Sensor Signal strength and the Ring app

I’ve vet to find signal strength values in my app. When I call customer service they know which devices are problematic. I have a large house with base, 2 plug in extenders, 4 motion sensors and 22 door window sensors.
Two of them need new batteries after just 2 months because (tech says) they are constantly pinging. If I could read the signal values I’d know where to place more extenders.

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Hey @DaveG! At this time signal strength does not appear in the app for your Alarm devices. The Bast Station settings has a “Network” option which will show a Wifi signal strength indicator, but it is color coded rather than containing RSSI values, and only applies to the Base Station of course.

Your other Alarm devices operate on Zwave which is efficient for simple communications over distance. For Range Extender placement, it’s best to keep in mind which sensors are furthest away from the Base Station, or separated by floors, walls, appliances, or furniture.

If you are needing further insight for extender placement, our support team is always happy to help. Consider your feedback and wishes for signal strength in the app shared with our team. Thank you for sharing your experience with us! :slight_smile:

Really, what I’d like to see is a z-wave indicator for each sensor that provides a measure of it’s connection. Be that signal strength or pings per day. It’d give us a measure of how effective the placement of the range extender is.

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FWIW, when I call tech support they seem to have that information for each z-wave device. Why not provide that in the app for us users?

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Agreed. Really, why is it so difficult to alert the user: “Door sensor N’s signal is weak. Try moving the base or add a range extender.”

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Agreed, this is definitely needed. I had to sit and wait 15-20 mins for someone to tell me that the signal strength is low. I just added a contact sensor to a room that already had 2 contacts sensor without any problem. The new contact sensor keeps on disconnecting, but the other 2 have not had any issues. I was then told that the signal in the room was low and I had to move the range extender.

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I think I am running into the same issue. It would be good to be able to see it without having to call, for folks that are a little tech savvy. Easy solution would be to put it under the advanced options menu.

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I have both a Gen 1 system and a Gen 2 (two locations) and both show which sensor(s) have a poor signal. When you select the sensor from the device list, it will show a red thunderbolt if the Z-wave signal is weak. If you have not seen it, your signal strength is likely ok as most of mine do not show it, just the couple that are far from the base.

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Three of my six 2nd gen sensors do alert me when there is activity but i keep seeing a red alert on all three telling me that there is a weak connection to the base. These three sensors are no more than 25 feet away from the base station. I have reset the system, sensors and even moved the base closer to those three sensors but no luck. Ring tech support tells me that Z Wave sensors which these are take a couple of days to recognize the distance. I bought my system two days ago. I am not convinced that was a right explanation. Anyone else having this issue?

In addition to the RSSI value (or its zwave equivalent) it would also be really helpful to see what the sensor is connected to, base state or which extender. Tech Support can look it up so the information is available. Would be nice to be able to force it. I have sensor that says its connection is “OK” but then will disconnect randomly and cause a false alarm. I have an extender closer than the base station but I can’t force the sensor to use the extender.

If they would just program their hardware to always use the strongest z-wave signal this would be a nonissue. When I installed an extender nothing changed because their hardware insists on connecting to the source it was given at install regardless of the new extender installed literally right next to it. You shouldn’t have to remove and reinstall every device after adding an extender in order to get the devices to use the extender.

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