Does Z-Wave just kind of suck, or is it me?
Does Z-Wave just kind of suck, or is it me?
For the past few years I’ve been wrestling with Aeotec sensors (purchased because they seemed to be highly recommended everywhere). First it was spending weeks trying to get Z-Wave JS UI (nothing better than this??) to perform firmware upgrades, then replacing a Z-Stick 7 with an older version due to unfixable bugs in that, and now it’s on again / off again factory resetting and connecting the sensors back to the controller.
As time has passed my wife and I have essentially forgotten about automating anything based on temperature or presence. I replace the batteries in sensors from time to time (since they’re never not showing 100%) with no effect.
I ask because I’m planning on buying some Aqara devices that depend on WiFi. Preferably I’d like to use something other than WiFi since it’s usually the extremely congested 2.4 GHz band.
Not sure what you're looking at but I'm using aqara's Bluetooth devices, and it's working without a hitch. Worth considering Bluetooth devices and a Bluetooth bridge if the device you're looking at has a Bluetooth version.
I may just go the Aqara route, I gave Z-Wave a shot and wished it were better but I’m really burned out.
The thing I’ll miss is air temperature — I have electric space heaters that are dependent on that. Currently I have a handful of Aeotec MultiSensor 7 that handle that.
Something to consider then!
I'm currently using the AQIA brand Bluetooth temperature and humidity sensor for my basement. Aqia is just rebranded Tuya products sold via microcenter but they work fantastically for my purposes.
https://www.microcenter.com/product/670757/aqia-bluetooth-temperature-and-humidity-sensor https://www.microcenter.com/product/670756/aqia-bluetooth-wireless-gateway
It's just you. Have you considered zigbee?
I’ve got Philips hue lights that use Zigbee but I thought it also tried to hog 2.4 GHz spectrum; though I’m more open to it as of late considering my horrible luck with Z-Wave.
Zigbee and wifi do clash a bit more, but after I set my channels I've never had problems: https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/zigbee-wifi-coexistence/
My zwave has been bulletproof though. I suspect something is wrong with your setup, I assume you've tried things like healing the network?
Is your stick on a USB extension cable or hub extended away from your pc? That can help quite a bit.
I really don’t understand how it’s just me though. One MultiSensor 7 completely fell off the network, requiring a factory reset. After factory resetting supposedly I’m supposed to tap the button to get a solid yellow for inclusion, but after two factory resets tapping it once is a solid green.
It really feels like this is just garbage, backward technology.