Hey all, Ive got a switch around a corner that my vera lite cannot communicate with. I placed a switch near the corner that is in line of sight between both the target switch and the vera unit, and that allowed me to communicate with the switch for a short period, but for the last 3 weeks or so I havent been able to get the switch around the corner to respond to anything. I’ve done multiple heals on the network to no avail. I’ve attached a small picture of the situation im facing.
I’m thinking I need to make a manual route to tell the vera to communicate through? How do I fix this?
First, look at the AutoRoute field on the Advanced tab of node 31. Does it list any routes that include node 36?
The routes that appear in the AutoRoute field will look like this:
20-15,30-22x,40.50-32
20-15 - Route through node 20 has a metric of 15.
30-22x - Route through node 30 has a metric of 18, but x means it is a failed route.
40.50-32 - Route through node 40 then node 50 has a metric of 32.
To create a manual route through your node 36, simply type 36 and nothing else in the ManualRoute field of node 31. A heal is probably a good idea afterward.
The node number refers to the Z-Wave network node address/number.
The device number is the device’s identification number within Vera’s own home automation controller database, separate from the Z-Wave network numbers or the Z-Wave dongle.
Why the two different number confusion? The reason is that Z-Wave networks have only a physical Z-Wave device concept. Vera has the concept of Z-Wave devices, virtual devices, scenes, Insteon/X-10 devices, Wifi devices…
So Vera has a record(device number) in its database for each and every device that it knows about. That record might also hold a node number if the record is for a Z-Wave device.
[quote=“Z-Waver, post:2, topic:181526”]First, look at the AutoRoute field on the Advanced tab of node 31. Does it list any routes that include node 36?
The routes that appear in the AutoRoute field will look like this:
20-15,30-22x,40.50-32
20-15 - Route through node 20 has a metric of 15.
30-22x - Route through node 30 has a metric of 18, but x means it is a failed route.
40.50-32 - Route through node 40 then node 50 has a metric of 32.
To create a manual route through your node 36, simply type 36 and nothing else in the ManualRoute field of node 31. A heal is probably a good idea afterward.[/quote]
Thank you for the reply. The device that is unresponsive actually does not contain an AutoRoute field. I tried entering in 36 for the manual route field and nothing has changed.
The absence of an AutoRoute field suggests to me that the device is either damaged or not configured, unless it is battery operated. You stated that the problem device was a switch, so I assumed that it is not battery powered, but please confirm that it is not a battery operated device.
Does the problem switch work with Vera moved closer or in view of it? This would confirm if the issue is routing or a bad switch.
The switch does indeed work if I move the vera around the corner and into line of site. After properly configuring it, the autoroute field did appear. Moving the vera back to its original location however causes signals not to reach the switch anymore
I’d recommend that you now perform a heal, without the manual route. Then, if it still does not work, add 36 as the manual route and see if you get a better result.
It may also be helpful to me if you posted the AutoRoute field from both node 31 and 36. Also, I am assuming that 36 works perfectly, correct me if that is not the case.
Yes, as I described earlier, the node number is different from the device ID. The node number can be found by looking at:
Device Settings tab: ID
Device Advanced tab: ALTID
Heal report as pictured in the above post by @TC1.
There are also plugins and LUA snippets all over the forum that reveal or dump this information.
I thought it might be the altid, thanks. I have got a few comms problems with x in the autoroute and allcomsfailed=1, so got some work to do… will probably do the antenna mod as I did with my Vera lite
[quote=“Z-Waver, post:9, topic:181526”]This tells me that the switch is likely fine.
I’d recommend that you now perform a heal, without the manual route. Then, if it still does not work, add 36 as the manual route and see if you get a better result.
It may also be helpful to me if you posted the AutoRoute field from both node 31 and 36. Also, I am assuming that 36 works perfectly, correct me if that is not the case.[/quote]
After a heal, and adding a manual route still does not seem to make the switch respond.
the autoroute for the unreachable switch is “-x”.
for node 36, the autoroute is “0-5,16-18,18-18,27-20”
[quote=“kenny9979, post:13, topic:181526”]After a heal, and adding a manual route still does not seem to make the switch respond.
the autoroute for the unreachable switch is “-x”.
for node 36, the autoroute is “0-5,16-18,18-18,27-20”[/quote]
This is strange and I wonder if node 31 is in a metal box or behind a metal shield that is completely blocking Z-Wave signal. A blank AutoRoute field is very unusual if there are neighbor nodes.
The node 36 route (0-5) says that Vera can communicate directly and very reliably with 36. If 36 has clear line of sight to 31 and the distance is less than 50 feet, then having the previously specified manual route should work perfectly.
Is there something unique or some unknown variable, like being behind a metal wall, with node 31?
The unpassable wall is made of metal so it makes sense that the signal cannot reach the switch directly.
The switch in question does have a small metal box around it, but the front of the enclosing is all plastic so I assumed that it shouldn’t be a problem. I can try to remove the box to see if it makes any difference, but if that is the case, how come the vera can communicate with it directly if it is in line of sight of the vera unit?
Other than that, the signal from node 36 would have to travel through glass but I doubt that is a problem, right?
While Z-Wave signals(908MHz) can pass through glass fairly easily, it can’t pass through metal.
Most, though not necessarily all, wall switches have the antenna mounted right behind the face plate so a metal box will block the signal to the side or behind the switch, but there should be signal in front of the switch. Do switches 31 and 36 face each other? If their face plates are parallel they may not be able to communicate with each other.
If removing the metal box is an option, it will probably be the fix and you can remove manual routes and stick with dynamic AutoRoutes. You might be able to test the theory by temporarily pulling the switch outside of the box and running a heal with it hanging outside the wall, to see if it starts working.
Interestingly enough, it did turn out to be the metal box around the switch, even though the front was exposed. It is now working as expected. Thanks for the help!
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