Troubleshooting z-wave instability with Vera

tadr

Active Member
I have been slowly building a z-wave network in my house for the last couple of years.  I use a VeraLite with the plugin for my Elk M1 alarm system.  The system was working great for several years (100% reliable).  In the past couple of months, I added 2-3 more lamp modules (plug-in type) and another wireless minimote.  Shortly thereafter, I noticed that various lights started becoming unresponsive.  I've specifically noticed the following issues:
1. 2-3 lamp modules became non-responsive.  I looked in Vera and noticed that the neighbors field had become empty.  I "healed" the network which helped, but did not completely solve the problem.  One lamp module is still often (but not always) unresponsive.
2. The buttons on the minimote do not function correctly anymore.  One long-press function is completely missing and the other buttons got jumbled (i.e., button 1 does what button 2 should do, etc).  Yes, I can probably remove/add the minimotes and reconfigure them, but I'm trying to figure out (and eliminate) the root cause of this issue.
 
In general, I'm trying to figure out how to troubleshoot my network -- how do I figure out what devices are causing the problem?  Is there an easy way to parse the logs? Do I need to rebuild my entire network manually?
 
I generally have the following types of devices:
1. Leviton in-wall dimmer switches (mostly incandescent with 1 magnetic type) (approx. 10)
2. Leviton dimmable plug-in lamp modules (approx. 4)
3. GE dimmable plug-in lamp module (1)
4. Aeon labs minimote (2) (battery powered)
5. Monoprice motion detector (1) (battery powered)
6. Leviton in-wall fan controller (1)
 
I would do a manual rebuild of the network first - determine if that solves your issue. If the issue is resolved, no additional troubleshooting required.
 
If not, do it again, but breaking the network down into components from the same company or like modules (e.g. add all Leviton dimmers). Then, slowly add the additional devices (e.g. GE lamp module) until you locate an issue.
 
Minimote button issues is known issue.  Set it not to be configured (vs the default setting).   Otherwise, the button mappings get messed up on the Vera heal process. 
 
i threw out my two leviton plugin modules after they have became unresponsive (until power cycled).  I had 3 of them.  I have 14 Aeon smart switches that never have an issue and over 100 Z-wave devices on Vera.
 
more info here: http://forum.micasaverde.com/ 
 
With respect to the minimotes, you're saying I should set "Automatically configure" under the device settings tab to "no."?  Do I have to worry about this affecting anything else?
 
I seem to be having the same issue with my leviton modules -- they work great for a while and then at some point stop working and I have to physically unplug them. I purposely spent the extra $$ for leviton because all my switches are leviton and I thought I was getting a premium product. The GE plugin module (which is considerably cheaper) has actually been much more reliable.  Maybe I'll just swap them all out.
 
AgileHumor said:
Minimote button issues is known issue.  Set it not to be configured (vs the default setting).   Otherwise, the button mappings get messed up on the Vera heal process. 
 
i threw out my two leviton plugin modules after they have became unresponsive (until power cycled).  I had 3 of them.  I have 14 Aeon smart switches that never have an issue and over 100 Z-wave devices on Vera.
 
more info here: http://forum.micasaverde.com/ 
 
Yes, set "Automatically Configure" to No (after you've configured it correctly and it's working).
 
Ditto on buying Leviton for stability.  I have 18 Leviton dimmers that work without issue.  
 
However, I do like the power metering on the Aeon's not that I have them.
 
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