Is there a way to see or test node signal strength for both/either types of mesh? In recent interactions with support they said they could see that a couple of my nodes (Zooz Double Outlets) were "frequently marked as failed by the radio". The odd thing is that these two devices are among the closest to the hub. But that got me thinking: apparently support can see this data, but I have no idea if/how we can. I ran a zwave repair but have no idea if it was effective or not. Seems like such a thing would be extremely useful in helping us strengthen our meshes.
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There is something available to do what you are looking for, it is a bit pricey.
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Yikes! Much better deal by just adding support to the Z-Wave network.
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Direct distance is somewhat irrelevant. It is more about the strength of the radio signal between any two devices. I have a fan controller that is within touching distance of the hub. It is in fact two hops from the HE hub from the radio perspective. The fan controller has many studs and heating pipes between it and the hub. The radio signal is absorbed or blocked by those things in the wall so the radio signal is forced to find other neighbors to route its signal.
I have added a Zwave stick connected to a Linux computer and run Open Zwave Control Panel (OZWCP) to map my Zwave mesh. You can add an Xbee zigbee device to map the Zigbee mesh.
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Thanks for the suggestions! As far as just adding extenders, it seems to me that's throwing away money without know what the actual issue is. And in my example, the devices themselves are already extenders. But also something I'd like to know is how we can see what support claims to see? I think we really need a tool to expose that so we can troubleshoot on our own. Would be more efficient than writing to support.
I'm going to look into OZWCP. I was already looking at adding a Zwave stick for firmware updates anyway. Any info or tips I should know about setting it up?
For zigbee you can just go into zigbee settings and look at the zigbee logs - it shows signal strength for those devices.
No way built-in to HE to see zwave signal strength.
You should also take a look at the Suphammer Zwave sniffer. It has signal strength as well. A bit cheaper but definitely bare-bone as it does not map the network.
Nothing special about setting it up. All I needed to do was pair the Zwave stick to the HE hub using the add device page. Once paired and with OZWCP installed most of my devices show up. Since the HE hub doesn't support adding a secondary controller, the Zwave stick does not get the security keys so anything joined securely doesn't show up. It does, however, function as a secondary controller. I can turn devices on and off, even with the HE hub shut down.
I have had this running for 7 or 8 months perhaps. I haven't experienced any issues with having this running full time but since this isn't a supported procedure, it could possibly interfere with HE to the point of messing up your Zwave devices so be careful. I would not attempt to update firmware with the stick paired to HE just in case.
I saw that on sale with a $100 discount . . . now if I can remember where . . .
What Xbee device(s) do you recommend?
This link should have more than enough information to confuse you. 
There are other devices you can add as well, that can also be used to map. I will see if I can find them/it.
Yes! That's where I saw it. They must have sent me an e-mail . . .
Thoughts on this one?
The Zwave toolbox one looks really good, I just don't know if I need this bad enough to spend $150 for it. Would be a no-brainer if I was doing this professionally (as this is intended for).
Link doesn't work for me...
Link updated. The original was just the URL pasted into the editor. I changed it to use the hyperlink option of the community software.
Ended up ordering one of these to try:
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/digi-international/XU-Z11/602-1144-ND/2199598
I may order one of the better (and double the price) USB adapters down the road (when they are in stock).
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That should be enough. I don't really think there is anything to be gained from the other link.
I ordered a Zooz ZWave USB stick. I remembered yesterday that a while back I had updated the firmware on a couple of Zooz light switches and they had loaned me one to do it. They have software on their site to do this. At the time all I was interested in was the update. But looking at the software again there is quite a lot of utility there. So I'm going to try that out and see if it helps me get a better understanding of this. The software is called Z-Wave PC Controller 5.
