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Does the z-wave plugin have something against battery status? - Solution!

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    #31
    ...a quick follow up...

    I created a huge HS event that uses a ton of OR's to check if any "battery" device has a value less than 20 percent (which I know none of them do) and speak something. After leaving that in place for 18 hours, all but one of my battery operated sensors have updated the "last changed" timestamp for the battery status.

    THIS SHOULD BE FIXED. IT'S SILLY TO HAVE TO CREATE DO NOTHING, CYCLE WASTING EVENTS to get things to work as they're documented to work.

    As for that last device... I have no clue why it's not updating. I created an additional event just for that one device to speak if the battery status is set to anything at all... I'm curious IF the event will fire for that one (and if it updates the last changed timestamp.)

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      #32

      Edit: I've sent an email to support@homeseer.com concerning this issue. What I really need to know is if HS is actively addressing the issue and/or an estimated time for it to be resolved. I've heard MANY good things about HS as a company and the reliability of their software (and willingness to quickly resolve problems.) I guess now I'll find out if it's true or not.
      I don't want for this to just appear as an idle excuse for some HS bashing but HS have limited resources and this is not always the case (I think you would get them to admit to that) in terms of quick fixes to issues and very much is whether or not HS deem it to be important (which I do understand). I know of bugs in some applications that have been around for five years now, my battery devices have never worked correctly and it has been talked about many times before and I reached a similar conclusion that it is likely a plugin bug considering the fact mine come from numerous manufacturers and all behave the same.

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        #33
        Originally posted by mrhappy View Post
        I know of bugs in some applications that have been around for five years now...
        Would you like for me to tell you about some Windows API bugs that have existed since Windows XP (and likely Windows 2000?)

        Seriously, though... I'm hoping that all the analysis and tests I've done and documented in this thread would narrow down the issue considerably. The fact that I can repeat it at a rate of 100%, AND have found a seemingly unconnected workaround, would give them enough information to consider this issue "low hanging fruit."

        As a professional software developer, I know I love fixing "easy" things that there are multiple complaints about. (There are several threads here about this issue, but this was the first to narrow it down so much.) In fact, if this were my project, the only thing that would prevent me from trying to quickly resolve this (given the amount of information in this thread) would be if I knew that the issue would become obsolete in a very short amount of time (due to a major software revision, etc.)

        That's me, though, and not HomeSeer. I don't work for them and am no way professionally involved with them. Actually, until it goes on sale, I don't even own anything but a trial license.

        Take care
        Gary

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          #34
          Originally posted by rjh View Post
          Battery devices update when a device wakes up AND the poll timer for the device has expired. So check your battery devices and make sure you have a poll time enabled. If the device is set to wake up every 12 hours, make sure the poll timer is set to a SMALLER value. 6 hours will ensure that at 12 hours it will request a battery level when the device wakes up. Even if you see a really small poll value, the poll will be ignored and it will only queue one poll for when the device wakes up. Check the device wakeup timer in the Z-Wave settings for the device.
          I do believe that this was the crucial piece of info I needed to get battery status working. Maybe others are unaware of this as well. Where were we supposed to find this info? It was not in the change log for 3.0.1.90. OK, that is my gripe over.

          After understanding this is the way it works, I've got all my battery statuses updating on a daily (or so) basis now. By default, many of my battery devices had shorter wakeup periods than the poll periods. For example, the default wakeup period for the Ecolink Motion Sensors was 4 hours. But the default poll period was 23 hours. While testing, I put the poll down to 5 minutes and that fixed the problem. Amazing!! To save batteries, I've upped the wakeup period on the Ecolink MSs to a day and just left the poll at 5 minutes. I figure I only need a battery update once a day. The situation with the Everspring door sensors was exactly the same. They are all working now. This is one happy spring chicken here



          Compare it with the screengrab in my post from a month ago, here.

          Originally posted by waynehead99 View Post
          I agree, there is something wrong with the zwave plugin...

          ... Oh and I am still on .87 of the zwave plugin (not beta)... I tried all the .9x versions and for some reason, it introduced random delays.
          BUT, there is still this problem which Wayne pointed out. I also have these occasional random delays since using .9x beta Z-Wave plugin which was not there with .87. So it is either having battery statuses working and putting up with random delays, or having reliable event triggering but no battery statuses. That choice sucks I do hope HS is looking into this.
          Last edited by ; October 24, 2016, 08:52 AM. Reason: Clarity

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            #35
            Originally posted by rjh View Post
            Battery devices update when a device wakes up AND the poll timer for the device has expired. So check your battery devices and make sure you have a poll time enabled. If the device is set to wake up every 12 hours, make sure the poll timer is set to a SMALLER value. 6 hours will ensure that at 12 hours it will request a battery level when the device wakes up. Even if you see a really small poll value, the poll will be ignored and it will only queue one poll for when the device wakes up. Check the device wakeup timer in the Z-Wave settings for the device.



