Thanks for your suggestions. I have reviewed the documents and have a fairly simple setup in terms of rules, etc. but I can't get past devices such as locks and water valves not working reliably. I wish support would step in and tell me exactly why these aren't working but they have yet to do so even after reaching out multiple times. They always point back to the locks and it being an issue with Schlage even though I never had a single issue when on the Wink platform.
1 Like
LOL now that I re-read the title of the topic... I'm not sure ANY home automation is ready for mainstream! I haven't encountered one yet that I could recommend to my non-technical father. Likewise, the Stanley Steamer wasn't ready for mainstream in 1897, but how exciting it would have been to be there and be able to learn and tinker, especially if you believed in what cars would eventually become!
6 Likes
Have you checked that your wifi is not interfering with your things? Do you have cree light bulbs? Xiaomi products? Some of the version one Inovellis have a known issue to beat up on your zigbee mesh. The Schlage locks were removed from the compatibility list. Maybe reach out to them and see if they'll swap it for a zigbee model? I plan on doing that. I'll let you know if they accommodate. It's very hard to know what is giving you problems. Do you have any community apps installed? All can and will affect your mesh. There's not a good way to troubleshoot zwave, but when I had rogue devices pounding on my stuff, it affected everything eventually.
[EDIT] THEY, meaning Schlage
1 Like
I think Wink was the closest of anything to be "ready for mainstream". It was locked down with limited and very specific device support. This is really the only way to make a DIY system "mainstream" by severely limiting the options and functionality and even with this limit there were still device hiccups.
DIY home automation is not a mainstream thing. The "PRO" installs work because they are supported by the installers and very specifically built around the system with known working pieces which is the opposite of DIY systems.
4 Likes
I'm sure you've done these already but still worth noting:
- You ran a Z-Wave repair after each relocation and/or repeater device installation.
- You did a soft reset to make sure everything in your DB was copacetic. While not required might start you back at a baseline for (re) pairing.
Unlike @SmartHomePrimer I did have issues with my YRD256 ZW but that was early on in my HE experience and still cannot rule out other non-HE possibilities.
Every HA hub has a learning curve - I started with SmartThings and it took a while to figure things out and get running properly there too.. it was the increasingly frustrating (and inexplicable) outages and reliance on cloud processing that killed ST for me.
I guess the issue is Home Automation IOT etc has been sold as quick and easy panacea when the reality is outside of a few simple devices/controls maybe not so much.
5 Likes
Out of curiosity What was the device?
1 Like
2 first gen Inovellis. one was a switch the other an outdoor plug. Both took out my zigbee and zwave networks. Crees are the devil's bane. They brought my network to a standstill. Xiaomis were ok for me, but others reported that they were always falling off.
Yes, I've looked at my wireless and changed my Zigbee channel to the one with the least usage in range. I do not have either of those products. My main issues are with Z-Wave products and I am aware of the Schlage locks being removed from the compatibility list. It was after I reported the issue to support and started several threads looking for a solution. The removal is actually hurting my chances of getting support from Schalge as they are indicating that Hubitat is not a preferred hub and that they don't list the locks as compatible.
1 Like
Yes, I've tried Z-Wave repairs after each relocation as well as several soft resets. Honestly I wouldn't be so frustrated if it was an issue with a light or some complicated rule but this is for my locks and water main valve. These should work 99.99% of the time but I'm lucky if they work close to half of the time.
1 Like
Could you try one thing for me before you completely leave. Can you try relocating your hub to within 5-10 feet of the lock for a few days, run a zwave repair and see if anything changes?
1 Like
It's interesting you brought up the water main valve - after your post I went to check on mine (Dome ) and it was not responsive in HE. Had to force remove, exclude etc and am currently unable to (re) pair it. I currently suspect the device itself not HE though.
I wish there was a really easy HE native way to figure out what devices are causing trouble - and by that I mean some sort of diagnostic report (encompassing both ZW/ZB) that triggered an alert or something obvious. I realize that this may not be possible though. There are excellent 3rd party watchdog apps (and device drivers) that help but would prefer something built-in.
2 Likes
No of those on mine so I'll keep looking
1 Like
My hub currently sits within 5 feet of my front door lock and I have ran several Z-Wave repairs. It continues to not respond to lock/unlock commands and regularly reports an inaccurate lock status.
1 Like
I completely agree with this! I wish I had a better way to gain some insight on Z-Wave mesh mapping/hops, diagnostic reports, and alerting when a device goes offline. This would help troubleshooting tremendously!
2 Likes
So far I haven't seen anyone with the hub/lock that close have any issues, it's mainly been greater distances.
Thanks for letting me know.
1 Like
One more question. On your device page for the lock at the bottom is "zwaveSecurePairingComplete: true" listed? This tells me if the joining process when you paired it was successful.
1 Like
Agreed.
3 Likes
Part of the difficulty is that (to my understanding from reading it and writing drivers/apps that use it) the z-wave spec itself does not demand that devices send a response after receiving a command. If it did, perhaps HE could flag devices that didn't respond after some time.
This is why I wrote the reliable locks app. When you lock a lock with it, it:
- Sends the lock command
- Waits a few seconds
- Sends a refresh command
- Waits for a report to come back
- Retries all this a couple times if it doesn't get a confirmation back
It helps with a couple things:
- Locks that do lock successfully, but don't send a report back automatically
- Mesh congestion
Unfortunately, it can't help with the reporting of manual lock state changes. I had two locks that refused to do that, so I changed out the chips to zigbee, and have been very happy since.
4 Likes
Yes, for all four locks.
2 Likes
How is it paired? Secured or unsecured? Which driver are you using. My schlage lock is in the basement in the center of my house under the steps. About 15 feet from my hub as the crow flies and I have no trouble with it. I'm using the updated driver and it's paired secure.
[EDIT]
I see @IpostThings already asked that. sorry
