Ok, so I have one of these things. I reassigned it as a relay. I think it’s paired correctly because it shows up in my list. and the led is SOLID Red. (It never had any other colors, including when I did a factory reset.
SO I tried a zwave repair, and after finishing, The device I’m trying to reach (a plug in Leviton dimmer that I know works when closer to the hub), reports this:
Network repair for extender Failed to update mesh info
Network repair for extender Failed to update route.
Same results for the dimmer. ( I assume that is obvious if the extender didn’t work)
Try running the Z-Wave repair a few times. I don’t have experience with this extender but I had problems the other day with an outlet giving the same errors. Weird as it’s not in a remote spot or far from other devices. I toggled it off then on (I don’t know if that helped) and ran the repair again and it did not error. Perhaps unplug and plug back in and run another repair.
Which exact model of the extender do you have? The original is Z wave classic, the newest one is Z wave plus. The zwave plus version will have much longer range.
Neither is necessary, since with the current versions of zwave and even going back a generation, any mains powered Z wave device will act as a repeater. A Z wave plus pocket socket or light switch Will do much more for your mesh then the single purpose extender classic device.
There shouldn’t be any difference between a hardwired switch and plug in pocket socket as far as their capabilities as a repeater, so I don’t think you have to worry about that. The most important thing is to add one or 2 z wave plus mains powered devices and then run the Z wave repair utility after they are in their desired locations.
Have you had a chance to look at the FAQ on zwave repair messages? I don’t think you’ll do anything different after reading it, but it might give you a better idea of what you’re looking at.
Not that you need this, but you might be interested in this DTH for the range extender. This will better notify you if the extender is unreachable. The default Z-Wave Thing expects on/off messages. It won’t fix mesh issues, but it may be helpful.
OK, that’s the old one. It’s not zwave plus. So you be better off just with a Z wave plus pocket socket plugged into the same outlet. I’d return it if you still can.
I don’t recommend the zwave plus Single purpose repeater either, since I think you get more value out of a regular zwave plus pocket socket, but at least the newest one does have a signal strength indicator, although it’s only good for the first hop directly to the hub.
This works, thank you… but it went from flashing red, to constant red light. I retyped the device as “zwave relay” but it doesn’t seem to change anything. Any ideas?
it appears that user “way2fast4u” is also experiencing the same issue…
Hi there, mine also went from flashing red to solid red, after i followed the instructions above. But does that mean it’s connected and extending? According to Aetec website, it’s supposed to be either green or blue light…
i’m also solid red (not flashing), even tho i reassigned it as a relay. did you find solution to this? on the website of aetec, they said the light should be either green or blue when connected…
No. As far as the IDE was concerned, it was active. I did find that I had the older, non “Plus” version, and it likely did not have the range I needed. I installed a pocket socket and all is working now. So I’ve abandoned this device.
I just wanted to add my experience with the aeotec extender. Have a homeseer plus dimmer about 30 ft from my hub and it barely connected and basically never worked after that. So I put one of the plus versions of the extender half way down the hall and the dimmer is now reliable and fast. Double and triple taps are also working great. I highly recommend these if you don’t have a need for the above mentioned outlet or switch in between the devices, they do work.
They work, it’s just that they don’t work any better than any other Z wave plus device, such as a plug-in module that also lets you control something that is plugged into it. So you might as well buy a dual purpose device and get more value out of it.
Just adding here as a helpful hint to those who may be in the same situation as myself. I live out in the “sticks” and used to have range and control issues with my pump house and also my detached shop. My first attempt with repeaters by plugging them into a handy wall outlet had no effect. The pump house is surrounded by blackberrys and other brush so I tried hanging the repeater from the ceiling via an extension cord, effectively clearing the brush from the signal path, and it has been working well ever since. Did a similar thing with my detached shop which is a metal building. The metal was obviously interfering with the signal and causing a lot of issues, so again, I plugged a repeater into an extension cord and set it on a windowsill facing the house. Fixed everything. I realize they work the same as installing another z wave device but this saved me the effort of wiring in other devices I would never use.
These devices still have great usefulness for me. I have a garage 100+ feet from the house, and there are numerous Z-Wave and Z-Wave+ devices in each building that are mains-powered. I had constant trouble maintaining contact even when I put Z-Wave wired outlets in the windows facing each other. Adding one of these in the house, in a window facing the garage, has solved all connectivity problems for the past several months.
