August Smart Lock Pro sometimes misses Z-Wave command to lock or unlock ...

[Inphosys]

Hello -
TL;DR - Where can I go to further troubleshoot Z-Wave commands being received and acknowledged by my August Smart Lock Pro?


TL;Sorry -
Curious if anyone else is having a similar issue or if someone can point me in the correct troubleshooting path.

I have an August Smart Lock Pro (without the connect hardware, just Z-Wave+ and the "DoorSense" magnet) connected to my HomeSeer system via the HS SmartStick+. The SmartStick+ is very close to the front door, less than 10 feet, and there is also a wall switch within a foot of the August Smart Lock.

The issue I'm having is that occasionally, completely at random, when I send the Z-Wave command to lock or unlock the door the August Smart Lock doesn't respond, it just sits there. Subsequent attempts to change the lock status (performing the opposite command, lock or unlock) are ignored by the lock as well. The only remedy is to open the August app on my smartphone and issue the lock or unlock command from there, which is in-turn sent over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) from my phone. After sending the command from my smartphone, HomeSeer goes back to working normally for a while.

I'm not using this yet with any other sort of integration or interface, just simply running these commands from the HomeSeer web interface directly.

Here's what the HomeSeer web interface looks like when things are responding normally / correctly ...



After clicking the "Unlock" button, which just so happened to be missed or unheard by the August Smart Lock Pro, this is what I see in the HomeSeer web interface ...


You'll notice that the entry for "Door Lock" shows as Unlocked (with an unlock icon beside it). If it were responding normally, that same category would instead show "Unlocked Door Closed".

So I figured, OK, HomeSeer just misinterpreted the fact that the command to unlock wasn't acknowledged. Fine, let's go to polling and get HS to poll the lock and see if it can reconcile the state that the lock is actually in versus what state that it thinks it is in. Go into devices, [My_Z_Wave_Network_ID-002-Q19] (the device ID for "Door Lock", go to the Z-Wave tab, set polling for every 30 seconds. I do the same for [My_Z_Wave_Network_ID-002-Q20] for "Access Control Notification". Now, I wait ... 30 seconds, 60 seconds ... I see the polling times change but the actual state of the lock is never reflected or reconciled in HomeSeer.

Where do I go from here?

Many thanks!

[belias]

I’m having this exact same problem after updating the z-wave module a few weeks back.

I have events that trigger an unlock, but many times after the event fires, there is no associated “device unlocked” in the log. August app shows good signal strength for Z-wave.

Any ideas?

OP, did you find a resolution?

Thanks!

[jayman13]

Not sure if this is the answer but it seems to be working for me. If you look at the graphics tab of the device you’ll see that 255 is there for lock but there is also a 255 for locked as a status. The same goes for 0 unlock and unlocked respectively. I thought that was unusual. I deleted one of each and changed them to “both” for status control.

[jayman13]

I think what happens is, homeseer tries to unlock or lock a status only device in reference to what I said above.

[sparkman]

Not sure if this is the answer but it seems to be working for me. If you look at the graphics tab of the device you’ll see that 255 is there for lock but there is also a 255 for locked as a status. The same goes for 0 unlock and unlocked respectively. I thought that was unusual. I deleted one of each and changed them to “both” for status control.

Having both is how all z-wave locks are set up. My z-wave locks (not the same ones that the OP is referring to) work fine with the "duplicate" values. I suspect there's a bug in the firmware for the August locks.

[jayman13]

That is weird though, right? I also have a kwickset lock that works fine with that set up. But why have the same value for status and control x 2? Seems once I made this change it works ok. I’m sure homeseer would say it’s a bug with August but August may say it is a bug with homeseer.

[sparkman]

That is weird though, right? I also have a kwickset lock that works fine with that set up. But why have the same value for status and control x 2? Seems once I made this change it works ok. I’m sure homeseer would say it’s a bug with August but August may say it is a bug with homeseer.

I think the intent is to allow commands to "unlock" the door and then the status would show as "unlocked" (and the same for lock/locked).

[JakeStallman]

I’m having the same issue.. did anyone ever find a resolution to this? Is anyone using August Pro reliably with lock/unlock triggers?

[el_penguino]

I’m having the same issue.. did anyone ever find a resolution to this? Is anyone using August Pro reliably with lock/unlock triggers?

I just installed two of these and had the same issue. If you manually operate the lock or use the Connect/app the lock would respond to Z-Wave commands for a while, but then it was almost like the lock goes to sleep and ignores any Z-Wave commands until it is otherwise woken up.

Anyway, I found the fix - a firmware update causes this issue (presumably they added power saving, etc). To fix it, call August customer service at +1-844-284-8781 and describe your issue. Make sure to tell them that you are using HomeSeer (they won't downgrade your firmware if you're using SmartThings, etc that can use the cloud via the Connect module).

They rolled me back from 1.59.0-1.13.2 to 1.59.0-1.8.15 and everything is working perfectly now.

[JakeStallman]

Yes, the zwave stick you are using has to be very close to the lock itself.

[randman]

I just installed two of these and had the same issue. If you manually operate the lock or use the Connect/app the lock would respond to Z-Wave commands for a while, but then it was almost like the lock goes to sleep and ignores any Z-Wave commands until it is otherwise woken up.

