zWave and Zigbee Key Fob Remotes

[MichaelCoffin]

I have a VeraPlus, and I need to add key fob remotes that are easy for "non-technical" types to use.  I want there to be, at a minimum, a LOCK and UNLOCK button on the remote with an easily understood icon.  This seems to be totally impossible with zWave (I have the Aeon Labs ZW088-A arriving later this week, but the 4 buttons are unlabeled making it impossible for the average person to use, you'd need to know UNLOCK is "button 1", LOCK is "button 2", etc.).

The VeraPlus supports Zigbee, and I see there are a few more key fob remote options if I use Zigbee.  The one I like best is the Securifi Key Fob AL-KFB01:

https://www.amazon.com/Securifi-Key-Fob-AL-KFB01/dp/B00TBXMA8C

But this one is pretty hard to find for sale.  Assuming I can find one, will it pair with the VeraPlus and can I use the 4 buttons to trigger scenes?

Same question on the SMC Wireless Key Fob-SMCKF01-Z:

https://www.amazon.com/SMC-SMCKF01-Z-SMC-Wireless-Key-Fob-SMCKF01-Z/dp/B00PMZEKZO

Setting aside its obscene price, will it pair with VeraPlus and can I use the 5 buttons to trigger scenes?

-MC

[Zoro]

Hi

  Would suggest you choose devices listed on the Vera compatibility web page. That way you can ensure it works with vera:

                         http://getvera.com/compatibility/

Z

[MichaelCoffin]

Yes, but unfortunately the ONLY key fobs/remotes that have LOCK/UNLOCK labeled buttons are the 2GIG ones that only work with VeraLink.  There are none for Zigbee and the few that are available for zWave have either no button labels or in the case of z-Wave.me one has A/B/C/D and the other has 1/2/3/4.

The two Zigbee key fobs above have simple intuitive buttons for the "average person" to understand, so if I can get them to work I'd choose either of those.

PS:  Most of the z-Wave devices in my house are not on the Vera Compatibility List and they work just fine.  I'd prefer devices that have been fully vetted by Vera, but not being on the list doesn't mean the devices won't work properly.

-MC

[pit]

our "non technical persons" work with nodon soft remote

[MichaelCoffin]

Thanks but kind of big for a key fob, and again no intuitive buttons.  Just +/-/O/o

[cybrmage]

The VeraPlus supports Zigbee, and I see there are a few more key fob remote options if I use Zigbee.  The one I like best is the Securifi Key Fob AL-KFB01:

https://www.amazon.com/Securifi-Key-Fob-AL-KFB01/dp/B00TBXMA8C

But this one is pretty hard to find for sale.  Assuming I can find one, will it pair with the VeraPlus and can I use the 4 buttons to trigger scenes?

The Securifi Keyfob wil *sometimes* pair with Vera Plus... BUT... It does not have any supported clusters, and will not generate a Vera device... AND, if you press a key on the fob, it results in a LUUP Reload.

So. Don't even bother, the hastle is not worth it.

[dagrider]

I am thinking about buying the Aeon Labs ZW088...looks like the keys are flat. If you have a label maker you could use that to mark the keys. I have a label maker that supports the use of fonts, so could possibly find some dingbat fonts with symbols too.

[MichaelCoffin]

Thanks Cybermage, looks like Securifi is definitely out (too bad, it would have been perfect - and you can pick them up from retailers in Canada for around $15). 

Dagrider, making keycaps with a label maker is a possibility for the ZW088 - but a PITA.  I have a Brother PTouch and can try doing that on a ZW088 that is arriving today.  Of course, with regular use they'll probably fall off so it'll be an ongoing problem.

Any thoughts on the SMC Wireless Key Fob-SMCKF01-Z?  Does anybody have one, and have you gotten it to work with Vera?

-MC

[thief]

Just so u guys know...
The ZW088 works well, but.. The battery lasts for maximum 1 month.

[MichaelCoffin]

Seriously?  A month?!?!?

The remote for my car is 8 years old, STILL on the original battery! 

-MC

[thief]

Seriously?  A month?!?!?

The remote for my car is 8 years old, STILL on the original battery! 

-MC

Yeah, same here.
I bought my zw088 3 months ago and I?m on a third battery.
And that is with 1 button press/day

I have contacted their support and they confirmed it is battery hungry.
The batteries last a bit longer if you set the wake up interval to a a higher value, but not more than 2 months.

[MichaelCoffin]

I set up and programmed my ZW088 this morning.  A few questions:

* The battery power level indicator doesn't show up on UI7, is there a command I can send to enable this?!?!  I set a notification to warn me when battery level is less than 25%, but I don't suspect this will ever trigger if the ZW088 isn't reporting battery power level. 

*  This is really a one-way device to my thinking, by that I mean I don't need Vera polling it or waking it up (or do I?).  Can I set polling to 0 and WakeUpInterval to 604800 (1 week) to conserve battery life?  It definitely doesn't need to be polled, in fact polling will always fail whenever I'm out of the house.

PS:  It looks like Aeotec has discontinued the MiniMote (glad I just bought a bunch!) and this NanoMote will be coming out sometime in 2018, including a key ring loop option.  Still no key-caps but these might be easier to label with a label maker than this ZW088, and hopefully the battery life will be much better.

https://aeotec.com/small-z-wave-remote-control

-MC

[thief]

The battery power level indicator came up for me just fine
Try re-pairing it.

And yes, you can set the wakeupinterval to 604 800 (don't know the upper limit for this)
Or you can set the wakeupinterval to=0, for never to wake up
Polling can be disabled too.

[MichaelCoffin]

I didn't have to re-pair it, I just went to Advanced -> Configure Node Right Now and voila, the battery level indicator appeared.  Thanks for the suggestion.

I set wakeupinterval and polling to 0 and will monitor how long the battery lasts with this configuration. 

-MC

[thief]

I didn't have to re-pair it, I just went to Advanced -> Configure Node Right Now and voila, the battery level indicator appeared.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Ahh, you had just paired it, that explains it.

Did you configure it already with polling 0 etc. ?

Let me know how well you get the device to accept the changes.