DIY remote control for ZWAVE lock

[Saleem_Mukhtar]

Hello,

I would like to build a simple circuit that can lock and unlock a ZWAVE lock. How do I go about doing this.

I want the remote to directly control the lock without using a hub. I am familiar with arduino – could I use the arduino shield for this purpose.

Saleem

[tgauchat (ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)]

@Saleem_Mukhtar

could I use the arduino shield for this purpose.

The SmartThings Arduino shield (SmartShield ?) uses a ZigBee radio, not Z-Wave, and it has firmware that is customized for SmartThings. XBee (v2 and above?) can be configured for SmartThings compatible ZigBee, and folks have hacked Cree lightbulbs for their ZigBee chips.

It is much harder to find Z-Wave boards for personal use due to license restrictions. I’ve heard of a couple for Arduino, but never seen one. You may be able to use a USB stick version, but … yech.

Locks often use “beaming” Z-Wave (encrypted / stronger security), which also complicates matters.

I’m not sure, for example, if you can “direct associate” a little Aeotec Aeon Labs Minimote or Keyfob to just any Z-Wave lock … but maybe some locks are compatible…

@JDRoberts will be able to give you a much more detailed answer, of course.

[JDRoberts]

@Saleem_Mukhtar

Hello,

I would like to build a simple circuit that can lock and unlock a ZWAVE lock. How do I go about doing this.

I want the remote to directly control the lock without using a hub.
Saleem

Short answer: can’t be done unless you also build your own lock. That would be a huge security breech.

Locks which use the zwave security protocol (which is most of them) can only be unlocked remotely via the hub. There’s a required encryption key.

Why don’t you want to go through the hub? You can use a button controller to ask the hub to unlock the lock, and since the Securifi key fob is so cheap ($15), that should work well for most people.

It doesn’t matter that the lock is zwave and the fob is zigbee since the smartthings hub talks to both.

New Zigbee Device (Securifi Key Fob)

I bought one of these with hopes of figuring out how to make it work with ST. I’ve written/modified a few device types and several smartapps, but never any zigbee ones. I’m not sure where to start. When I put the device into pairing mode, it is found almost immediately by ST. The probelm is I don’t see anything in the log. Based on reading other threads I thought that there would be something in the log to get me started on building a device type, but there’s nothing there. I’ve unpaired, re-paired a few times, but nothing changes. I’ve watched the live log as well as checking the device log Any help on where to start is much appreciated Not sure if this helps [image]

[tgauchat (ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)]

@JDRoberts

Why don’t you want to go through the hub?

I would say: Because if the hub, cloud, or internet is down, you can’t unlock your door (unless it has a local keypad or spare physical key, of course).

Local control of a lock is important with SmartHub V1. That problem will be nearly eliminated by Hub V2.

[JDRoberts]

Most smart locks have a local keypad for exactly that reason.

Even August and Bolt can be unlocked by physically using the lock.

So I still don’t understand why you’d want a zwave “key” that doesn’t go through the hub. By its nature, you’d have to be at the house to use it, so it doesn’t buy you anything the lock’s own mechanism doesn’t.

Unless, of course, you’re trying to unlock someone else’s door. Why is exactly why you can’t do it.