[RELEASE] Ring Alarm Range Extender Gen2 driver

Well, I never had cause to revisit the forum on this driver since I installed it initially. So, everything was working well enough on 1.0.0 LOL Just checking on this version so I would know what to look out for.

Hey all. Well I just ploughed thru about 100 posts on Ring Alarm Range Extender Gen 2 Driver and I would appreciate some advice.

Does the dennypage driver still offer benefits (e.g., Range test function, Power test function, Configurable battery report interval, Refresh covers power source (mains vs battery), Additional status/error reporting) over the standard driver ... or has the standard driver been updated to include these features?

I have my Ring Alarm Extender operational on a C7 hub, using the standard driver. What is the process to change over to the dennypage driver ... something like this, or please advise:

  1. Use HPM to install dennypage driver
  2. In Hubitat Devices select the dennypage driver

What RM functions do I use to get access to:

  1. Range test function
  2. Power test function
  3. Configurable battery report interval
  4. Refresh covers power source (mains vs battery) ... RM Power source of Ring Alarm
  5. Additional status/error reporting

Thanks in advance for any help.

Yes

No

There is a step 1.5, install the user driver. HPM only loads the code.

Run Actuator on the device. I have 6 of the Ring Extender V2 on my hub, using @dennypage’s driver. Very happy, works perfectly.

I believe most people use the device page to do the various special things. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of people writing a rule to do them regularly, but it should work. If not, put a line:

Capability: Actuator

Before the commands in the driver.

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Wow! Thanks for the clear and concise answer :+1: Based on your response, and dennypage's excellent driver reviews, I decided to install the upgraded driver this morning.

I still need the installation process clarified as I get confused about the User Driver Install Sequence. In particular, "There is a step 1.5, install the user driver. HPM only loads the code." Hence the purpose of my initial post installation question.

Here is what I am seeing after my "installation" ...

After running HPM package installation, in the HE Drivers Code section, I already see a "// [Ring Alarm Range Extender gen2] ... Denny Page ..." as shown here

On the devices page I can select the driver and save, as shown here.

I see the new capabilities (I think) on the devices page.

What exactly (web link to instructions will probably work) do I need to do to accomplish "1.5 install the user driver." Because, after the HPM package installation, it appears to me that the driver is installed, and if not, I don't know where to find the driver (as opposed to if I downloaded the driver myself and saved it).

You are all set because the driver shows up.

OK ... thanks for confirming that I am good to go. :grinning:

From my "black box" point of view, I just want to make sure that I have it installed correctly. It is working well.

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Just installed the Ring Extender Gen 2 mainly to detect power outage. A little confused on this driver, Do I need to do a periodic refresh to see the change? It doesn't seem to show up otherwise. Or is that the purpose of the heartbeat which I should change to a lower value?

No. Test it by unplugging the Ring Extender, which sends a Z-Wave event on power loss and power restore. Trigger a Rule on power source if you want to do stuff on power fail. It’s a little more complex than that because a shutdown Hubitat will miss the power restore event as it reboots, but @dennypage’s driver manages that by scheduling a two-minute-delayed refresh after hub reboot. See discussion upthread.

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Unplugging doesn't do a thing until I do a refresh. Same with plugging it back in.

Are you using @dennypage’s user-contributed driver or the built-in driver? Refresh is broken on the built-in driver.

What hub do you have? Is the Ring Extender Gen 2 paired S2? Need C-7 or C-8.

Using @dennypage one

C8

Then, if it is paired S2, only thing I can suggest is to exclude and re-pair. I have 6, they all work perfectly with @dennypage’s driver if paired S2. Worked fine on my C-7 and now on my C-8.

I don't know if it is paired S2 or not. Not sure how to tell at this point.

According to settings it has no security.

Settings, Z-Wave Details.

S2 shouldn’t be needed, but the Ring Extender V2 is funky about this. There was a big discussion about this when the product was introduced. @bcopeland, who wrote the built-in driver, said he never could get it to work properly unless paired S2.

I would suggest excluding and re-pairing.

I have no problems doing a refresh so will leave it at that as it appears to work that way. Just curious more than anything. Thanks.

It’s an issue if you want to trigger a rule for orderly shutdown of your hub on power fail (before your UPS is depleted). That’s the whole point of getting the power fail event (powerSource switch to battery) from the Ring Extender.

Well exactly. But If I do a refresh every 15 minutes or so I will be fine.

Something is wrong. Can you post a screenshot of the device page please? Please include the Device Information and Device Details section. Thanks.

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Had to take 3 shots to get it all. Hopefully this works.