Cannot Send Command to Node

Community Playground Getting Started & Initial Setup
1

I am new to Z-Wave and Vera, so I apologize in advance for my naivete.

I just started my Z-Wave/Vera network and I had no problem connecting the Vera and 2 Honeywell T-Stats and two GE light switches to run a light and fan in my office.

The next two devices I added were Aeotec 4-1 sensors (named Motion 1 and Motion Sensor 2). The problems I’m having don’t seem to be Aeotec problems, as these devices worked fine when I paired them and they were close the the Vera unit. However, once I put them in their “homes”, I’m having trouble communicating with them. When I click poll device, I get an error that says “Cannot Send Command to Node”. One unit is in my office and is only 12 feet from the GE light switches (which should be acting as repeaters). The other is in my bedroom and is about 20 feet from a T-Stat (which also should be acting as a repeater). Given the number of devices I have, there is no way these should be trying to make more than 4 hops.

I ran a “Heal with Stress Test” to try and rectify the problem, but I’m getting nowhere. I attached the Heal results so you can see them. Does anyone have any ideas on how to solve this problem?

One other thing to note: The “Office Fan” switch and the “Office Light” switch are in the same box right next to each other. Not sure why the light gets 2 stars but the fan gets 5…

Any help is greatly appreciated!

UPDATE: So even though when trying to manually poll the device, I get the “Cannot Send Command to Node” error. The device seems to be operational (if not a bit slow) at least as it pertains to triggering the motion sensor. The other sensors (temp, humidity and light) seem to be getting updated as well - but I don’t know how frequently. The “wake interval” is set for 28 minutes. But since polling on demand seems not to work, I don’t know if Vera gets the data every time it wakes up. Is there any reason that the system would transmit data on wake up and on motion sensing, but be un-pollable (if that’s a word)?

2

First, did you update the firmware on the Aeotec devices? This is a must. Search the forums.

Second, motion Sensors are battery operated devices that sleep most of the time. They wake up when tripped and at a predefined wakeup interval. The devices cannot be polled or configured while they are sleeping.

There are numerous forum discussions on this matter but…
You will need to give these devices time (perhaps as much as a day or two) to learn their neighbors, wake and receive their configurations, be part of the nightly heal process, and settle into your network.

If you simply cannot wait, then read the device’s instructions about how to force it to wake up. It will usually stay awake for a few minutes, during which you can configure it and run a heal process to establish routing.

3

Yes, I updated the firmware prior to setup.

This actually answers my question completely and most likely illustrates my ignorance. What you say here explains why the devices seem to be working, but can’t be polled. I was unaware that battery operated devices are not capable of being polled, but this makes sense since they are not active until their wakeup interval. I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

El Jefe