Z-Wave 700/800 Series Interface Issue

Information about a known issue with 700/800 series Z-Wave interfaces

UPDATE

We have a firmware update available to fix this issue. See here: Updating Z-Wave Firmware for SmartStick+ or Z-NET

IMPORTANT

This issue affects only 700/800 series Z-Wave interfaces (like our SmartStick+ G3 unit). It does not affect 500 series Z-Wave interfaces (including our original SmartStick+ and SmartStick+ G2).

The Issue

A performance issue has been observed with some HomeSeer systems using 700/800 series Z-Wave interfaces. It appears that this issue is being caused by changes to the 700/800 series Z-Wave protocol. Although these changes were apparently introduced to reduce packet collisions and improve overall reliability, they can also cause communication delays for commands being sent to devices. In most cases, these delays are intermittent and small, lasting only a second or two. However, in some cases, they can last 10 seconds or more.

Who is Affected?

In our testing, communication delays were most common in 'high traffic' networks that include a significant number of energy reporting or status reporting devices such as these:

Energy monitors
Smart Plugs and Switches with energy monitoring
Multi-Sensors

Who is not Affected?

If you have a 'low traffic' network with few energy reporting or status reporting devices, you will likely not notice any communication delays. The majority of our users fall into this category.

Is This a HomeSeer-Only Issue?

No, the issue affects all brands of 700/800 series Z-Wave interfaces since they are all based upon the same reference design and all use the same chip-set and software SDK. The effects are also observable with other Z-Wave implementations such as Z-Wave JS.

Recommendation

If you're like most of our users and you don't have a significant number of energy reporting or status reporting devices, SmartStick+ G3 should perform very well for you. We suggest you give it a try. If it doesn't perform well, return it within 30 days for a full refund.

If you have a significant number of energy reporting or status reporting devices in your network, you should stick with a 500 series interface. The Nortek HUSBZB-1 is a great choice and it includes both Z-Wave and Zigbee radios.