            Now there was an issue with this polling and this has been fixed in the latest Z-Wave plugin, so make sure you have the latest plugin installed, and restart your entire system after you install it as a reset will clear all the poll timers.



            Note that HS will not show an update to a battery device unless the level actually changes. In my case I have 3 Ecolink tilt sensors on my garage and they all still report 100%, even though they have been installed for almost a year. I suspect their battery reporting is not accurate. I have verified that they are indeed reporting 100%. Fibaro motion sensors also report 100% for a long time.



            To verify that your devices are reporting battery level during a wake up, turn on the device logging on the Z-Wave config page (click on the name of the Z-Wave plugin on the plugins page to get to this page). Search the log for "battery" and you should see the reports. You can see the level there to verify the value. (you must wait for the poll time to expire before you will see any logging) Do this rather than use the raw logs as those are hard to follow.



            Also, you can create an event trigger on a SET to the battery device. When it updates (even to the same value), the event will trigger.


            Ecolink devices work perfectly for me with default settings in the HS UI, but I do set the jumpers to test. I do have a dry contact sensor that I am planning on tying into a hard wired moisture sensor next to my furnace that does not update the battery level on a regular interval. I am working on getting a 24 volt relay to finish that configuration, and will then finish the configuration.

            I see on the UI where I can set the polling interval, (home - battery device - "z-wave" tab - Current interval). I do not see a place to set the wake up timer. Would you elaborating on this?


            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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              #36
              Originally posted by Kerat View Post
              Ecolink devices work perfectly for me with default settings in the HS UI, but I do set the jumpers to test. I do have a dry contact sensor that I am planning on tying into a hard wired moisture sensor next to my furnace that does not update the battery level on a regular interval. I am working on getting a 24 volt relay to finish that configuration, and will then finish the configuration.

              I see on the UI where I can set the polling interval, (home - battery device - "z-wave" tab - Current interval). I do not see a place to set the wake up timer. Would you elaborating on this?

              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
              Out of the 6 Ecolink motion sensors that I have, 2 were working sporadically. The other 4 never updated. They are working now after setting the wake up and poll timer.

              You'll find the wake up setting in the corresponding root device Z-Wave tab. Before you open the setting (ready button), make sure you wake up the Ecolink motion sensor (or any other battery device) first by taking the cover off. The red LED should be lighted up in order to set the wakeup time. Hope this helps.
              Last edited by ; October 25, 2016, 01:25 AM. Reason: clarity

              Comment


                #37
                Originally posted by abwyatt View Post
                Out of the 6 Ecolink motion sensors that I have, 2 were working sporadically. The other 4 never updated. They are working now after setting the wake up and poll timer.

                You'll find the wake up setting in the corresponding root device Z-Wave tab. Before you open the setting (ready button), make sure you wake up the Ecolink motion sensor (or any other battery device) first by taking the cover off. The red LED should be lighted up in order to set the wakeup time. Hope this helps.


                Ok, thank you I am going to test this now.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                  #38
                  OK, I most be dense, but I guess I'm missing something about what to set.

                  I have a Fibaro door sensor that has always said it has 0% battery. There is a root device, a battery child device, and of course other child devices.

                  So I set the battery poll time to 6 hours, and the root device poll time to 12 hours. There is reference to a wake-up timer in various posts in this thread, but I don't know where to look for that information?

                  In any case, I'm still not getting battery information reporting after waiting several days. So I am definitely missing something here.

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                    #39
                    Originally posted by mikedr View Post
                    OK, I most be dense, but I guess I'm missing something about what to set.

                    I have a Fibaro door sensor that has always said it has 0% battery. There is a root device, a battery child device, and of course other child devices.

                    So I set the battery poll time to 6 hours, and the root device poll time to 12 hours. There is reference to a wake-up timer in various posts in this thread, but I don't know where to look for that information?

                    In any case, I'm still not getting battery information reporting after waiting several days. So I am definitely missing something here.
                    Yes, you are missing something

                    Remove the 12 hour poll from the root device. Shouldn't need that. Make sure you set the 6 hour poll time in the battery child device, and not any other child device.

                    For the wakeup timer, open the root device and go to the Z-Wave tab. There should be a Settings link towards the bottom of the page, above Associations. Open Settings. The wake-up timer should be in there under another link called Ready. You will need to make sure your door sensor is awake when you Set the wake-up time. Refer to your door sensor documentation. I don't know the Fibaro sensor. You are on the right track with the wakeup timer period which must be larger than the battery poll, so 12 hours is good.

                    Hope this helps.

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by abwyatt View Post
                      Yes, you are missing something

                      Remove the 12 hour poll from the root device. Shouldn't need that. Make sure you set the 6 hour poll time in the battery child device, and not any other child device.

                      For the wakeup timer, open the root device and go to the Z-Wave tab. There should be a Settings link towards the bottom of the page, above Associations. Open Settings. The wake-up timer should be in there under another link called Ready. You will need to make sure your door sensor is awake when you Set the wake-up time. Refer to your door sensor documentation. I don't know the Fibaro sensor. You are on the right track with the wakeup timer period which must be larger than the battery poll, so 12 hours is good.

                      Hope this helps.
                      Indeed yes! As an aside, I *despise* the Fibaro door sensor. The reason I got it is that it came in silver. I'm thinking of removing it from HomeSeer and replacing it with a different sensor that I'll just spraypaint silver.

                      The reason why is that it's an absolute bear to get to stay awake -- and apparently when replacing the battery, if you don't open the door, it'll do a factory reset (!).

                      I'm going to set aside time this weekend to play around with this more, when I can take the sensor down and force it to stay awake.

                      So if anyone is coming across this post when searching for Fibaro FGK-101 door/window sensor, *don't buy it*.

                      Here's some more info on this sensor:
                      http://zwaveworld.com/2014/all-z-wav...window-sensor/

                      Comment


                        #41
                        Originally posted by mikedr View Post
                        Indeed yes! As an aside, I *despise* the Fibaro door sensor. The reason I got it is that it came in silver. I'm thinking of removing it from HomeSeer and replacing it with a different sensor that I'll just spraypaint silver.

                        The reason why is that it's an absolute bear to get to stay awake -- and apparently when replacing the battery, if you don't open the door, it'll do a factory reset (!).

                        I'm going to set aside time this weekend to play around with this more, when I can take the sensor down and force it to stay awake.

                        So if anyone is coming across this post when searching for Fibaro FGK-101 door/window sensor, *don't buy it*.

                        Here's some more info on this sensor:
                        http://zwaveworld.com/2014/all-z-wav...window-sensor/
                        Ah, yes - totally agree on this one, stay away from these - they don't pair very well in the first place, then the old factory reset while replacing the battery as you forgot about the last time that moving the magnet and powering up does that.
                        I also found the plastic is flimsy and tends to stop snapping together after one or more battery swaps.

                        Thanks for the battery explanation all, I've had a device warning me for a month after numerous battery changes, hopefully the polling and firing event will fix that

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                          #42
                          Originally posted by garyd9 View Post

                          ... I certainly hope HS hasn't "given up" on the issue. It IS important.. see below. ...
                          I don't think this is on anybody's radar... as I find only two open bug tickets:

                          #1828, which appears to have been ignored since 5/5/2014
                          #2321, which appears to have been ignored since 10/18/2014

                          If there is more to be found as relates to what HS is actually working on, I don't know how to find it....
                          HomeSeer Version: HS4 Pro Edition 4.2.19.0 (Windows - Running as a Service)
                          Home Assistant 2024.3
                          Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro - Desktop
                          Z-Wave Devices via two Z-Net G3s
                          Zigbee Devices via RaspBee on RPi 3b+
                          WiFi Devices via Internal Router.

                          Enabled Plug-Ins
                          AK GoogleCalendar 4.0.4.16,AK HomeAssistant 4.0.1.23,AK SmartDevice 4.0.5.1,AK Weather 4.0.5.181,AmbientWeather 3.0.1.9,Big6 3.44.0.0,BLBackup 2.0.64.0,BLGData 3.0.55.0,BLLock 3.0.39.0,BLUPS 2.0.26.0,Device History 4.5.1.1,EasyTrigger 3.0.0.76,Harmony Hub 4.0.14.0,HSBuddy 4.51.303.0,JowiHue 4.1.4.0,LG ThinQ 4.0.26.0,ONVIF Events 1.0.0.5,SDJ-Health 3.1.1.9,TPLinkSmartHome4 2022.12.30.0,UltraCID3 3.0.6681.34300,Z-Wave 4.1.3.0

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                            #43
                            This should be fixed, what are you seeing now? You have to make sure you have polling enabled on the battery device, that you have the wakeup parameter set to a value that is less than the polling interval, and you have the latest Z-Wave plugin and have restarted your system.

                            Originally posted by ewkearns View Post
                            I don't think this is on anybody's radar... as I find only two open bug tickets:

                            #1828, which appears to have been ignored since 5/5/2014
                            #2321, which appears to have been ignored since 10/18/2014

                            If there is more to be found as relates to what HS is actually working on, I don't know how to find it....
                            💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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                              #44
                              Originally posted by ewkearns View Post
                              I don't think this is on anybody's radar... as I find only two open bug tickets:

                              #1828, which appears to have been ignored since 5/5/2014
                              #2321, which appears to have been ignored since 10/18/2014
                              I had added 3383, which narrows down to the real issue:

                              The "last changed" timestamp doesn't get updated when the following item is NOT checked: "Do not update device last change time if the device value does not change" -- unless there also happens to be an event that triggers on the value (in which case the "last changed" timestamp DOES get updated.)

                              Comment


                                #45
                                Originally posted by rjh View Post
                                This should be fixed, what are you seeing now?
                                Rich, it is NOT fixed as of HS 297 and zwave 3.0.1.94. See my post in this thread immediately before this one (or bugzilla ticket 3383.)

                                I have a 100% rate of reproducing the issue.

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