Hi,
I added multiple Z-Wave repeaters to help my 2xHabitat hubs to operate better and have a better coverage of my house.
I added 2 x Ring Repeaters & 2 x Aeotec range extender 7.
I placed 2 extenders close to each hub and the others at mid. range and another one in my Garage.
It has been ~1 week and no devices seems to be connected to any of these repeaters
in both hubs Z-Wave details page - is it ok? How do I know if they are really needed/working? All my devices in the garage are working well but one single door lock - Kwikset 912 Zwave - which would not connect to any of the hubs. I was hoping the range extender would help but it doesn't seem to.
This same exact lock was working fine with Smartthings.
ZWave routing and use of repeaters is a mystery to most of us so don't feel bad!
I do not have the lock you reference so you may find better information from someone who actually has a couple of them. But here's some generic info.
Generally once a device and the hub have established a route between them, the zwave routing algorithm will continue to use the existing route until it fails - even if there is a better route available. So adding repeaters after devices have already been added doesn't really seem to affect zwave routing - unless something else changes. That's why most folks recommend installing repeaters first, then building your mesh network around them.
ZWave locks can be tempermental. Some allow only for low-power inclusion. This means they do not support network-wide inclusion, and they can only be included if they're right next to the hub. Once included they can be moved further away. This is generally the opposite of most zwave inclusion best practices, which say to try the inclusion where the device will end up being used.
Most zwave locks are what is known as Frequently Listening Receiver Slave devices - or FLIRS. FLIRS devices are designed to use very little power but still reply quickly enough to be useful. FLIRS devices require beaming repeaters close by to work.
Here's some more info on FLIRS devices.
5 Likes
@Esalomo - If all of your devices are working OK aside from the lock, then it may be that the repeaters weren't necessary. Were you having any significant problems w/your devices responding promptly before you got the repeaters?
I don't have any personal experience w/your lock, but you may need to get one of your hubs closer to it (use a long ethernet cable) for the initial join, and then move the hub back to its normal spot. Hubitat can be more sensitive to the need to get the hub nearer to a lock for initial joining than the ST hub was.
Regarding repeaters generally, they are about as predictable as a five year old...no idea what they are going to do next, who they will want to play with, and for how long. It can take a long time (weeks) for them to become adopted by other Z-Wave devices, and in some cases they might never get used.
4 Likes
Several people, myself included, find that our devices avoid the Aeotec repeaters like the plague. I'd actually like to hear from someone whose Aeotecs have formed a useful part of their network!
2 Likes
My Aeotec RE7s are useful - I have 4 in strategic places. All of them have routed something at some point in the past, but at this moment, only two have something else going through them. Everything else is going direct to hub.
I like the peace-of-mind knowing they are all well-positioned to pick up something if it needs it.
2 Likes
I have 5 Aeotec Range Extender 7 and 2 Ring extender gen2 scattered throughout the house. Out of 50 z-wave devices, 35 or so are directly connected to the hub. Right now one device is using an Aeotec as a repeater. I usually have only 1, sometimes 2 Aeotecs being used as repeaters but this varies. The Rings are never used by any of the devices, but I keep them because the batteries give me power failure notices.
2 Likes
I had eight repeaters and slowly started to remove them after the antenna mod. I am down to three - two ring2 and one aeotec6. None are being used for routing. I will keep the two ring in place for power monitoring - I have a load center in my garage where the second one is plugged in - but the aeotec’s days are numbered.
That said, before the antenna mod, I had an about 7-8 devices routing through them.
Rings were a bust for me - waited for weeks but nothing ever routed through it.
Aeotec (I have three on one hub) are repeating, but not a lot:
Best repeaters for me are below. Three of them are Jasco plug/switches. "Quiet Cool Fan" is a Jasco switch, as is the Backyard Lights" device. Plug Hank is a kind of large/ugly little known Z-Wave plug that I don't think is generally available any more that is a repeating champ for me.
1 Like
So I brought the lock near the hub and manage to pair it. after that I moved it back to the garage door, did Zwave repair multiple times and it seems like the hub can reach it and communicate as repair manage to ping the node etc. but no commands or any interaction is coming from the lock.
As for the repeaters, I just noticed today that only single device is connected to one of the Aeotec repeaters - All others idle.
I'll try to switch tomorrow the Aeotec with the Ring one which I have in my garage, to see if it makes any difference.
Give it some time... I've had zwave repeaters sit inactive for months and then all of the sudden it's repeating.
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
