Yale Conexis L1 Z-Wave on Smart Things

Devices & Integrations Connected Things
1

I’ve had my Yale Conexis L1 with the Z-wave v2 module installed for just over a month. It’s been working great until few days ago I was getting random status changes on the lock. The status was changing to unlocked but it wasnt actually unlocked. And today it happened again and all of a sudden it has sent a battery status update saying battery is at 1% but the Yale App isn’t reporting the battery as low.

Can this really be a battery issue? Why hasn’t the Z-wave module sent battery status updates until now. Battery has been at 100% from the day i installed it and it never updated til now where it is reporting it as 1%

2

Had mine in for 3 weeks now. Battery 83% and no real issues. I do get the occasional “state unknown”, but otherwise all good. My lock is very close to the hub though.

3

Since you installed your lock, how many battery level information has the lock sent to your hub? Mine hasn’t sent a single battery level update and has been stuck at 100% and now it’s reporting 1% I don’t even mind the battery dying quicker than usual but I would prefer to be able to monitor when it starts going down. All this time it’s telling me 100% and now it’s saying 1%

4

A few times. Actually I just sent one in the last few mins.

5

That’s really strange because mine is just not sending battery status updates at all. It appears the battery is definitely low because I opened the Yale app it was showing 100% then I unlocked with Yale app and it updated on the Yale app as low battery too and the motor sounds very weak so battery definitely low. I’ve changed with new batteries but the battery status still has not updated. Anyone know why it’s not sending battery updates?

Can low battery cause these random unlock status that I’ve been experiencing?

6

Try to reset your lock (see lock manual), some of the z-wave modules have an issue and stop reporting battery levels. Reset helps.

BTW the 1% isn’t reported by the lock, the lock would report 0xFF likely which is then shown as 1% by the DTH. See this posts for more details:

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7

I spoke to Yale. They say they are suspecting the z-wave module. I have the v2 z-wave module. They’ve posted out a new z-wave v2 module for me. They said it’s the latest version of the v2. So l guess I have to wait and see. Since I changed the batteries on Friday, ST still isn’t getting an updated battery information.

8

@siwilson which version of the z-wave module are you using? v1 or v2?

9

I’ve replaced the z-wave v2 module with the warranty replacement that Yale sent me. I excluded the old one and then added the new one. At first when i installed it, I got the latest battery info but it’s been a day and I haven’t had any battery information showing up in the history of the lock. Can someone who has similar check their lock history and see roughly how often you get battery information sent to the hub?

10

Not very often at all. I had to replace the batteries this week as the lock was playing a tune. At that point I got a report of 100%. That was 24 hours ago and nothing since.

11

So it’s been just over a month since i Installed new batteries and I installed a new replacement v2 Z-Wave module which was issued to me under warranty. But the battery level wasn’t updating on the app at all. For one month no update on battery level. Then today I decided to press that refresh icon on the ST app and then it seems at that point it gets the battery level. I pressed it in the morning and it went to 80% and pressed it again this afternoon it’s at 82%. So i’m assuming a small fluctuation is normal but most importantly seems like 80ish percentage with a loss of 20% in one month is not bad considering i lost 100% in one month last time.

But is it normal to have to press that refresh button? should the DH not have an interval where it requests battery level?

12

Fluctuations are normal, it depends on usage and load on the battery and battery types. E.g. Alkaline batteries show more voltage drop vs Lithium batteries. Also as the battery ages it fluctuates more, so when using an Alkaline batteries you’ll see more fluctuation at 50% battery life when the deadbolt motor operates than with a Lithium battery (NiMH and NiCd batteries are even worse and a high fluctuation can cause the lock to stop operating due to the voltage falling below the minimum operating threshold). If you’re seeing high battery level fluctuations when operating the lock (10% or more) it’s best to change battery brands or replace the battery at 50% for deadbolt locks and 30% for electronic locks.

