Are there any issues with the Kwikset Smartcode 916 and 910 Zwave locks? I have these set up with Wink and transitioning this weekend.
You will see both answers here, yes and no, but for me I had no issues. Good mesh first, then add the locks
1 Like
Z-wave locks can be finicky. Make sure you have z-wave+ repeaters that support beaming close the the Hubitat and the locations of the lock (within a few feet in each case).
Exclude the lock from Wink, and factory reset it. If pairing in place doesn't work, bring the lock within a couple feet of your Hubitat and pair it again. Keep the lock alive during pairing. Finally, do a z-wave network rebuild after pairing each lock and after the locks are in the final location.
1 Like
@vjv and @aaiyar Thanks for the feedback! I've been building my Z-wave mesh outwards from the HE, the Kwikset locks, Dome Shut off valve and a couple of motion sensors are the last to be added. Other devices are AC powered plugs (2 units) and GE Dimmer. I still have an older GE Dimmer (JAS12724 - GE 12724) that I am not sure will work reliably based on user comments. So far the GE Enbrighten Z-Wave Plus dimmer works well.
1 Like
I have three Z-Wave+ repeaters but it was my understanding that putting them close to the locks wouldn't serve much of a purpose. I was told by support that they should be as close to the hub as possible while still getting a signal to the lock. So I have one repeater right next to the hub and two more central to the locks. Am I doing it wrong and should I move the repeaters closer to the locks?
I have one range extender next to my zwave hub. The others are distributed. There's one within 10 ft of each lock.
@SmartHomePrimer Thanks for the explanation. At least in my case, there was (and perhaps still is) some confusion with the terminology. For better or worse, I came from a Wink environment where "compatible" and "supported" were interchangeable terms. Everything else was "unsupported". In the Hubitat context, compatible devices are essentially unsupported.
Compatible devices are still subject to the vagaries of individual z-wave mesh networks.
2 Likes
I migrated my JAS12724 - GE 12724 dimmer last night. It excluded fine from Wink, but would not pair with Hubitat. I included it back with Wink with no issue. I then re-excluded, tried a few more times to include into HE to no avail. I had to shut down the HE, and move it closer (about 2 ft) from the switch (I knew that 5o foot Ethernet cable would come in handy one day!). Once I did this, it included immediately. Agreed, the behavior is different setting up with Wink vs HE, but ultimately HE is significantly more powerful than Wink … just 30 more devices to go!! 
1 Like
Have you found that the factory reset was necessary in each case, or is it just an added precaution? I have to migrate 6 locks and I was hoping to avoid re-creating my lock codes.
Typically it is just a precaution. Try it without the factory reset first if you want.
1 Like
It is a precaution. However, if you want to manage lock codes with Hubitat's Lock Code Manager app, you will have to delete all existing lock codes. I only have two locks - LCM makes it easy to manage codes to both locks from a single app.
2 Likes
OK that is good to know because I am going to manage codes with LCM.
My locks are 4 Schlage BE469, 1 FE599 and 1 Kwikset 910. I believe they are all z-wave not z-wave plus because they were bought in 2015/6. I have Z-wave extenders within 10 feet of each lock (or the lock is within 10 feet of the hub). I've read thru the posts about these locks and it seems like there are all sorts of success or failure stories especially Kwikset.
Will having z-wave and not z-wave plus cause problems with using any of these locks, especially getting status updates when locking manually?
What is the firmware version? FW 7.2 and later are fine. 7.1 may be ok. 6.8 is garbage.
Because it supported a very limited range of devices, Wink would workaround the network flood caused by FW 6.8. Most other controllers (including Hubitat) don't do that.
1 Like
These locks are still paired to Wink, how can I find the firmware version? I've looked but can't figure it out.
There's a sticker on the back of the lock with the FW version. Schlage has replaced locks for free for me. Just send them a photo of the back of the lock with a note indicating it is causing issues on your z-wave network. The photo below was from a lock with FW 5.8.
Edit - they may not even require the photo. For the most recent swap I did, they only asked for the serial number.
1 Like
Ah ok, I couldn't remember if those locks had user upgradeable firmware or not. I have the original manuals that show the firmware so I will look for those. I've already found a couple with 6.8 and 7.1. I suspect that most of the BE469 are 6.8. I've had good luck with Schlage in the past replacing defective devices but asking for 3 or 4 at a time might be pushing it. I'll see what I've got.
1 Like
Based on the results of extensive testing that I did with SmartThings Z-Wave devs, 6.8 specifically spits out a lot of gibberish (corrupted messages). On my system it was roughly at a rate of about 10 per second when the lock is commanded to do anything. This pretty much killed Z-Wave anytime I tried using the locks.
Replacing all of them was the solution.
4 Likes
Do you know if it it's possible to replace/upgrade the z-wave module in the Schlage locks to z-wave plus and through that process get more a recent firmware version?
Nope.. It's integral to the mainboard. There are no user-installable firmware updates either..
What's worse, if they are out of warranty Schlage doesn't want anything to do with them because they do not consider outdated firmware to be a defect.
Needless to say, I've purchased my last Schlage product after that experience.
4 Likes
