Is Schlage not updating devices?? How old is it?
It's true that I don't really have to worry about 2.4ghz interference -- I can hardly connect to my network standing in the driveway so neighbor's networks are hardly a problem 
But even at my old house in a much more densely populated neighborhood and a weaker zigbee mesh, I never had an issue with interference.
And honestly the way we end up using the lock is 99% with the keypad, because we want to see positive confirmation that the door is locked. So really, most of my automations using the lock could be done with a contact sensor. It's just nice that I can control it when needed or if I do forget to lock it.
I ordered it from Amazon in June 2014 so it has a very old firmware and it’s a non-Plus radio. I have read that some firmware versions have been problematic and unfortunately there isn’t a way to update them. I’ve tried many times to pair my locks, I have 2, to HE but it just never works. I’ve moved them back to ST but they don’t report reliable status to it either so I plan to replace both with the Zigbee version as I am hoping they go on sale for Prime Day.
I know that this isn't popular, but I wanted to "chime in" about zwave plus locks.
I replaced my kwikset zwave with a kwikset zwave plus, and I couldn't be happier.
Great response, immediate feedback, works flawlessly every time.
Plus, it has real keys (not a keypad), that work in frigid weather.
Furthermore, they've insulated the battery pack so that it doesn't get as cold (and the batteries last MUCH longer).
FWIW, I have a 5 year old Schlage BE469 (regular z-wave) lock. It was flawless with Wink; I'd have to change batteries every 5-6 months. I switched to HE in April; its been working really well ever since @mike.maxwell created specific drivers for the BE468/BE469.
Initially, it was flaky as hell, until I added a few zwave+ range extenders. After that, everything worked, except for controlling codes using Lock Code Manager. With the new drivers, even LCM works perfectly.
My first set of batteries, after switching to HE, lasted less than a month. The second set, which I put in after installing the range extenders, are on their second month and still read 95%.
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Sounds like your is of same vintage. I cannot get the darn thing to pair, even hanging the HE hub on the doorknob below. I have tried several times since Feb 2018 when I first purchased HE. I am just tired of fighting with it and expecting the zigbee version to be easier.
I hear you. These puppies can be really frustrating. I have 2 of these and had the same experience as you and @aaiyar. One of my locks is 10 feet from my hub and still had the issue with battery drain and sometimes needing to have the battery pack removed and reinserted. After adding a few Iris vs outlets to act as repeaters, both locks became a lot me stable (batteries have been installed since the beginning of the year. The recent updates seemed to have fixed the occasional drop off as well. I would normally had to reset the battery pack every few weeks but it has been a few months of solid connectivity for me.
Btw, one of my locks is pretty old as well. Bought it late 2014 or early 2015.
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I have 2 old schlage BE469 firmware 7.1 and found when I removed the batteries and hardwired the one lock and tried using the lowest voltage (3-4 volts) it would mess up.
I had to remove all power to the lock and press the outside top "schlage" 5-6 times (you will not see anything it discharges all power) and then connect either fresh batteries or hardwired 6 volts. Then it paired fine again.
Seems i'll probably be good either way. Though, leaning now toward zigbee after looking at how to backup/restore HE in general if I have a hub failure, lol.
If you can wait a few weeks I would as I am crossing my fingers that Amazon drops the price of the zigbee for prime day. It’s been the same price it was introduced and they are the only store selling it because of Amazon Key. They had the zwave version reduced last year as my neighbor bought a few.
Picking one since I won it in a contest, heh.
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Anyone have any tips on getting the zigbee version actually recognized by HE? Seems only the generic lock driver works for me (and I had to manually set that, it couldn't assign the driver automatically)
I've used the generic zigbee lock driver since March with no issue - I believe this is indeed the correct driver to use and doesn't seem to have any issue. The Schlage lock driver in HE is only for the zwave version. What problem are you having? Are you using lock code manager?
The Zigbee version of the Schalge Connect BE468 isn't on the officially supported device list. If you can verify that all functions work with the generic driver, they could probably add the fingerprint to it (you'd have to get this from the "more..." section during pairing) so it will be automatically detected in the future. With how picky locks can be sometimes, however, it's possible they'd want to test it themselves before doing so.
In any case, that's undoubtedly why the driver wasn't chosen, and as stated above, the Schlage BE468/469 driver is only for the Z-Wave version (perhaps they could modify that driver name to make it clearer). Hopefully the generic Zigbee driver works for you! Make sure you hit "Configure" after switching to that driver. If you're having problems, it may be helpful to see if the logs show any errors--or if they don't and the driver thinks everything is OK when it isn't (in which case staff would probably need to get their hands on one to add formal support if they so desire).
ah, I don't think I hit configure (or recall seeing it). I had thought BE468 was the zigbee version and 469 was zwave. I'm realizing that was obviously incorrect. I'll give it another shot to see.
Actually, what does hitting configure do? Nothing seems to happen when I do that. However, hitting the lock/unlock does work. The built in auto-locking didn't trigger an event before, I think that's what threw me off.
I was not using the lock code manager. I think I didn't see an event when the auto-lock happened (also didn't realize there was an auto-lock), so that threw me off.
You won't see it do anything, but it runs a method in the driver that sends configuration to the device. If you originally paired it with a different driver, this is usually a good step to do after switching (certainly if it was paired as "Device"). This helps the device and driver work as expected.
As you discovered, the Z-Wave version exists in both varieties. (I think Zigbee is only 468, or at least I've never seen a 469 with it.) I think the difference is the lack of built-in "alarm" on the 468--the 469 can do in-built chimes and whatnot when unlocked and a cute siren when too many incorrect codes are tried in a row. But honestly don't remember the exact differences, either. 
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Very bad naming convention on Schlage's part. Here are the model numbers and properties:
BE468 - z-wave deadbolt without internal alarm
BE469 - z-wave deadbolt with internal alarm
BE468GBAK - zigbee deadbolt (without internal alarm ?)
I don't have the BE468GBAK and am assuming it doesn't have an internal alarm because it is an 8-series deadbolt.
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This is what I have and can confirm that it doesn't seem to have an alarm of any kind.
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