Anyway, I found the fix - a firmware update causes this issue (presumably they added power saving, etc). To fix it, call August customer service at +1-844-284-8781 and describe your issue. Make sure to tell them that you are using HomeSeer (they won't downgrade your firmware if you're using SmartThings, etc that can use the cloud via the Connect module).

They rolled me back from 1.59.0-1.13.2 to 1.59.0-1.8.15 and everything is working perfectly now.

I'm thinking of getting the August Smart Lock Pro + Connect. I like that it works with Siri and Alexa directly, but can also work with Z-Wave for HomeSeer integration.
Looks like a new firmware, version 2.0.1 was released last 9/25/20?:

https://support.august.com/do-i-have...ate--SkaZIaXbS

Have you upgraded to the latest firmware? Are things working fine with HomeSeer?

[el_penguino]

I'm thinking of getting the August Smart Lock Pro + Connect. I like that it works with Siri and Alexa directly, but can also work with Z-Wave for HomeSeer integration.
Looks like a new firmware, version 2.0.1 was released last 9/25/20?:

https://support.august.com/do-i-have...ate--SkaZIaXbS

Have you upgraded to the latest firmware? Are things working fine with HomeSeer?

I have not. I actually had so many issues with the August locks that I gave up on them and switched to Schlages. They would stop working then ask for calibration, then they failed calibration. Both of them. And I'm not an idiot lol, the app would crash during the calibration routine every time and would require a full reset of the lock for it to even function again. Tried on Android and iOS, no dice either way. The door position sensors were hit or miss as well. After about a week of constant malfunctions and issue after issue I had enough.

If you go with the Augusts I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you have a better experience than I did. I can say that I love the simplicity and "basic-ness" of the two Schlage BE469ZPs I replaced the Augusts with, they just work.

[randman]

I have not. I actually had so many issues with the August locks that I gave up on them and switched to Schlages. They would stop working then ask for calibration, then they failed calibration. Both of them. And I'm not an idiot lol, the app would crash during the calibration routine every time and would require a full reset of the lock for it to even function again. Tried on Android and iOS, no dice either way. The door position sensors were hit or miss as well. After about a week of constant malfunctions and issue after issue I had enough.

If you go with the Augusts I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you have a better experience than I did. I can say that I love the simplicity and "basic-ness" of the two Schlage BE469ZPs I replaced the Augusts with, they just work.

Well, in theory at least, the August Smart Lock Pro looked good, given that it supports Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit, and Z-Wave. I currently use Schlage and Kwikset Z-Wave locks, and use homebridge to integrate them with HomeKit. They work fine (though I had to put a Z-NET close to one of them to function reliably). I was just looking at the August lock for a new install and would be nice to have a lock that can inteface with HomeSeer, Alexa, and HomeKit (but can be used with HomeKit and Alexa without being dependent upon HomeSeer). Oh well, maybe not the August lock, unless maybe there's been enough changes in maybe the firmware, since you tried it (although looks like you had been playing with it not too long ago - last August, so maybe not).

[el_penguino]

Well, in theory at least, the August Smart Lock Pro looked good, given that it supports Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit, and Z-Wave. I currently use Schlage and Kwikset Z-Wave locks, and use homebridge to integrate them with HomeKit. They work fine (though I had to put a Z-NET close to one of them to function reliably). I was just looking at the August lock for a new install and would be nice to have a lock that can inteface with HomeSeer, Alexa, and HomeKit (but can be used with HomeKit and Alexa without being dependent upon HomeSeer). Oh well, maybe not the August lock, unless maybe there's been enough changes in maybe the firmware, since you tried it (although looks like you had been playing with it not too long ago - last August, so maybe not).

As long as you get them from a place you can return them to if you have issues (I got mine from Amazon and didn't have any issues returning them) they might be worth a try, maybe they have fixed the issues with a firmware update. But I got the impression that they were trying to get away from Z-Wave in favor of their cloud-based/WiFi service...so I'm not sure how much time they would be putting into resolving Z-Wave issues moving forward.

Best of luck to you.

[randman]

As long as you get them from a place you can return them to if you have issues (I got mine from Amazon and didn't have any issues returning them) they might be worth a try, maybe they have fixed the issues with a firmware update. But I got the impression that they were trying to get away from Z-Wave in favor of their cloud-based/WiFi service...so I'm not sure how much time they would be putting into resolving Z-Wave issues moving forward.

Best of luck to you.

Assuming it works reliably, one disadvantage of this lock is that it doesn't have a keypad (which makes it easier to install). After years of using Kwikset and Schlage Z-Wave locks (the first generation Z-Wave, which aren't Z-Wave Plus), no one in my household ever carries keys with them. However, in the (hopefully) rare event that the network is not available (maybe switch/router went haywire or there is a blackout), and if you don't have the deadbolt's key, I suppose one can get stuck outside the home. Not sure if the optional August keypad can communicate directly with the August lock if the network were down. Also, from what I've read, batteries are only good for 4 to 6 months (I get a little more than a year with my old Z-Wave locks). Disadvantage of the Kwikset and Schlage Z-Wave locks, though, is the need to be dependent on HomeSeer (and homebridge for HomeKit) to operate the lock via HomeKit and Alexa.