Zwave range - only works in a single room

[dannieboiz]

Since I upgraded everything, PC, HS3, Zstick+, powered USB, NOTHING can connect out of that room to remainder of house. The funny part if I scan it recognizes everything, but no on/off work, optimize fails. If I carry devices back to inside that room, they all work OK.

Attached is result of a full scan. All devices show up:

Go to "Plugins -> Zwave -> Node Information" select the root of the node in question, then go to "Zwave" tab, and click on "audit this node"



It should give you a reading like this... that's the route your devices can potentially communicate. Zwave is a MESH network, think of a spider web where everything are connected through various points. So if there's a route there, you probably don't have a signal issue, you might have to exclude and include it again.

Auditing node 3 (Lightings Family Room Fireplace Lights) ...

HomeSeer was able to send a frame to the node.
HomeSeer was able to query the node and receive information back from it.
The node's neighbor rating is: Excellent with 22 neighbors.
Neighboring nodes to Lightings Family Room Fireplace Lights:
      Root Devices Status & Alerts HomeSeer USB (Node 1)
      Lightings Family Room Sofa Lights (Node 2)
      Lightings Family Room Side Lights (Node 4)
      Lightings Dining Room Dining Room Lights (Node 5)
      Root Devices Kitchen Kitchen Lights (Node 6)
      Lightings Kitchen Breakfast Nook (Node 7)
      Lightings Kitchen Island Lights (Node 8)
      Lightings Stairway Stairway Lights Mains (Node 9)
      Lightings Stairway Stairway Lights (Node 10)
      Lightings Stairway Porch Lights (Node 11)
      Lightings Living Room Ceiling Lights (Node 16)
      Lightings Living Room Wall Accent Lights (Node 17)
      Lightings Living Room Table Light (Node 18)
      Lightings Family Room Floor Light (Node 20)
      Root Devices Office Office Table Light (Node 21)
      Lightings Kid's Room Kid's Fan (Node 26)
      Locks and Openers Security Devices garage door opener (Node 27)
      Root Devices Master Bedroom Danny Table Light (Node 38)
      Energy Whole House Aeon Labs Multilevel Sensor (Node 39)
      Lightings Backyard Fence lights (Node 40)
      Lightings Backyard Pool Lights (Node 41)
      Root Devices Office Jasco Switch Binary (Node 53)

[oregonbob]

I'm not sure what you mean by "it should give you a reading like this..." and what the "root" is. Number 5 is the only AC powered that can repeat. Below is Node Info:

[dannieboiz]

I'm not sure what you mean by "it should give you a reading like this..." and what the "root" is. Number 5 is the only AC powered that can repeat. Below is Node Info:

Take your Node 4 T-stat for an example.. see where it say "full name node 4 Zwave thermostat" that's your root, click on that

notice below child devices = battery, temp, fan mode etc..? those are the child devices.


Once you go there and go to the zwave tab and click on audit this node, it'll give you a reading similar to what I have above. What it's basically saying is that it can communicate with those neighbor devices. If one of those neighbor device is in the room that's working, theoretically your device should also work.

[oregonbob]

It just keeps getting more weird. At its current location, I am now able to turn #5 on and off successfully, but the audit fails to communicate.

[dannieboiz]

It just keeps getting more weird. At its current location, I am now able to turn #5 on and off successfully, but the audit fails to communicate.

suggest you exclude and add it back again. Moving your USB stick closer to the device at the beginning will help mitigate any inclusion issue. I had almost the exact same issue at the beginning with some of my devices

[oregonbob]

OK, now I've gone to ridiculous measures. I took node5 upstairs to second floor, in a bedroom closet and placed device hanging from a coat hanger so it is only 10-12 feet away from the Zstick+ in the room addition. The only thing between the two is a wooden ceiling and paint, insulation with vapor barrier and drywall.

It worked. Even the audit worked. However it is so ridiculous of a location that I can't see how I can make it permanent.

If I plug in a Z-Net upstairs to my cat5 network will that likely solve all my problems? Such that the tcp/ip network will 'relay' the zwave?

Below is audit on note5 in closet upstairs, hanging mid-air from a coat hanger.

[oregonbob]

But wait! There's more!

I have this apparent ghost zwave network, I assume from my previous Aeon zstick S2, before I switched to a HS Zstick. It says I can remove this other network but when I try to remove it, it won't let me. Maybe that has something to do with my problems.

Can I just blow away my entire Zwave network and start all over again scanning zwave and a new network?

P.S. Thanks to all of you with suggestions.

[oregonbob]

LOL, I am still smiling thru this. You may have experienced similar 'SNAFUs'. I have this voice in my head that keeps repeating things I have read about how great zwave is over the years, such as:

"Zwave is plug and play!"

"Zwave range is much better than X10"

"Zwave is much more reliable"

"Zwave is a mesh network!"

Meanwhile my brain keeps yelling back, "Oh yeah? Zwave sucks big time!"

