Posted July 13, 20196 yr Is it worth upgrading to the newer z-wave dongle? I have one of the old ones; I currently use it mainly for Schlage 469 locks and 1 battery operated siren. I have had some range issues with the locks for years but just tolerated it - I have found some potential solutions in these forms, such as using the Aeotec Gen 5 AC powered siren as a repeater. Any chance the new dongle has better range or are there any other benefits to upgrading? Thanks in advance for your replies.
July 13, 20196 yr At this moment I recommend to wait for the Zwave Series 700 dongle that is probably coming out in a few months, and hopefully also with UDI's new Polisy expected in October. The Zwave 500 series has several advantages over the old 300 series, including distance and battery life. However, these advantages work when the route of your Zwave device goes to the ISY through Series 500 devices only. In other words, if the mesh route from your lock to your ISY includes older Zwave devices, then you will not benefit from the Series 500 advantages, even if your lock is Series 500. Most likely the same will be true with the Series 700, but being only months away, I recommend to wait for the Series 700 dongle. Edited July 15, 20196 yr by asbril
July 13, 20196 yr Most likely you won't see a difference. Your problem is a lack of repeating devices in your network; something the new dongle would not fix. As Asbril mentioned, having older zwave devices wouldn't give you the benefits of the new specifications. Personally, I would deal with the current issues that you have for now until 700 series devices are released. Once released, I would purchase repeaters that have the new chip for future proofing along with the dongle when it comes. If you can't wait, make sure your repeaters are at least 500 series (zwave plus) for future use.
July 13, 20196 yr Author Thanks - makes sense - I had two of the really old aeotec range extenders that did nothing - went ahead and deleted them out of the ISY - I ordered a gen 5 Aeotec siren that was mentioned in these forums as a useful repeating device - I hope that will help with the range problems for now
July 13, 20196 yr 26 minutes ago, jtsao said: useful repeating device As I have mentioned on other occasions, it makes much more sense to use a plug-in Zwave device (example) . You can use this to control a lamp and it will repeat the Zwave signal as well. Single repeating devices do not provide better repeating and, in my humble opinion, are a waste of money.
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