So I know that Z-Wave is a mesh network and so the more devices you have the better the network will work. Right now though I only have two devices other than the hub but I'm still surprised at how poorly it is performing.
My hub is in my TV room, close to the wall to my back yard. About 15 feet from the hub through that wall I have a GE exterior socket, which the hub is happily controlling. The house is old so the wall is probably more solid than most so I'm happy that the signal is getting out there.
Then I have a Zooz smart switch in my garage. It is about 15 feet from the exterior socket (passing through just the garage wall which is drywall, insulation and wood siding) and also about 15 feet from the hub (passing through the garage wall and the house wall). The smart switch is unreachable from the hub. I had to take the hub into the garage just to discover it and after moving back the hub is unable to communicate with it.
I've tried running a Z-Wave repair a few times and nothing has changed. Hubitats notes suggest you should be able to reach 150 feet in a single hop, and I know that's probably the ideal case and walls certainly affect things but getting less than a tenth that is surprising to me.
Is there any way to diagnose what is going on here? Is it perhaps just a faulty switch or something?
Both Zigbee and Zwave require some commitment and dedication. They really don't like to be lonely. Many years ago, my first device or two didn't stay connected reliably. I did some reading and learned a bit about building the mesh. I gradually added devices even though I had devices randomly stop responding. Then one day I added a switch, one I called the magic device. From that day, my Zwave network has been ultra reliable. This goes back 6 or 7 years.
The toughest challenge was extending my mesh outdoors. We have steel siding, making our home a virtual Faraday cage. With careful placement I have almost as many devices outside the home as inside.
When beginning, I would begin closer to the hub and build outwards. That might not fit the "pick and choose specific areas to automate approach", but it is less frustrating and more predictable.
Unless you stick it out for the long haul. My experience parallels @zarthan's. Mesh networks are finicky until the mesh is reliable. Which is why Hubitat recommends building a mesh going outward from the HE, akin to @zarthan's description.
Zwave works very well. If you were only intending to control 2 or three things then you might have chosen other things. If your goal is to automate your home then even one device is a start. Why don't you let us know what you want to achieve in the long run?
My initial goal is to be able to control all of the lights in my back yard. The exterior socket is controlling one. The switch in the garage controls a second. I was planning on a second switch in the same switch box for a third and then I will need a smart bulb for a fourth. I guess I could use another exterior socket for my fountain which would be roughly in the middle of everything and maybe would give me the range to the garage.
I have 2 aeotec multisensors (mains powered), 1 aeotec siren and a danalock and they work stable for about 6 month now. No repeaters or big mesh. So it could work.
Zwave radios are very low powered and those radio signals are easily blocked or their effective strength drastically reduced when going through walls, furniture or appliances. When placing devices, look at the situation from the antennas perspective, both hub and device. Going through a wall at 90 degrees to get a signal back and forth from the hub is a lot different than trying to reach that same device at an oblique angle. Think of all the material that may have the opportunity to block the signal. Clear line of site is more likely to be successful.
Battery powered devices do not work to fill in Zwave signals so whatever you add initially, make sure it is a powered device, either plug in or wired in.
Well this is odd. I moved the exterior socket to where the fountain would be. That is a little closer to the hub and rather than going through the wall at an oblique angle in its old position it should be going through at almost 90 degrees. And now the hub can't reach it.
Aha! I rotated the hub 90 degrees and now it is able to reach the smart switch and the exterior socket regardless of where the socket is. Seems like maybe it's at the limit as it can take a bit to register events, but maybe this is good enough for now.
You are going from inside the home to the outside. There can be plumbing, electrical or heating inside the walls. With a mesh network, ideally, you want a line of site connection. Try moving the hub up or down, left or right. Let it sit at a new position for a while. Do a repair. See if that helps. With another device or two properly placed
Yes the aeotec multi sensors become repeaters when plugged it all of mine are plugged in and they are probably the backbone of my home due to their positions.
They do, but the instructions say you need to pair them plugged in to get them to repeat. You can't just add a power adapter to an already paired multi and expect it to repeat.
i think your right, BUT the odd thing is they also say to ALWAYS plug them in to pair them. so what happens to the ones that you then only put battery in? Why does it work one way but not the other.
In the instructions that I read it says to pair as you are going to use it. battery or powered, you pair the same. It might just be for the older firmware ones. My instructions said to pair powered as intended batteries or usb. When I look it up now, it's recommended. NICE. There is also a secure pair that they don't mention either.
all of mine are plugged in and they are probably the backbone of my home due to their positions.
