Monitor Zwave traffic

[Tom415]

Hi,

Is there a way to sniff, monitor Zwave traffic outside of the Hubitat?

Specifically I'd like to monitor the traffic between my Hubitat C8 and Ultraloq Z wave. It looks like the ultraloq is sending battery updates every 5 min. That seems very excessive.

Thanks!

[jtp10181]

Yes, but you need a sacrificial USB zwave stick that you will re-flash into a zniffer.

Z-Wave Sniffing, Zniffing And You: A Guide To Pulling Packets From Thin Air

Maybe you've heard people around the community talking about sniffing packets or even misspelling the word "sniffer" as "zniffer". What are they talking about? Maybe some of your friends or relatives have even tried it. Maybe you've even considered experimenting with "zniffing" or "sniffing" but you don't know where to get started? This is a confusing time in your home automation lives. Your hubs and devices pools are growing and maturing. You might be experiencing new and exciting feeling…

A bunch of the SiLabs tools have changed since that guide was written as well so it may be hard to follow. I do have some of the old files stashed away I could dig up if needed.

Also, from your logs it is clear it is sending the reports, so not sure what else you will gain by sniffing the traffic. You will just see the exact same thing. The "parse" log entries are the semi-raw messages coming from the device.

[Tom415]

I'm trying to determine if the lock is sending the battery update automatically, or if the Hubitat is requesting it.

I've been in contact with ULoq Tech support. They've asked me to do various things to see if the issue continues. They're essentially making me do their troubleshooting. Ideally they would setup a lock and C8 in their lab and do their own troubleshooting.

I'm just getting more and more unimpressed with the Ultraloq Z wave lock.

Thanks!

[rlithgow1]

Dumb question but do you see those reports with debug off?

[jtp10181]

Change the driver to "Device" and then wait and see. Every message from the device will get logged and the hub will not send anything to the device to request any status updates.

Example from a switch:

[vitaliy_kh]

@Tom415

I'm trying to determine if the lock is sending the battery update automatically, or if the Hubitat is requesting it.

I have ZWave Ultraloq. This is very well known Ultraloq phenomena. Nothing new.

[JasonJoel]

@Tom415

I'm trying to determine if the lock is sending the battery update automatically, or if the Hubitat is requesting it.

It is sending it automatically.

It is one of the multiple reasons I threw my Ultraloq in the trash and replaced it with a Kwikset HomeConnect 620.

For those interested in other reasons I ditched the Ultraloq:

• reason #2 is that you can't pair/re-pair the lock without the app. So if Ultraloq goes out of business and the app stops working, you can never re-pair the device
• reason #3 is that it does not report lock code used when unlocked from the keypad, and I like to use that info for various automations

Too bad, as I rather liked the design of the hardware aesthetically.

[Tom415]

Reason 2 is an excellent point.
Reason 3 is my biggest disappointment so far.

Overall I think it's a very good lock, but it's Zwave integration is extremely poor.

[JasonJoel]

Yeah, it is a shame. The hardware is nice. The bluetooth functionality worked well for me too. The zwave capabilities just aren't that great.