Update on my installs:
I’ve had three switches installed for several days now with the updated firmware. I have not seen any issues with any of them. Yesterday, I installed my 4th and final switch. Immediately I had back-to-back disconnects that were resolved by pulling the airgap. However, after updating the firmware, it has been solid for ~12 hours now.
No, I had done both the air gap and the breaker. After the breaker the fan light pulses to be paired. I have done this and the switch lights green, but still does not control the fan.
I’m just going to pull down the canopy and see if repositioning the module will help. I could be having an entirely different issue as well. When after I did the upgrade and the controls worked for 2 days I thought all my troubles were over.
Hi @DTrident, your symptoms sound similar to my initial experience; intermittent/sporadic connection between the switch & the canopy module. Mine would work properly sometimes, other times I would keep pushing the buttons (either physically of through Z-Wave) and eventually something might get through. If I walked away & left it, sometimes it would start responding properly for a bit. Pulling the air gap didn’t seem to make much difference for me. Flipping the breaker would sometimes fix it, other times it would start the pairing process (fan lights flashing). The pairing would usually say it worked (green light on the switch), and sometimes that was true.
All I did was re-arranged the wires up in the canopy so there was less between the module & the switch, and left the antenna sticking out. Everything is now great. I haven’t even done the firmware update yet - if it ain’t broke…!
So yes, it seems like there are a couple of issues here; something to do with too much 2.4GHz traffic locking up the switch - an air-gap resets this, turning off energy reporting helps significantly & the latest firmware seems to fix it. Then there’s our problem where the 2.4GHz signal just seems to be too weak, and a bit of re-arranging might help.
Thanks for the insight, that’s exactly what is happening with my switch. The fan I have has a fairly large canopy, so that could be a major factor for signal loss.
Hi @Eric_Inovelli, has anyone asked whether an antenna “extension” of any kind is possible - either to get a better signal, or at least to bring it outside the canopy?
I really think that is what it is. I was having issues from the start, I removed the cover and since then I have not had an issue. I still need a solution, because it does not look so good.
May not be a good solution for you, but do you know anyone with a 3D printer that could make you a plastic cover?
No, that would be nice to have but it is not in the budget either. I’m hoping this update they are testing will take care of it so I can put it back up there. Just waiting on the details of how they are going to do this.
I think someone posted previously about one they made… Could see if someone could make you one, but I agree it was a stretch.
I believe that the antenna that is being used with the product is really designed to work in open air, basically hanging like a garage door opener antenna, nothing around it. It’s length is also critical, as it needs to be related to the wavelength of the 2.4GHz. If it touches metal, it messes with the effective length. If you put any metal around the antenna, you will detune the antenna, making it less effective. The range on this product isn’t very far to begin with, if you detune the antenna with metal, it will get shorter. Having the end of the antenna sticking out of a hole, isn’t going to help you very much. The problem probably isn’t that the wifi is to strong, it is probably fine, it is just that the canopy, due to the hidden antenna, is effectively whispering. I am not sure what radio is being used, but hopefully it is a frequency hopper, meaning, it finds free frequencies and uses them. If the antenna is messed up, those algorithms may not pick the right frequencies and get stomped on by other transmitters. Also, because the canopy is whispering, the other well-behaving frequency hoppers in your house won’t “see” the fan and avoid it’s frequencies, stomping all over them with their robust signals…
Long story short, need the antenna to work, then everything gets easier. I had problems, took off the cover,and hung the antenna, everything is fine. Now, I need to figure out what to do next. Maybe doubling the antenna length and hanging it out of the canopy will work. The FCC wouldn’t like it, but my fan may.
Just hit the dollar stores for a suitably-sized plastic bowl, and use a hole saw to make a down rod opening through the bottom…
[tldr; exposing the antenna works for me] I’ve only installed one of my LZW36s and I was getting disconnects around 6 to 8 hours; it never lasted longer than that. Flipping the breaker always restored the connection but after disabling reporting the switch and module would not pair at all. When the module started the pairing process and the lights were fading on and off I’d get a green confirmation on the switch, but module stayed in pairing mode and commands to turn the fan or light on and off wouldn’t get any reaction from the module.
After pulling my antenna out of the housing so it’s visible the switch and module automatically paired and I haven’t had any issues in the last 10 days. Reporting has been on for the last 9.
Was there a final decision on whether the firmware was necessary? I’ve read all 291 comments and I’ve been following closely for a couple of weeks now, but haven’t seen anything.
Everything I’ve seen makes it seem like people are much happier with the switch after updating the firmware. I have one LZW36 installed that I haven’t had any issues with but I updated it’s firmware last night using @bcopeland new version of the Z-Wave Firmware Updater for Hubitat and it’s still working perfectly.
I updated mine just about a week ago and have not had any problems since!!!
Conversely! I haven’t updated mine yet - just exposing the antenna got it working nicely. And if it ain’t broke…
(Though EricM has mentioned an upcoming fan child device handler - and at that point I’ll probably redo the config, and include the new firmware)
does anyone think there is going to be a official and non-beta FW update coming soon?
Where can I find URL to use on Hubitat to update my firmware?
Here is the latest one I am aware of:
I thought I was working good until installed the cover on the fan (letting the antenna hang out about 2 inches). Previously, I just let the cover off and the antenna hang. Now, about every hour my lights go from 30% dim (which I have it set for), to full brightness, for about a second, then back. It almost seems like there is some some type of contention (hardware or software), but I can’t tell. I don’t see anything in the history. Maybe the connection to the fan is dropping and going back to some default, I don’t know. Has anyone seen this?
ok, dropping the cover didn’t fix it,
The plot thickens… It MAY not be doing the flicker with an incandescent bulb. More testing is needed. I was using some Ecosmart Dimmable 1720ZF LED bulbs. Testing a 40W fridge bulb now.
