Garage door sensor disconnects 45 minutes after state change

[snowbank]

I had a Vtech VC7001 garage door sensor mounted on my garage door about 30 feet in a straight line distance through two walls from the Ooma base unit and I was monitoring it with the Ooma Home Security app. I examined the log (which recorded multiple open/close/disconnect instances per day over a 5 day period) for the garage door sensor in the Ooma Home Security app and noticed that the sensor consistently disconnects 45-46 minutes after the door is closed. The effect of this disconnection is that the present open/closed state of the garage door can no longer be determined or displayed by the app. When the the door is opened, the sensor reconnects and the Ooma Home Security app reports both the reconnection and the opening of the door. This is exactly what forum member raky reported in another post to this forum today. What I didn't realize from the log because the garage door is usually only open a few minutes, is that the sensor will also disconnect if the door is in the open state more than 45 minutes.

I brought the sensor inside the house and placed it about 20 feet away from the Ooma base unit. Over the course of a day I alternated laying the sensor flat on the floor (simulating garage door open) and leaning it up against a wall (simulating garage door closed) and watching the notifications from the Ooma Home Security app. This demonstrated that the Vtech VC7001 garage door sensor consistently disconnects 45 minutes after state change to either the open or closed position. If the state changes again before 45 minutes, there is no disconnection, but the 45 minute 'clock' is reset.

I called Vtech technical support. Their sensor is meant to work with certain of their phone systems and they could not (understandably) provide help with the Ooma implementation. They indicated nothing in their hardware was intended to disconnect after a set time and advised I speak with Ooma technical support.

I called Ooma technical support and their indication is that the model of Ooma Telo that I have is not compatible with the sensor (I have a Telo purchased in 2012, a black unit with a sort of smooth concave upper surface, the newest Telos have a sort of convex upper surface with button indentations) and that my only recourse is to buy a new Telo unit. I am a bit reluctant to buy a new Telo base unit for several reasons: 1) when I purchased the door sensor I was advised by Ooma tech support that it would work with my old Telo, I just couldn't use more than three sensors. 2) my old Telo continues to work perfectly for all its other functions. 3) a new Telo unit costs $80-$100 and other than the questionable assurance from Ooma technical support I can't be sure the new one won't also have the disconnect problem with the garage door sensor.

So I have to end this post with a question: is anyone using a Vtech VC7001 garage door sensor with the latest Ooma Telo base unit and the Ooma Home Security app with perfect success (no disconnection)? Thank you

[raky]

Hi snowbank..I also have Telo from 2012. Thank you very much for sharing your detailed analysis. I also looked at logs and I see Disconnect messages is always 45 minutes after garage is opened and closed. But I also saw a few messages where sensor reconnected at times other than garage opening but disconnected 45 minutes after that. The pattern indicates some issue with firmware/software. I am really not excited to buy new Telo but better look for other options. Video recording options, app quality and support an issue. Hope some other forum members can chime in if Vtech garage sensor works correctly with newer Telo. It is true that we are paying in terms of our time when we paid less in terms of money! Thx Raky

[snowbank]

Hi Raky - Yes, it seems reasonable to consider options other than the Vtech Ooma combination in light of the disconnection problem with 2012 Telo and upgrade cost to latest Telo. At best the Vtech / Ooma combo offered only open/close notification. I am looking for more: a system that not only reports open/closed state but would also close the door remotely and that doesn't have a monthly subscription cost.

Alternatives most often seen are Gogogate 2 and MyQ but both have non-impressive mixed reviews. Tech support at Vtech suggested looking at the Samsung SmartThings system - that requires a hub and remote opener/sensor like Linear GD00Z-4 (which seems to have a lifetime of about a year!). Sigh. Reliability and support seems to be a problem with most of these automated garage door devices so far. And unfortunately not all home automation stuff is compatible - many smart home devices like Samsung SmartThings use Z-Wave communication but Ooma / Vtech use DECT-ULE.

I think for the time being I am just going to live with the disconnect problem on Ooma/Vtech. I re-examined my logs and like you I also noticed some spontaneous re-connects (followed by a disconnect 45 minutes later) without a state change. However, it seems to very reliably reconnect on a state change so if I examine the log I can see the last door state (open or close) and will just assume that is hasn't changed state since then even if it the app reports the sensor is disconnected. That is a no-cost workaround I can live with, much better than no door sensor at all.

[raky]

Thanks snowbank for sharing your thoughts. Hope some body will chime in whether Vtech works with newer Telo or not. In my case if I want to have phone call for Garage open during night time, then it also has phone call for disconnect. That is unwanted disturbance. I hope there is some way to disable notification for disconnect event. That would work for me.

[snowbank]

Hi Raky - I searched around for other wireless garage door sensor/controllers and was surprised at the number available. One that looked pretty good based on number of Amazon reviews and ratings was the Nexx Garage NXG-100. The system consists of a wired (not battery powered) magnetic sensor, a 2.4 Ghz wireless module that sits on the garage door opener and acts like a wall switch to open/close the door and an app to report the garage door state and close or open the garage door if you want. At $100 it is about as much as a new Telo and a Vtech sensor combo (but the Ooma combo cannot actually open or close the garage door.)

I ordered a Nexx garage system and installed it yesterday. Getting the magnetic sensors positioned is a bit fiddly and will take some time - all told about three hours to activate the system, position the sensor with shims and make the wiring all tidy. So far it is working great - the app interface is clean, no sensor disconnects, logs correctly show open/close events, no subscription fees, and I can operate the door using the app on my phone. No email notifications, just phone push or voice notifications. I haven't tried using geofencing for auto door open on approach and don't intend to. Supposedly it will also work with Alexa and Google Home.

This morning my Vtech sensor is reporting bad battery even thought the batteries are good according to battery tester; using brand new batteries didn't clear the warning. I see there is a thread on that active today.

At this point I think I am going to abandon Ooma Home Security with Vtech garage door sensor; the Nexx Garage system already acts more reliable and usable.

[raky]

Hi snowbank

Thanks very much for sharing your experience. On my end what I did is the workaround on smart phone using Tasker app. I wanted to get phone call if Garage was opened during the night. But then it also made phone calls for random disconnects. So I changed that setting to send SMS to my phone. On the phone I converted the sms message to alert ring notification during the hours I wanted to get the phone call for Garage Door open using the Tasker app.

[jrl1644]

this does not change with newer Telo.
I have the newer white Telo. which i bought because the old telo was "incompatible". This caused me the necessity to buy new handsets, because the old handsets were "incompatible" with the newer telo.
this is their cut/paste response.

Once you get all new Ooma hardware, the tech support is still the same old Ooma tech support. I bet they will soon offer a Tech Support upgrade option for a fee though!