I have a set of Yale zwave locks and also experience issues with connectivity. My whole house one big zwave mesh as every light switch is an inovelli switch. I also have another repeater by the locks. Every now and then they just drop off for a few hours and then come back on. I get notifications when this happens.
I noticed this kind of behaviour when I upgraded to 2.1.7. Before then it was much better (even without the repeaters) but I haven’t been able to figure out why.
That sucks to hear, sorry.
QQ, how are you getting notifications when they drop?
I just experience exactly this about an hour ago:
The original post was from April 2019 so nothing has changed on that issue.
I added 4 Aeotec repeaters about a month ago but I've been questioning whether or not they made a difference. So I removed two of them (including the one closest to the hub) and I've seen zero difference. I will leave the other two in place for now. I don't know if they're really helping in my situation as I have dozens of z-wave repeating devices spread out across the house.
Out of 6 locks, 4 are BE469 and they are probably the most well behaved of the group. 1 FE599 and 1 Kwikset 910 are perpetual problems. I think the FE599 has routing issues ... it'll find it's way to the hub periodically and I can control it for a short period of time. Usually after a hub reboot.
The 910 seems to be more of a driver issue ... it will hang up when a BE469 that is about 6 feet away in the same room has no issues.
It is difficult to trust the state of a lock in Hubitat ... i can remotely lock/unlock one of the locks but the tile will show an hourglass and not update to the correct state.
You've heard it before, "my locks were no problem at all under wink!" .(or smartthings, etc. 
).. I'm going to continue trying to troubleshoot and improve my mesh, but eventually my concerns over security will force me to move these locks back to wink if they can't be reliable under Hubitat. I really hope this is a huge priority for Hubitat, because it's a big stumbling block for new users.
I personally wouldn't spend much more time on building up the mesh for this issue as it won't solve it, been down this road for a while now.
At least for Schlage locks the solution seems to be from another post from @craigspree Adding Aeotec Range Extenders has made my BE469 and FE599 locks reliable which is to add a separate hub ($74.95) next to each lock. Can verify this has also worked for me
If you don't have lan cable access you can also add one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018YPWORE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $44.53
And while your at it don't risk database corruption from power outages so add one of these also https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OR0V2C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $39.95
Tie them together with the HubConnect App
So you can fix the lock problem (at least Schlage) on this platform for an additional $159.43 (per lock)
In your case with 6, I would just put them on a different platform.
Thanks for the feedback ... I agree, if it comes down to that, I'll move it back to Wink ... which creates an entirely new set of problems that I'll post separately.
I wrote a personal app but you can use something like device watchdog to monitor devices that fall off.
I'm in the same boat. So frustrating after going through all the setup and configuration moving from Wink. I don't understand why HE won't address this and find a true fix. I've also purchased the Aeotec repeaters and don't know that they help one bit.
If there's one thing that needs to be 100% reliable in a smart hub system it needs to be controlling locks for obvious reasons, security. Does anyone have any suggestions for something better than Hubitat?
It's apparent at this point they aren't going to fix the issue or even admit it's an issue so I'm ready to start looking at new solutions. Any input would be appreciated.
Sorry for the troubles. We completely understand your frustration and we are aware that some users have problems with specific firmware on some of Schlage locks. As mentioned in your other thread, at this point, there isn’t much we can do to help, but our engineers will continue to investigate and improve, where possible, the problems with some of these legacy devices. If you have any other problems with your hub, please don’t hesitate to reach out, we are here to help.
What is being done to investigate and improve the issue? Has the engineering team tested Schlage locks with the reported "troubled" firmware versions? Honestly if one thing NEEDS to work with a smart hub system it has to be anything related to security which starts with locks.
I tried those Schlage locks when I had the Lowe's Iris system. They worked like crap. Completely unreliable unless my hub was about a foot away from them. I returned them then.
I tried those locks again with my Hubitat. Exact same experience. Useless because they are not reliable.
My advice is ditch them. Yeah that sucks but do you want headaches or a reliable lock? I switched to Kwikset with ZIGBEE radios and they are about 99.9% reliable the first try. I've been using them for around a year or better. They just work. And I have four of them spread around my house and range is a non issue.
