I just picked up two new aeotec plugin z-wave smart dimmers for my living room. My hub is in the bedroom directly above the living room. I initially attempted to add them with them plugged in downstairs. No luck. I plugged them in in the same room as the hub and they worked. As soon as I brought them downstairs, no go. Any tips? I would prefer not to have to move the hub downstairs as we are getting ready to put our house on the market. If there is nothing I can do, would the smartthings zigbee plugins work any better? If so, I’ll see if I can return these
I did also try repairing the z-wave network (while plugged in downstairs) and it failed
One thing you could try - plug on of the dimmers into an outlet in your bedroom (maybe across the room from the hub) and then plug the other one in down in the living room. Does the living room one work then?
Z-Wave builds a mesh network with other AC powered modules - they act as repeaters. If this setup works, you can either get another plugin Z-wave device to act as a repeater, or purchase a plug in module that is only a repeater (like http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeotec-Extender-Repeater/dp/B00CIV6QXE/).
I’ve heard that ZigBee has a better range than Z-Wave, so that might work better. ZigBee does use 2.4 Ghz frequencies, so there is also a good chance something else in your house might interfere with it.
I have a mixture of ZigBee and Z-Wave modules, and so far I haven’t had an issue with range. My hub is centrally located in my house (about 3 ft from my WiFi router), since that was the easiest place to get an ethernet connection to it.
Somehow, through dumb luck, they are both working now, though with some lag. I’ve ordered the repeater anyways, hopefully that will improve communication between the hub and the dimmers