Key points
- Z-Wave is a wireless standard for control and status, built for locks, lights, sensors, thermostats and similar devices rather than for streaming data.
- It runs in the sub-GHz band, on a frequency set for each region, at data rates up to 100 kbps.
- Classic Z-Wave is a mesh of up to 232 nodes in which powered devices relay messages. Z-Wave Long Range is a star network of up to 4,000 nodes that reaches further from the hub.
- A controller, usually a hub, adds devices and holds the network keys. Phones reach devices through the hub.
- Modern devices are required to support S2 security, and Matter reaches Z-Wave devices through bridges.
Z-Wave radio and protocol stack
Z-Wave works as a low-power, sub-GHz radio mesh that a controller manages. The Z-Wave Alliance describes it as an interoperable wireless technology designed specifically for control, monitoring and status reading in homes and light commercial buildings. Its physical and MAC layers are defined by ITU-T Recommendation G.9959, it supports data rates up to 100 kbps, and it encrypts traffic with AES-128. Silicon Labs’ radio library lists the three Z-Wave data rates as 9.6, 40 and 100 kbps.
The radio sits below 1 GHz. The Alliance says that keeps Z-Wave clear of the congestion in the 2.4 GHz band shared by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee.
Above the radio, Z-Wave defines the whole stack, including the application commands. In Z-Wave terms those are command classes: every device has a device type, a role type and a list of command classes it supports or controls, and the specification defines each one. That is why a certified Z-Wave lock from one brand can be operated by a certified hub from another.
Z-Wave frequencies by region
Z-Wave uses a different sub-GHz frequency in each region, so a device is built for one region. In the United States and Canada, the Z-Wave Alliance gives 908.42 MHz. Its Long Range explainer lists 908.42 and 916 MHz for Z-Wave in the US and 912 and 920 MHz for Z-Wave Long Range.
Silicon Labs’ Z-Wave SDK lists the regions a device can be configured for: Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Israel, India, Japan, Korea and Russia, plus US Long Range and Europe Long Range. The region is set in the device’s firmware or factory configuration, which is why a device bought for one market usually will not join a hub sold for another. In the EU, the Alliance’s 2024B specification moved Long Range to 864 MHz and 866 MHz to meet new ETSI rules.
Z-Wave mesh message relaying
In a Z-Wave mesh, powered devices pass messages along until they reach their destination. The Alliance says powered Z-Wave devices strengthen the network by relaying, which makes the mesh self-healing and more resilient as devices are added. Its consumer guide walks through a lock command: the app sends it to the hub, the hub passes it from device to device until it reaches the lock, and the confirmation travels back the same way.
A classic Z-Wave network holds up to 232 nodes, and the Alliance’s Long Range explainer gives about 100 metres per hop.
Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR)
Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR) is a second mode that connects each device straight to the hub in a star rather than hopping through a mesh. The Alliance gives these differences:
| Z-Wave (mesh) | Z-Wave Long Range | |
|---|---|---|
| Topology | Mesh; powered devices relay | Star; every device talks directly to the hub |
| Nodes per network | Up to 232 | Up to 4,000 (12-bit addressing) |
| Reach | About 100 m per hop, extended by relaying | Up to 1.5 miles at full power; more than a mile line of sight in the Alliance’s whitepaper summary |
| US frequencies | 908.42 and 916 MHz | 912 and 920 MHz |
| Security classes | S0 (legacy), S2 Unauthenticated, S2 Authenticated, S2 Access Control | S2 Authenticated, S2 Access Control |
| Setup | SmartStart by QR code | SmartStart by QR code |
The two are designed to share one network. The Alliance says Long Range reserves node IDs for mesh devices so that both kinds work together on one hub, and it aims Long Range at larger properties: outbuildings, gates and irrigation at home, and multi-dwelling units, hotels and light commercial sites. Long Range started in the US. A member’s 2025 press release on the Alliance’s site announced one of the first Long Range end devices for Europe, and Silicon Labs’ SDK includes a Europe Long Range region.
Z-Wave hubs and device inclusion
Z-Wave needs a hub. Every Z-Wave network has a controller that adds devices and sends their commands, and in a home that is the hub. The Alliance’s consumer guide says the hub, gateway or controller is the brain of a Z-Wave home, and it can be a standalone hub, an alarm panel or a thermostat. Phones do not have Z-Wave radios: the app talks to the hub, and the hub talks to the devices.
Adding a device is called inclusion. The controller holds the network keys, one per security class, and hands the right ones to the new device. With SmartStart, the device’s key and security classes are entered ahead of time, usually by scanning its QR code, and the Z-Wave JS documentation says the controller then includes the device automatically within a couple of minutes of it announcing itself. