Is there a “practical” device limit with a hub? I added four multi-sensors and now the system as a whole is getting flakey.
I’m wondering if I need to add another hub.
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What do you mean by flakey? How many devices do you have total?
My system has more than 100 devices. I haven’t noticed any real difference as I’ve added them, but occasionally the system gets lag from other issues (usually related to internet outages or bandwidth issue).
I have 60 devices.
My mailbox switch hasn’t triggered this week, timed lights have not gone on, my garage door says it is open. I have to do the Z-Wave repair about a half dozen times before it runs through all the devices.
I’m finding it more and more difficult to manage as I add more devices. If a device stops working I don’t get any notice. If my wife unplugs a device without my knowledge, for example, it can impact the rest of the mesh. A tripped GFCI can knock out others, or moving an appliance can block others downstream.
I don’t have a tool to proactively check device status. However, ramifications of down devices may be serious.
How do you manage more than 100 devices?
From my personal experience:
- Power cycle your ST hub when you see this start happening
- If that doesn’t fix things, then Run the ZWave Rebuild utility, and
wait for it to complete before trying anything else
That has pretty much solved any such issues for me.
Out of curiosity, how much money did you spent in total on those devices?
The mailbox must have lost connection with the mesh when a ground fault tripped over the weekend. Several repair attempts eventually fixed it.
The garage door power connection came loose.
Don’t know why some lights did not come on at dusk last night. The only thing I changed was adding the four multi-sensors.
I am concerned, however, how to proactively manage these devices. I would think the idea of IoT is ubiquitous connected devices. However, mighten the whole concept collapse if there are just too many devices to manage? I have 60 devices and am feeling the weight. You have over 100. Is there a proverbial straw that breaks its back?
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Well for me, it’s mostly been a matter of letting the network settle between adding groups of devices. I started mostly per room, and then would make sure I had all the bugs worked out before moving on to adding more devices in another area of the house. That really seemed to let the network sort itself out.
I do occasionally have stability issues, but most of the time those are internet related, or related to the few items I have that are battery powered. But most of my devices are outlets/switches/bulbs, so I don’t generally have non-responsive devices. I would say only about a quarter are battery powered sensors, and the only ones I have issues with there are the motion sensors (I have one buggy Aeon multi that just refuses to stop sensing motion anymore).
I also tend toward the automated house rather than remote control set up. So once something is set up, it’s set and I don’t really touch it again. The shades raise at sunrise, and lower at sunset. The lights come on when someone walks through and its dark, then turn off. I haven’t touched a switch or lamp in most rooms for a while now. And as long as I don’t mess with the programming too often, they tend to work like they are supposed to, day in and day out.
I have a set up with the waterers on my deck and greenhouse, and THOSE tend to be very buggy. But I think that’s more because they are dealing with water (which has presented its own problem) and the elements, and less to do with the network.
I guess as far as managing it, I would say I really don’t. And for the money, I wish I knew at this point! 
I have been slowly building this up over a couple of years, and I didn’t track it in the beginning since I hadn’t planned on it becoming such a project.
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We have 117 devices connected at our DC office to the main hub we all use, then another 3 or 4 hubs all with different purposes (like one specifically for Support). Long story short it’s a very congested network RF-wise. I haven’t personally seen any issues on these particular hubs.
That said, there is a maximum number of devices that the Z-Wave protocol can support - 232 I think. ZigBee supports thousands and thousands.
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You might have interference issues. Make sure your hub is not too close to your router or on a metal surface. Try moving it as much as you can.
When I first setup ST I had the hub touching the router and a couple failed network repair attempts with two devices. I moved the hub just a bit and never had issues since.
Some cool hub placement tips in the recent blog post: http://blog.smartthings.com/iot101/a-guide-to-wireless-range-repeaters/
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Sorry to bring this back to life but how about simulated devices. Are they separate from z-wave? Also, how many devices will the ST app display in things? I am starting to have issue not having them on the ST app at around 253 devices but everything is showing on IDE list.
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I’m not aware of a limit in that way, but we have seen issues with the mobile app similar to what you’re describing. The best bet is to email support@smartthings.com and make sure they’re aware of the issue.
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Thanks for the quick response. Will get in touch with support. 
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