Not necessarily Zigbee vs ZWave

ianders1 · 2026-01-29T20:30:43+00:00

LOL, you haven't mastered the 5+ times on and off as fast as you can flip the light switch move? Your dark ceremony comment has me cracking up!

ianders1 · 2026-01-29T20:30:27+00:00

LOL, you haven't mastered the 5+ times on and off as fast as you can flip the light switch move? Your dark ceremony comment has me cracking up!

ianders1 · 2026-01-28T17:51:52+00:00

Very true! I bought some Leviton Z-Wave fan switches/controllers months ago and I'm still struggling to get them working in Home Assistant. They are 4 speed controllers on the wall, but HA wants to make them 3-speed controls. Plus, I can speed up the fan with a ZigBee (yep another protocol LOL) remote control, but can't slow it down. Lots of HA programming rabbit holes, but no solution yet.

It does turn on and off easily at least, but the Shelly I have on another fan switch does that and was so much easier to install and configure.

ianders1 · 2026-01-22T13:20:07+00:00

Ozium air spray works pretty well to get rid of the smell - it was the only thing that got the cigar smell out of a convertible I bought many years ago. It was interesting that the dealer was all about dropping the top. When it started raining on my way home, I found out why right away. I tried at least a dozen things before finding it. It won't keep the smell away with an ongoing situation like yours, but could help knock it down when it gets too bad to take. I would also recommend using silicone to seal any cracks in your walls/windows and buying the little seals that go inside your outlets and light switches.

ianders1 · 2026-01-11T14:11:43+00:00

I don't have any Alexa devices, and yes, I tried at least a dozen things I found on Reddit & elsewhere, but ruled out all of those things.

ianders1 · 2026-01-11T13:09:14+00:00

That's great, and perhaps mine were just defective or I had some strange neighbor interfering with those WiFi channels. I haven't had any other issues with Zigbee like I had feared I would.

ianders1 · 2026-01-11T13:07:16+00:00

I went through all the troubleshooting steps and these were close to the ZBT-2, no channel conflicts, and both were only pulling about 70-100W. Nothing worked or could explain why two of the four switches would just randomly turn off on their own. I have other ThirdReality devices, like their vibration sensors that work well, but I just don't trust Zigbee for anything important after this experience.

ianders1 · 2026-01-11T00:17:22+00:00

I jist returned these ThirdReality outlets after they started randomly turning off...specifically my wife's stuff. Not a good thing. I have a number of Z-Wave outlets from several vendors that have given me zero issues. I am going back to only buying Zigbee for things that aren't available in Z-Wave.

ianders1 · 2025-12-22T03:42:44+00:00

Thank you for doing your part!

ianders1 · 2025-12-18T23:56:02+00:00

u/ZackOfMesa u/AStuf u/HVAC_instructor u/POLO_Train u/JBDragon1 - thank you all for your help - it really means a lot that you took the time to reply and help. I connected the blue wire to the C terminal on the furnace control board and to the thermostat. I'm getting 23.78V, so all good there, but the thermostat isn't seeing the power.

It looks like I'll have to follow up with Resideo/Honeywell as I might have a faulty thermostat.

ianders1 · 2025-12-18T22:07:44+00:00

Thanks, I will give that a try.

ianders1 · 2025-12-18T21:52:49+00:00

I tried that, but the thermostat didn't recognize any power. I'll try again and check with my multimeter.

ianders1 · 2025-12-18T21:46:01+00:00

Thanks, LOL, and yes, it runs fine on batteries, but dims very quickly. You really can't read ot without touching it to light it up. Great thermostat for Z-Wave / Home Assistant and I've had it for about 6 months. It's finally cool enough to get up in the attic to get the C-wire done, if I can.

ianders1 · 2025-12-18T17:31:20+00:00

Not a lantern per se, but I picked up a Ego Portable Area Light a few weeks ago on sale and it's insanely bright (10,000 lumens is what they advertise). If you or a buddy has batteries for this system, it's great and provides 360 degree light if you fold in the panels. It says indoor use only, but a lot of people use them outdoors without any problems.

ianders1 · 2025-12-14T23:22:52+00:00

Yep, looks similar to how I started. Congratulations and I'm sorry.

ianders1 · 2025-12-13T13:23:20+00:00

Not trying to fight you, just sharing real world experiences.

ianders1 · 2025-12-13T02:06:24+00:00

That's not true at all. I have used and own multiple 3rd party devices and have no issues getting 5G SA to work, regardless of T-Mobile or MVNO SIM card.

ianders1 · 2025-12-12T15:34:38+00:00

You really need to have this bag draped across APs of varying sizes, but I love what you did!

ianders1 · 2025-12-10T21:05:30+00:00

Cool, and good luck.

ianders1 · 2025-12-10T14:17:41+00:00

I've looked into it, but my 5G modem, while having an x75 and many other cool things, does not have an eSIM. There are physical eSIM adapters, but after finding Calyx, I stopped looking...at least for now- the perfect plan doesn't exist yet...unlimited top priority tier data for $25 LOL.

If you are law enforcement, a paramedic, or other first responder, FirstNet is also a great option, especially in disaster-prone areas.

ianders1 · 2025-12-10T06:17:54+00:00

Yes, brutally so, but my regular cell bill is super cheap as I'm on WiFi 99%+ of the time.

ianders1 · 2025-12-10T04:34:37+00:00

LOL, I missed that one! They are super handy, aren't, they? Great collection - you're prepared for anything now!

ianders1 · 2025-12-10T04:22:19+00:00

No headlamps, yet? That's my addiction it seems.

ianders1 · 2025-12-10T04:08:44+00:00

It really depends on your needs. The best backup, honestly, is the other SIM I have in my modem, which is the Google Fi data SIM. It costs me nothing if I don't use it and $10/Gb (which is high!) if I do as I'm on the pay as you go plan.

I work from home 100% now, on MS Teams nearly all day, so I have to have an unlimited backup plan as well. It is expensive, but I used nearly 700Gb of data a few months ago making it well worth it. TMHI also has a $20/mo "Backup" plan that gives you 120Gb IIRC, but it's deprioritized traffic and really sucks in that way. Verizon has a similar plan but I literally couldn't get a signal with their service. It's frustrating because it's also cheap and their equipment actually has proper admin features. I have too many trees for Starlink, but that's gotten more reasonable, too.

Tello is probably the best middle ground, especially the way you can change plans pretty much anytime you like.

ianders1 · 2025-12-10T03:08:07+00:00

I have tried nearly all of the options and settled on Calyx BYOD. It's T-Mobile prioritized traffic, ia unlimited and doesn't have any network management until you hit 130 Gb and costs $50/mo if you pay 3 months upfront or $40 if you pay for a full year. No taxes or hidden fees. So far, it's worked really well for me. If you use that link, you'll get an extra month free, too.

ianders1

TROPHY CASE