I’m in Australia (I think that makes a difference)
I have a new fFibaro Multi-sensor which I just can’t get to hook into my SmartThings hub (v1)
I’ve tried the 2 solutions suggested on your website, being the standard start and excluding the unit via z-wave utilities and starting. Same response from both, nothing.
I’ve also tried powering down the hub and letting it sit for a moment.
I’ve tried rebooting my phone.
I’ve tried taking out the battery of the sensor and letting it sit for a while - still nothing.
After struggling for a few days and researching the web, I was alerted to the fact that the sensor needs a different radio range for different geo locations.
I can confirm that mine is a v2.6 for AU/NZ
So since posting this - with further research I think I’ve figured out the problem.
Even though my smartThings Hub was sent to by Zen Thermostat from within Australia, there is no Australian version of the ST hub.
And every smart -thing item I’ve hooked to the ST Hub thus far, WeMo, Lifx, Zen are either wifi or Zigbee.
The Fibaro Multi-sensor, on the other hand, is Z-Wave and compatible with the Aus Z-Wave frequency. It’s never going to work.
So all need to know now is which ST hub do I have US or UK.
Can you tell from the serial#
I have found it has a US FCC ID.
I’m guessing at this point its US Z-Wave compatible?
The frequency of Z-Wave varies because different frequency bands are reserved / available for broadcast without a license in different countries. In the UK we use 868.4 MHz - in America, that’s reserved for “ISM” (industrial, scientific and medical) - meaning it’s illegal to broadcast on it without a license. You’d be astronomically unlucky to get caught, of course - but that’s the official position. Some medical equipment, particularly in assisted living, uses 868.4 MHz to communicate, so the theory goes that everyone else needs to refrain from polluting the airwaves in that band lest they interfere with anything mission-critical like that.
In Australia it’s legal to broadcast without a license on 919.8 MHz and 921.4 MHz. If your hub is American, it’s broadcasting on 908.4 MHz or 916 MHz. Fibaro make sensors officially intended for the Australian market so they speak 921.42MHz. Unfortunately that means your hub and the sensor are speaking different languages.
You mention different ranges - it’s true that the ability of a signal to penetrate solid objects is proportionate to its frequency. You may well see a difference in range between, say, an 868 device and a 965 like they use in Japan. I don’t remember the calculation for attenuation but I’m sure google knows if you’re interested!