See these topics for how batteries in locks work.
Schlage Door Lock Battery Died Suddenly
At what percentage to change batteries in Schlage lever lock?
Yale Deadbolt BL1 Battery Percentage at 1% at Randon
Yale Connexis L1 Battery change

As for refreshes, it depends on the DTH. The stock DTH relies on system polling, but that’s been broken for a long time. Sometimes it polls for some devices/users and then it does. If you’re using the Enhanced Z-Wave Lock DTH, that requests a battery update about once a day if the lock doesn’t report it. Some locks report the voltage when it crosses a threshold so it’s really a combination of the lock, platform and DTH.

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13

Thanks @RBoy regarding using lithium AA batteries instead of alkaline, the Yale user manual states we must use alkaline. Is it because lithium AA batteries might have different voltage etc? I’ve come across the Energizer e2 lithium AA batteries and it says they produce 1.5 volts, so they can be used to replace any regular alkaline AA units in most cases.

In regards to the device handler. I’m currently using the default one that ST assigns when the Yale is paired. It seems to be called Z-Wave Lock. It’s a local DH. I do not see enhanced Z-Wave lock in the list. The only other Z-Wave locks on the list is: Z-Wave Lock without Codes and Z-Wave lock with Codes.

14

Yes it will work but keep in mind that lithium batteries have a very flat voltage discharge curve. While it helps in reducing fluctuations, however the lock is tuned to report the battery % based on a Alkaline curve. So with a lithium 1.5v battery it’ll last 2-4 times longer but you’ll have to replace the battery at maybe 95% since the curve is flatter. See this topic for more details Schlage Door Lock Battery Died Suddenly and results here Battery Life for smart Doorlocks

There are 2 DTH’s that work with SmartLocks for code programming, the stock Z-Wave Lock which runs locally and the Enhanced Z-Wave Lock DTH which unlocks a few additional features for Yale locks (and fixes some bugs), but it runs in the cloud. You’ll need access to RBoy Apps to get the Enhanced DTH.

15

What is the main difference between cloud based device handler and a local device handler? I know local ones are only the ones the ST approve. Cloud based ones technically are also hosted on ST and the device handler programmer doesn’t really have access to control that handler right? If the hub loses internet connection, I assume with the local device it can still communicate and do certain things? but being a cloud device handler I assume you always need internet? I dont think always needing internet for the lock device handler is a bad thing because if u don’t have internet then no big deal just use a backup key. I think bigger question will be the safety and security of the cloud device handler.

16

There are a lot of topics on cloud vs local execution. Local execution is currently very limited and requires all interacting components to be run locally (rules, apps, DTH etc) for it to truly run locally in the case of a internet outage. See this FAQ for starters:

Best recommendation is to have your Router, Hub and Modem on a UPS backup so that in case of a power outage things still run (the v3 hubs don’t have a battery backup)

17

Thanks, but is there any security risks with cloud device handlers? Can whoever writes a code potentially access your device?

18

No, that would undermine the whole platform. The DTH code installed can only be viewed by you (and the ST staff) and control of devices is limited to your account (and those you invite to share your account).

It may be worth reading through the FAQ’s and Wiki’s on how custom Device Handlers and SmartApps work in the SmartThings environment.

The purpose of local processing is to reduce the timelag/latency and also help device control during internet outages. There’s a push from end users for ST to extend this functionality to custom apps and handlers as well (which I believe they are looking into but they haven’t given an ETA yet). The underlying security model is the same whether it’s a cloud DTH or a local DTH, it’s just a matter of where it executes (and the same goes for apps)

19

Hey all,

I’ve had my conexis for a few weeks. Working really well but I had a panic the other day when I noticed it was unlocking itself throughout the night! (Looking at the activity feed)

However after reading your point… I hope it’s the same with mine. Its the status is changing to unlocked but hopefully the lock isn’t unlocking. I am yet to test this.

Any update on this particular issue though?

20

Check the actual battery level on the device. Mine did that when the battery was low. You can press the circular arrow icon in the app to refresh the status.