Fibaro Z-Wave range testing

Fibaro Z-Wave range testing

This article is to highlight how to use the range testing capabilities of the Fibaro sensors. In this review I will be using the Fibaro Motion sensor but the Fibaro flood/water sensor as well as Dimmer 2 will also support range testing.

Requirements

• Any Z-Wave controller
• Fibaro sensor that supports range testing

Content

To make Z-Wave range test possible, the device must be added to the Z-Wave controller. Testing may stress the network, so it is recommended to perform the test only in special cases.

To test the main controller’s range:

1. Press and hold the button until the visual indicator glows violet
2. Release the button
3. Press the button again, briefly
4. Visual indicator will indicate the Z-Wave network’s range (range signaling modes described below)
5. To exit Z-Wave range test, press the button briefly

• Visual indicator pulsing green – Sensor attempts to establish a direct communication with the main controller. If a direct communication attempt fails, the device will try to establish a routed communication, through other modules, which will be signaled by visual indicator pulsing yellow.
• Visual indicator glowing green – Sensor communicates with the main controller directly.
• Visual indicator pulsing yellow – Sensor tries to establish a routed communication with the main controller through other modules (repeaters).
• Visual indicator glowing yellow – Sensor communicates with the main controller through the other modules. After 2 seconds the device will retry to establish a direct communication with the main controller, which will be signaled with visual indicator pulsing green.
• Visual indicator pulsing violet – Sensor does communicate at the maximum distance of the Z-Wave network. If connection proves successful it will be confirmed with a yellow glow. It’s not recommended to use the device at the range limit.
• Visual indicator glowing red – Sensor is not able to connect to the main controller directly or through another Z-Wave network device (repeater).

Results

You should now have a good understanding of where your Z-Wave range in your network is.

This article written by Joel DeYoung