wave Alliance site.

I updated the driver. Thanks for the input on this one. I'll see how it rolls. If it reports who unlocked the door, I'm all in.

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This will work for user codes were added using Hubitat (eg. using LCM). For codes added directly at the lock, I think you'll only get the slot number.

I was just looking around to find some rule examples of this. Can you help me with the variable?

I haven't tested it, but I think you should be able to use a rule like this:

I do use this lock code rule (Pattie Poehl is a virtual switch that turns on when the maid unlocks the door using her lock code)

So do I need to have a rule for every user? Or is there a universal way to announce any code/user entered?