[alkonaut]

Tried to get a single outside light automated through a z-wave gaget hidden behind the switch. Endless hours later the thing is still either working intermittently or not at all. Even with the nodes in the network right next to each other the network is fragile as hell. I just can't believe how expensive z-wave things can be so much worse than the old 433mhz things that have been around for ages.

I finally gave up and now it's just on (or off) 24/7...

I'm considering giving it another try but I'm not to keen on investing in another tech only to see it fail as miserably as first gen z-wave

Is there no good standard that works over electric lines? Seems it could be so much more reliable and cheap. And every single device already has the wires.

Powerline Ethernet is sketchy with some wiring configurations but you'd think that these minimal bandwidths could be handled in nearly all wiring setups.

[iakh]

Z-wave is a mesh network, so the more devices you have the better the connectivity. If you only need a single device, try locating your hub as close to the switch as possible. Otherwise, ironically, the solution may be to invest in more light switches.

[alkonaut]

Yes. I considered the distance but before spending more money on switches I don't really need, I figured I'd try with the base next to the switch. Didn't work reliably there either. So I'm not going to dare buying more nodes.

Is there any standard that isnt mesh based? Hub and spoke with lots of power like wifi seems much smarter.

Seems like complete idiocy to use a fragile low power mesh network for something that a) has to have 99.9999 reliability (like lights) and also has unlimited power (2kW+ available at each node!!) like lights.

The reason I went with zwave was because of the need to work behind an existing switch. For sockets it would have been much easier with 433-plugs.

[stereo]

You’re probably using one of those cheap USB z-wave stick. Attaching it to a USB extension will improve reception significantly. You can also try changing the angle of the stick.

[alkonaut]

Definitely a regular z-stick yes. I don't think it's the problem though, because it reliably switches an external wall socket plug I use for testing. Just not the recessed switch I need it to manage...

I think the problem is that the switch itself is too weak in signal, and sits built into the wall. The z-stick doesn't reliably switch it even if I have it inches from the switch.