I just started to install the 14-piece Alarm kit at my house. It’s a two-story house. I have the base station in my home office, one keypad by the front door, another keypad downstairs, and another range extender downstairs.
Some of the contact sensors downstairs have gone offline a few times, and I’m struggling to understand why. The distance from the base station to the downstairs range extender is maybe 30 feet. From there to one of the contact sensors is literally less than 6 feet, and perhaps about 20 feet to the other contact sensors that have gone offline.
Is this really a range issue? Do I need another range extender?
I also read somewhere that wireless keypads also function as repeaters in the Z-wave mesh. Is that true? If so, then the distance from the base station to the keypad and from there to the range extender is less than 20 feet each, probably.
What should I do, or at least, what should I do to determine the problem?
It’s not only the distance but also objects (walls, bricks, granite, etc).
For me, I had to use 4 extenders in my one story house and 30 ft was sometimes too far especially with walls in between. Also keep in mind that in order to have a device attach to a new/moved extender you need to take the battery out to reset it. You basically have to keep moving the extender around to different plugs and resetting the device to see if you can find a “sweet spot”.
@CrazyCat is right! Only the Alarm Base Station and Range Extender will act as a node for extending your Alarm Z-Wave signal. Here’s our Help Center article about Z-Wave networks and tips for an optimal connection. As mentioned in this thread, placement is key. Please ensure to factor in distance to the Base Station and in between Range Extender(s) and interfering objects when installing your Alarm devices. I hope this helps!
