If your ZEN71 Switch is showing as Offline then it's time to refresh your SmartThings network!
Your SmartThings hub has a neat feature called Repair Z-Wave Network. A network repair will help refresh your mesh network's connections and help the hub find the most efficient communication route to the device. After all, it's the hub that creates the route to each device, and not the other way around.
The steps are simple and very effective. Give these a try:
- Open your SmartThings app and locate your SmartThings hub under Devices. Tap the hub to see the device details.
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Tap the three dots in the upper right hand corner and tap Settings
- Tap Z-Wave Utilities
- Tap Repair Z-Wave Network
- Tap Start Repair
The process may take up to 15 minutes and you'll want to wait until you see the "Z-Wave Network Repair finished" message to confirm it was finalized. Once the repair is completed, try sending a Z-Wave command to your ZEN71, or excluding and re-including the switch back into your network. It's possible that the communication route between SmartThings and the ZEN71 didn't configure correctly the first time. Exclusion will help the hub find the best route to the device.
If you're not able to remove or add the switch, try installing it in a location closer to your hub or bringing the hub closer to the switch. This can be a frustrating troubleshoot, but it's a good way to see if the issue really is range. Once you've moved either the switch or your SmartThings hub, remember to exclude and re-include the switch to refresh the connection.
Another important set-up detail is the material of your switch box. Metal switch boxes, as opposed to plastic, can shorten range and make connectivity unreliable. Even with a 700 series Z-Wave chip, metal is pretty effective at disrupting Z-Wave signals, so if your ZEN71 Switch is inside a metal box this may be why it keeps going offline. If possible, try installing a Z-Wave repeater between the switch and the hub. Any non-battery powered Z-Wave device (like a Z-Wave plug) will extend the signal for you but Z-Wave Plus devices will be almost twice as effective as the older generation products.
If you've tried all of the above and are still seeing the same issue, please don't hesitate to reach out! Our team is always happy to help.
