I’m sorry, i’m a little confused by this. What’s the brand and model of the device you bought? Zigbee repeats only for zigbee and zwave repeats only for zwave, and field techs stopped using single purpose repeaters back in the third generation of zwave. We’re now in the fifth. Almost Any mains-powered device except smoke sensors should act as a repeater, but only for its own protocol. So if you use a light switch, it shows up as a light switch in the app. If you use a plug in motion sensor, it shows up as a motion sensor, etc.
There is a SmartThings “range extender” but it’s a subhub for the WiFi mesh product. As long as its firmware is up to date, it does also repeat zigbee and zwave, but in the exact same way that any other mains-powered device of those protocols would in that location. You don’t get any extra range for the other protocols just because it’s part of the hub. You should be able to see it and manage it through the Wi-Fi router capabilities of the main hub.
If I wanted to put a repeater outside and I didn’t need the Wi-Fi extended, I’d probably choose something a lot more weatherproof and a lot less expensive, but it’s your choice.
Have you had a chance to read the range FAQ yet? Start with post 11 in that thread, then go back up to the top and read the whole thing.
Note even if you are using the subhub as your repeater, you still need to run a Z wave repair after you add it to the network or the other devices won’t find it. This process is discussed in the FAQ above.
There’s no question that it absolutely sucks that smartthings gives us, the customers, no mapping utilities. I don’t know why they made that decision: most of their competition does it differently.
Since you have such a strong technical background I will say that it is possible to buy a third-party device that comes with its own diagnostic tools that you can then use to see your entire network of that protocol. It costs too much for the typical homeowner’s budget, and you have to be both committed and technically proficient to get value out of it, but it is something you can do if you’re interested and quite a few of the people who come in with a strong networking background do add these. Again, your choice.
And for zigbee