Schlage lock issue

[weslsew]

I have two Schlage z-wave locks that have been working fine for years. Recently, I have been getting an error from one of them when HS tries to send a lock/unlock command to it.

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Node 8 Z-Wave Door Lock

And then the status of the lock shows up as "unknown." When locked or unlocked manually, its status updates properly. Battery polling is also still working fine. When doing a "test connectivity" i get a failed to reach node message. Any ideas of how to fix the issue without trying to remove bad node?

[sparkman]

Have you removed any z-wave devices recently? I would do a full-optimize for nearby nodes and see if that resolves the issue.

[weslsew]

nothing has changed. Strangely, none of my other nodes show my locks as neighbors. I don't know if its always been that way. My locks do show other nodes as their neighbors. I can't optimize the problem lock, it says cannot reach node. Under last working route, it says "none". So i guess my lock is able to send messages to the controller, but the controller isn't able to send messages to the lock.

[sparkman]

I would do a full optimize of nodes in between your controller and the lock. That may create a path as the locks may respond to the neighbour discovery process. If you think the controller should be able to directly talk to the locks, try entering “Direct” under the route in the zwave plugin’s node information page.

[weslsew]

I would do a full optimize of nodes in between your controller and the lock. That may create a path as the locks may respond to the neighbour discovery process. If you think the controller should be able to directly talk to the locks, try entering “Direct” under the route in the zwave plugin’s node information page.

No other nodes seem to list the locks as neighbors. I noticed this morning that my lock that's having the issue had a lamp listed as its route. It still isn't receiving commands however

[vasrc]

No other nodes seem to list the locks as neighbors. I noticed this morning that my lock that's having the issue had a lamp listed as its route. It still isn't receiving commands however

Locks require "secure" nodes to route for them. I'm guessing the lamp module was one such "secure" device. So your chances are either connect directly to the controller or try to optimize your lamp and lock until they "connect" again.


Z

[weslsew]

Well I couldn't get it to work so I ended up removing it and re-adding it. The lock is about 15' from my controller, but it wouldn't add properly after numerous tries. I ended up having to take the entire lock off the door and holding it right next to the controller for it to add properly. Ended up pulling some of the paint off my door when I removed it, so now I have a new project. I remember when I originally installed the locks, I was able to add them fine from their installed locations.

I think I know the answer, but is there any way to change the node number of the lock back to what it was previously?

[lingerba]

I just wanted to add that I have experienced a similar issue. My locks & Homeseer installation are only ~6 months old. I have three locks, two of which are working fine, but I have one that keeps having issues. It is in the middle distance-wise from my controller. I had to exclude it and do a factory reset on it. It worked fine for a week or so, and then started having issues again. I know this doesn't help, but I just wanted to report that I am having the same problem.

[jvm]

In my experience, Schlage locks (at least the BE469NX) are really bad at reporting battery levels. Even if they say the battery is fine, and even if they respond to a poll, replace the batteries before you devote time to troubleshooting. This is a lesson learned after many long hours trying to diagnose locks with "good" batteries only to find they needed "even better" batteries before they worked reliably.

[logman]

In my experience, Schlage locks (at least the BE469NX) are really bad at reporting battery levels. Even if they say the battery is fine, and even if they respond to a poll, replace the batteries before you devote time to troubleshooting. This is a lesson learned after many long hours trying to diagnose locks with "good" batteries only to find they needed "even better" batteries before they worked reliably.

That's been my experience too. I have 5 Schlage locks and they are notorious for not reporting the battery level correctly. Lock problems also show up more often in winter. What kind of batteries are you using? Alkaline batteries (like Duracell) and cold weather don't play well together. After I switched to Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries my lock issues in cold weather were resolved. The Ultimate Lithiums are rated down to -40°F whereas Duracell and other alkalines get sluggish below freezing.

Have you ever checked the voltage of a new AA Duracell? Even though the AA is supposed to be 1.5 volts, often times they will show as high as 3.2 volts when brand new. Schlage is reporting battery level as a percent of 1.5 volts. So with new batteries it can show 100% for weeks or months until voltage drops below the rated 1.5 volts, and then it appears like the battery level is dropping like a rock.

--Barry

[Dweber85rc]

Absolutely replace the batteries. Mine just died the other day when it showed as 60%

[weslsew]

Well it almost made it a month working fine, but now the same issue has returned. Is there any testing I can do or is this like just the lock going bad? I hope that isn’t the case because these things aren’t cheap.

The batteries are brand new Duracell, which usually last about a year. I’m in Florida so no issues with cold. Both my locks seem to report battery fairly accurately. I can tell when the batteries are getting low when the lock closing speed slows down. I’ll try new ones just in case.

[weslsew]

Well I threw in some cheap Dollar General batteries that I had and the lock has been working perfectly for two days. I guess these locks can be that sensitive to batteries so that it can affect the z-wave functionality. I ordered some Energizer Ultimate Lithium to try, but I guess I'll keep the cheapo batteries in as long as they work.

[Dweber85rc]

I could be wrong but I thought I saw somewhere not to use the lithium batteries in these locks. Don't quote me on that.

[drparker151]

Lihtium batteries hold voltage higher longer and then drop quickly. If you are monitoring battery health they go from good to dead quickly.

See the charts on this page: https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/...mary_batteries