Ecolink Door Sensor Z-Wave Shenanigans

Problem: Door Sensor won't connect to Z-Wave Network

Model: DWZWAVE2.5-ECO

At our office, we have a small Z-Wave network setup running a Raspberry Pi and Home Assistant, specifically Hassbian because at the time of our purchase the newest Pi 3B+ was not supported for Hass.io.

On the Z-Wave network we have a single door sensor on the front door that theoretically notifies us when someone enters the office. Long story short, we had it setup remotely and after 3 days of shipping via USPS, it didn't work at the physical office. Bummer!

Now, a few months later, I'm here to troubleshoot in person while in town helping out with other things. I set the thing up in the first place so it shouldn't be too hard to fix right? Wrong again!

The EcoLink Door Sensor seems to be a decent product. It has pretty good range; ours is located about 30 feet away from the controller. The controller is inside a giant metal server rack and behind a solid wall. Not the best conditions for sure! The manual however is complete and total garbage. Below you will find the steps to completely remove the device and re-add it to your network.

Reset the Device

To properly "reset" the device you must first determine if it's currently connected. In my case, the sensor actually thought it was still connected to something. Placing a magnet against it would cause the green LED to give one long flash. In this case here's how you fix it.

  1. Check that your battery is not dead. If the sensor has been unconnected from a Z-Wave network for a while, it's likely tried to pair itself continuously and drained the battery.

  2. Navigate to your Z-Wave controller software and initiate a node removal. In Home Assistant, there is a button called "Remove Node". Press it.

  3. Remove the cover and battery from the device for 5-8 seconds. Do not wait too long though or the node removal will time out. Within 20 seconds of initiating the node removal should be fine.

  4. Plug the battery back in with the cover removed. The LED should flash continuously if it was successfully removed. (Note: these steps will remove the device from any Z-Wave network it was previously connected to)

  5. Click the "Add Node" button on your Z-Wave control software while the LED is blinking.

  6. Remove the battery for 5-8 seconds and then replace the battery. The LED blinking pattern should change and stop soon after pairing.

At this point, you should see confirmation of the added node in your controller software. To complete the process, run a network heal to make sure everything is communicating efficiently.

Now you should be able to monitor the state of your sensor in Home Assistant.

If you have any questions, leave a comment or shoot me a tweet @DaronSpence

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Home Automation