I've got a brand-new C-8 hub running platform version 2.3.5.135. The only Z-Wave devices I'd planned to add were Zooz's ZSE18 Motion Sensor. I'd planned to use them for their Z-Wave repeating functionality to extend the signal in a linear path so that I could eventually get them a fair distance away from the C-8 hub. I'm also using the "Advanced" driver with the ZSE18 as-per Zooz's KB article on using the device with Hubitat.
The problem I'm running into is that, despite being plugged in to power via USB, and having them added to Hubitat as per Zooz's KB article on adding them as Z-Wave repeaters, they are, in fact, NOT repeating the Z-wave signal. Every single one of the 5 ZSE18's I've set up have connected directly back to the C-8 Hub. And for ones that I've tried to add that are too far away from the C-8, yet close "enough" to a neighboring ZSE18 just flat out do not pair or communicate with the C-8. I purchased an Aeotec Range Extender 7 just to see if other range extenders would work with the C-8 and it instantly worked perfectly. Neighboring ZSE18's joined to it and optimized their path just as I'd have expected a ZSE18 to do in the exact same spot.
I've opened a ticket with Zooz and unfortunately they've not been able to help much, instead saying that the decision of whether or not to use the ZSE18 as a Z-Wave repeater is the responsibility of the hub. They asked me to open a ticket with Hubitat to see if they could help assist.
Any thoughts or suggestions here? I need the ZSE18's to be able to function as repeaters as they're supposed to do, but for the life of me, I'm not able to get it to work. What else should I be looking at? Thanks so much for any pointers!
First, just to make sure the hub sees it as a repeater, open its device detail page (navigate to Devices and select your ZSE18 from the list, and look). Scroll down towards the bottom and look at the Device Details table. In the Data row, you should have a bullet point for inClusters. What ones do you see there? Specifically, look for the absence of 0x80 (or the absence of 80 in zwNodeInfo if you don't see anything else). This is the Z-Wave Battery command class, which would normally mean it's not paired as a repeater. (I have not checked this specific device, but it's how most like this work.)
Beyond that, what is the evidence for thinking that it's "not repeating"? Not being used as an actual middle piece of a route is one thing, but that's not inherently bad--Zooz is right that Z-Wave does decide its own routes, and it may have decided that it can find better ones either directly to the hub (especially likely since you have a C-8, which has external antennas) or via other repeaters. If you just made this change to your network, it could also take days or longer for things to "settle down" and actually use this path if the algorithm does indeed decide to.
However, all I see above is that:
That doesn't mean they aren't being used as repeaters, just that they aren't using other repeaters and are rather connecting directly back to your hub. Direct connections like this are preferable for nearly any device on any network (fewer hops means faster speed, less latency, etc.).
Here's one of mine.
With Z-Wave, it's desirable the hub communicates directly with the device. I'm not sure that's true with Zigbee. I have a house full of Z-Wave devices and most of them communicate directly with the hub. It's a good thing-more speed too.
Thanks for the outstanding explanation!!! So I think you've pointed me in the direction of why they're not repeating... They ALL have the 0x80 in 'secureInClusters' and 80 in 'zwNodeInfo'. I also am seeing the "Current State" set to 'powerSource: battery'. From the moment they were unboxed, the batteries were taken out and they were all excluded and then paired following Zooz's instructions on how to pair them as repeaters. What's really interesting to me is I know for a fact they previously did not show as 'powerSource: battery'. I forget the exact verbiage, but it did indicate wired power. This morning, all of them are showing battery.
Is there something that would trigger them to get changed back to battery? I'm absolutely confident they WERE all being recognized as usb power. I can go back and re-pair them all AGAIN, but I hate to go to that effort if they're just going to switch back on me again... without knowing WHY they changed. Thanks again so much for your help on this!!
By "following Zooz's instructions," do you mean that they were paired powered via USB with no battery? If so, that is odd, as I believe that it supposed to be the method that pairs them as repeaters. (The fact that this shows up in "Data" is highly suggestive of the fact that it always thought it was battery, as I don't think the "clusters" [command classes] or "zwNodInfo" data will/can change after inclusion.)
Zooz might have some ideas about that now that you know what the issue is, or it seems the poster above was able to pair it as a repeater and might have some tips. The only difference I can see is that yours was paired with security (S2 Unauthenticated) and his was not.
That being said, I really don't want these as repeaters on my network; they don't support beaming (so others would work better for devices that need this like door locks or blinds), and I have enough elsewhere that they probably aren't necessary--but that's just me!
I can certainly try adding them without S2 security... it's not really needed for this application. My use case for these unfortunately does need them to function as repeaters simply due to the distance I'm wanting to string these from the hub. That's where the issue first popped up... I tried adding one that was a bit too far from the hub and it couldn't connect to the network -- despite another ZSE18 being well within range of it. I'd definitely love it if they could just all connect to the hub, but the distance and construction of the building pose challenges that necessitate the use of extenders.
Once again... thank you for your continued pointers! I'll go back to Zooz again and see if they have any other thoughts.
