Not to be rude, but the issues you’re having are different than the single issue this post was created regarding, and that was the first time you mentioned the disconnections. I know you said you talked to support but they’re basically saying they can’t really do more than tech support would. Their efforts to get you to call in are not because they didn’t read your post, but because the team that runs the community isn’t the support team, and don’t have access to all the tools as support does to diagnose problems. The community isn’t even publicly launched yet, so it’s fine for the basic announcements from the Ring team, and help from other users (plus occasional tips from the Ring team) and getting info to Ring regarding long-standing issues.
But losing communication is different than the keypad freezing when it’s being constantly powered. Support can access more details about the state of the Z-wave network, helping to figure out what is going wrong with the connection on your keypads, which they have seen fit to replace. There could be interference in your area that is bordering on the frequencies used for Z-wave. Or you lucked out and got defective keypads. But try the replacements when they arrive and see how things go. Also, with such a small area, you’re not using the range extender, are you? If used when not needed, it can actually lead to connection problems as the network status is monitored and rebuilt periodically, it may decide some days that communication for X keypad should go through the extender, then on to the base. I rarely need to use them in all but the largest houses. They can cause more problems than they solve in small areas (just like all the people using unnecessary mesh wifi systems that also make a mess of things when too close together). So if you’ve got a range extender, while your at home for a few hours, go ahead and unplug it and remove the battery from it. Don’t delete from the network yet, just get it offline first to try. If things improve or don’t get materially worse, then remove the extender from the network (you may need to power it back up to be able to remove it successfully).
Having installed dozens of these, I’ve never encountered the keypads going offline or a red connection light. Intermittent yellow is fairly normal at the boundaries of the range, especially if there are unnecessary range extenders used. The base has quite a powerful Z-wave radio, and I’ve found the base alone to be plenty to connect the majority of homes. And with a small apartment, I see zero need for one, and if you’re using it, that could very well be a major contributor to the offline issues you’re having with the keypad.
But again, I’m just trying to help here as another user, but you shouldn’t expect detailed support from the Ring community team, as they’re not able to access all the same tools as support can.
I understand what you’re saying, too bad for the fact that of all the times I spoke with support over the phone… Not one person mentioned what you said about using the extender.
Now, thanks to my persistence on this forum and your detailed response, the whole community can be aware of using the extender in small areas can cause more problems.
In in any case, an update has been pushed to the keypads, in part thanks to the noise made on this forum. Hopefully this will remedy many of the issues discussed.
I understand what you’re saying, too bad for the fact that of all the times I spoke with support over the phone… Not one person mentioned what you said about using the extender.
Now, thanks to my persistence on this forum and your detailed response, the whole community can be aware of using the extender in small areas can cause more problems.
In in any case, an update has been pushed to the keypads, in part thanks to the noise made on this forum. Hopefully this will remedy many of the issues discussed.
Yeah I only discovered the extender issues by practice. Installing quite a few systems, you pick up the tricks. Also knowing what a mess other mesh technologies can be in close proximity (people, you don’t need a mesh wifi system in a 600sq ft single level dwelling), I found that not using the extender unless I encountered issues was a better policy than installing it regardless. If you’ve got many floors or a very extended layout, then the extender is useful. But for the majority of residential installs, it’s not even needed, in my experience.
Since all this hoopla of keypads freezing started, then the update “fix” was pushed to the keypads, they are freezing (for lack of better words) more often than it used to before the fix, today causing my alarm to go off after attempting to disarm several times and the keypad just kept counting down until the sirens went off and I disarmed through the app.
Let me elaborate what I mean when I say, “freezing…”
To begin with, the keypads never “froze” in the sense of a computer, they always were responsive to button pressing but entering a code and disarming did not affect the countdown… and I don’t know what better to say than “freezing.”
This problem has become more persistent since the “fix” update pushed to keypads specifically about 3 weeks ago.
Woke up this morning to the sound of the alarm because my wife was unable to disarm the ‘Home’ mode before she left for work. Went and tried myself and the keypad would register key presses, but wouldn’t set, change the status of the system (tried this when leaving to arm the house).
I did set the alarm to ‘Home’ mode last night via the app because i forgot to do it and reaching the top floor, it was easier to do it that way. Does that cause some sort of issue?
My Keypad is in the hallway, on battery not far from the base station.
Will try a reset when i get home but am a little concerned i paid good money for a system that maybe isn’t working as optimally as it should.