Popular smart home hubs compatible with Z-Wave include Samsung SmartThings, Wink Hub 2, and the Piper nv Smart Home Security System Hub. Lowe's relatively new Iris lineup of smart home products is also compatible. By contrast, smart lighting products include bulbs, switches, dimmers, and plugs.
To date, brands like Kwikset, Piper, Schlage, Samsung, Wink, and Yale all work with Z-Wave. That means you've got a lot of options as you build out your network. Z-Wave products work with a number of other home automation systems, too, meaning you aren't necessarily locked into only Z-Wave products.
Z-Wave Has Fewer Congestion Problems
As such, Z-Wave's network has much less congestion, as it operates on a lower radio frequency - 908.42 MHz. Zigbee's frequency is closer to that of Wi-Fi - 2.4ghz - meaning a lot more congestion.
Wi-Fi, which most of us are familiar with, operates on either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequencies, providing wireless internet to any connected devices. Z-Wave operates on a much lower frequency — between 800 and 900 MHz — and is primarily for home automation.
Z-Wave products can be controlled via a Z-Wave controller. The most common controllers are smartphones and tablets that connect to Z-Wave hubs like SmartThings, Wink or Iris.
Zigbee and Z-Wave are low energy, mesh networks that allow devices to communicate with each other without using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. However, both Z-Wave and Zigbee protocols require a separate receiver somewhere on your WiFi network in order to send and receive signals between devices.
Does Alexa Work With Z-Wave Devices? None of the current Amazon Alexa smart speakers have the ability to connect using Z-Wave. Echo devices control most smart home tech using Wi-Fi instead. Some recent Alexa speakers (like the 4th-gen Echo) have Zigbee controllers, but they still don't have Z-Wave.
No Interference with Wifi/2.4GHz bands | Z-wave runs on a separate radio frequency wave (908.42 MHz in the US) than Zigbee, WiFi and Bluetooth which can eliminate the lag you may get if there is a lot of congestion on your WiFi/2.4GHz band.
Connecting Google Home to a smart hub provides a channel that enables you to use Z-wave devices with Google Home. The communication between Z-wave products and the smart hub is solely via the Z-wave network protocol, whereas the smart hub and Google Home communicate via Wi-Fi signals.
Zigbee is faster, hands down, when it uses its 2.4 GHz frequency. The problem is, you sacrifice power consumption for speed. So, you may need to change the batteries in your smart devices more often. Z-Wave is less than half as fast, but at least you can wait a little longer to change out the batteries.
This integration allows you to control a Z-Wave network via the Z-Wave JS driver. This is our recommended Z-Wave integration for Home Assistant.
Z-Wave uses the Part 15 unlicensed ISM band. It operates at 908.42 MHz in the U.S. and Canada but uses other frequencies in other countries depending on their regulations. The modulation is Gaussian frequency shift keying (FSK).
That's why all new eero hardware comes equipped with a Thread radio. Thread is the latest generation in a series of low-power wireless protocols like Z-wave, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, but because it uses IPv6 natively, it's more reliable, and employs secure protocols and encryption by default.
All Ring devices are Z-Wave compatible. Ring Alarm's base station operates as a Z-Wave hub, so the elements of the Ring Alarm system can communicate with each other without interfering with your home's Wi-Fi network.
Z-Wave isn't supported by Philips Hue at all. To interact with other Hue components, it employs a ZigBee-based protocol. However, other home automation consolidation technologies, such as SmartThings and Wink, which allow both Z-Wave and Hue control, were noted in the other responses.
Let's break down the process: First, open Google voice search on a cell phone and access the voice search application. Then, create a profile which is activated by an AutoVoice Recognize order. Finally, configure that profile to activate a Z-Wave scene using the automation app's built-in plugin.
Z-Wave and ZigBee devices can't work with Matter directly, but they could be connected to a Matter system with a bridge. For example, the Philips Hue smart lights mentioned earlier use ZigBee, and their ZigBee hub is being updated to bridge them into Matter.
At $9.99/month, the fee can be hard to swallow, especially when you realize there are many Z-Wave hubs out there that do just as much, or more, while requiring no monthly fees.
Setting up a Z-Wave network requires a two step process. First you need a Z-Wave controller that basically controls the entire network and is the brain of the Z-wave network. Next you need one or more devices to control with the Z-Wave controller. Z-Wave devices are for example light switches, motion sensors etc.
Firstly, it is perfectly possible to use both Zigbee and Z-Wave devices in your smart home. A decent spread of devices will work with both protocols, even if they don't communicate directly. Samsung's SmartThings hub, like the Wink hub, support both Zigbee and Z-Wave.
eero 6 and eero Pro 6 support the same Zigbee accessories as Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Show, and Echo Studio with built-in Zigbee hub. Check here to see many supported devices.
Best answer: Yes. Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 are HomeKit-enabled routers with special permissions for HomeKit devices to keep your network secure. Eero will not act as a HomeKit hub, however.