Thank god my X10 devices and events appear to be working. Although it appears that Events are crippled compared to the old HS2. Why is that? You can't insert any actions, you can't use the same device in an action set of commands. These are things HS2 could do. If you want a new action in the middle of an event, you have to delete the whole event and start over in perfect sequence? How many years as HS3 been out now? Is it evolving or slowly going extinct?

I would like to keep my X10 events. Wipe out my zwave network and start zwave over from scratch. Can I do that?

Pardon my frustration.

[racerfern]

I've been through much of the same frustrations. I had phantom network a couple of times, usually due to something I did wrong, but not always.

Click on backup this interface, then click on restore from backup and use the backup you just made. At that point, everything will be restored and the network will restart.

Next, you should be able to remove the ghost network. However, that probably won't cure your communication issues.

As far as inserting actions, you click and hold the mouse button and drag the piece you want to move up or down. There are some limitations and it takes a bit of getting used to, but it works. I never had HS2 but I did have a nice AHP setup.

You shouldn't have to wipe out and start over.

Oh yeah, if you plug a z-net into a Cat5 even with a switch, HS3 will find it. Just go to www.find.homeseer.com once you set it up.

[cheeryfool]

I have this apparent ghost zwave network, I assume from my previous Aeon zstick S2, before I switched to a HS Zstick. It says I can remove this other network but when I try to remove it, it won't let me. Maybe that has something to do with my problems.

Can I just blow away my entire Zwave network and start all over again scanning zwave and a new network?

P.S. Thanks to all of you with suggestions.

I would definitely start again, especially with the situation you are in and the fact that you only have 2 'always listening' devices. Personally, I think trying to run a Z-wave network with only one non-battery, non-controller device and a hand full of battery devices is never going to work well. I think I read further back that you have more than one wired outlet/switch to add. If so, delete the existing nodes one by one, so that they are dis-associated from any Z-Wave network.

Then see if you can delete both Z-Wave interfaces within HS3.

If that goes well, start by re-adding the interface, then start with the wired device(s). Include all wired devices that you have, then include the battery devices after that.

Let us know how you go.

Also, I think you have both a Z-Net and a Z-stick (of some flavour). When you start from scratch, use the Z-Net in a central location in the house (left to right, back to front and top to bottom if possible). Mine is a a coat closet on the first floor slam in the middle of the house in all 3 dimensions.

[oregonbob]

Update

As I mentioned, my latest attempt to get zwave to work outside a single room was to place a AC-powered unit upstairs at a point that is only 10-12 feet away from controller and no exterior walls. This worked.

Then I took my battery-powered devices and placed them within a few feet of the working AC device. They worked OK. Then I moved the bat-devices out of that room to locations that could be permanent and ran optimize. Now all of them are working. The only drawback is where I had to place the AC-device so it could mesh.

I will purchase some more AC devices and place them around to see if I can get it working better. I sure am disappointed at the range of my zwave. Even after I got it optimized, the mesh-connected units could not handle interior wood and drywall very well. More than disappointed, I am downright shocked. I'll buy more devices and see if that helps. There is an irony about buying something that does not work and frequent advice is 'buy more of them and it will work better'. LOL, sounds like a scam.

I wonder why no devices have antennae like some wifi devices do. Maybe that would cure a lot of range problems.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[dannieboiz]

As I mentioned, my latest attempt to get zwave to work outside a single room was to place a AC-powered unit upstairs at a point that is only 10-12 feet away from controller and no exterior walls. This worked.

Then I took my battery-powered devices and placed them within a few feet of the working AC device. They worked OK. Then I moved the bat-devices out of that room to locations that could be permanent and ran optimize. Now all of them are working. The only drawback is where I had to place the AC-device so it could mesh.

I will purchase some more AC devices and place them around to see if I can get it working better. I sure am disappointed at the range of my zwave. Even after I got it optimized, the mesh-connected units could not handle interior wood and drywall very well. More than disappointed, I am downright shocked. I'll buy more devices and see if that helps. There is an irony about buying something that does not work and frequent advice is 'buy more of them and it will work better'. LOL, sounds like a scam.

I wonder why no devices have antennae like some wifi devices do. Maybe that would cure a lot of range problems.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

you must have a pretty decent size house or one with lots of walls. I agree the range on these things aren't the greatest. When you spend enough money on it (more devices) the problem seems to go away.

The furthest any of my device to another is only 20-25ft. Now that I think of your issue, I recognize my issue when I started. Not enough devices.

[cheeryfool]

I'll buy more devices and see if that helps. There is an irony about buying something that does not work and frequent advice is 'buy more of them and it will work better'. LOL, sounds like a scam.



.

[Tomgru]

unless your office is acting like a Faraday cage, this is really weird. do you have LAN connections anywhere else in you house via Cat5. I'd buy a znet, and put that on your LAN outside the office...

see if that helps.

[tome10]

Umm, how old is this house? Maybe all the paint is the old 'Leaded' stuff? Just a thought. Nightmarish as it may be.