The "troubled" firmware versions at at least 5 years old and even Schlage wants nothing to do with them. How is it a wise use of Hubitat resources to attempt to chase down issues with obsolete firmware on a product that is widely reported as having issues, from a manufacturer that has stated they do not support firmware upgrades?
I know it sucks, and there's a high level, to me unacceptable level, of planned obsolescence in the HA space right now. I have 2 BE468 locks purchased in 2014-2015, and a BE469 from 2017 sitting in a junk box because they effectively "crash" the Z-Wave mesh whenever I try to control more than one at a time. And this was with SmartThings.. I've never dared try them with Hubitat because I know they're junk.
I've chosen to vote with my wallet. No more Schlage products of any kind for me... Ever. If enough folks follow, maybe we stand a chance at seeing a change in policy.
I've got devices less than 2 years old with version 7.x firmware that have had constant issues from day one that I never had a single issue with on Wink. These locks aren't cheap so I would hope that they wouldn't be considered obsolete for 5+ years as nobody wants to go spending $150-$250 per lock every few years.
I find it hard to blame Schlage when the locks worked flawlessly until I migrated to HE. I'm not trying to put all the blame on HE but it's hard not to when my experience was a reliable lock until I migrated platforms. If I was using one or two locks I wouldn't hesitate to go out and buy new locks after all that I've been through trying to fix but I'm using four locks and to replace those I'd spend close to $1k which isn't realistic especially considering they're on average less than two years old.
I hear you! I have 9 locks in use and 2 in the junk box. Talk about an investment!
Version 8+ firmware has been shipping for at least 2 years. If you have locks with the 7x series, they probably sat on a shelf for a year ot two before you purchased them.
Want proof they are obsolete? Call Schlage and tell them that you're having issues connecting with Z-Wave.. The first or second they will ask is when the lock was purchased. Once you tell them that you have owned your locks for 2 years, they will be "unable to assist" any further.
I've been there.... And have $400 worth of Schlage product sitting in a junk box to prove it.
If I had more confidence in HE and reliability with my other products, rules, etc. I would consider this but that's not the case.
I feel your pain. I have 3 BE469 locks that worked without a hitch on Wink for years. When I migrated to HE I had lots of issues, from fast draining batteries, to the locks falling off the network completely. I tried all of the known fixes, and have 5 Aeotec z-wave repeaters throughout the house, with 1 next to each lock, 1 centrally located, and 1 next to my hub.
I was able to solve my problem with 1 additional $80 investment, and have had no issues since. I, similar to you, did not want to spend $600 on new locks for my home.
2 of my locks are in my house, and 1 is in my detached garage. The lock in my garage was the flakiest, and the lock at my back door would regularly have issues, too.
My solution
After a few days of my mesh settling down, during with I had a fast drain of my back-door lock, I have since had zero issues. This was back in October. It's now the dead of winter in MN, and my batteries are fine, the locks always work, and the WAF is higher than ever.
I can only imagine that the true underlying issue is a combination of the Schlage firmware/devices causing issues with my mesh when there are a certain number of other devices and rules also active.
Getting a 2nd hub might not be the right choice for you, but it was for me. I wish I had done this back in May when I was pulling my hair out trying to resolve the issue. It would have saved me so much time, anger, and frustration.
I have read several posts where people are adding a second hub. Is this essentially acting as a repeater and all of your programming is still done on the primary hub? What's the process to configure this? Thanks
How does firmware ONLY affect being on the Hubitat platform. Why does the lock with the same firmware operate on other platforms without issue? Also why does that firmware NOT cause problems on Hubitat if you KEEP the hub within 5 feet of the lock?
One possible explanation for this behavior has been commented about in other threads, including a few posts here:
Based on your anecdotal "evidence"..
My anecdotal evidence is contrary to yours.. I have 4 FE599's and 5 BE468/469 locks.. The only issue I have is one of the BE468 locks will go offline once in a while. I have to pull power to the lock to reset it, but it come back every time. That's certainly not a hub issue.
So who's anecdotal evidence is correct? Nobody can declare that. Not you, not me.
However I will close by saying that it's a well known fact of human nature that people complain more than they compliment. Therefore, it's not an unreasonable assertion to say that a vocal minority are having issues with these locks.
You also have 5+ hubs and 500+ devices spread throughout.
Your "anecdotal" evidence is nowhere in the "normal user" ballpark
Download the Hubitat app
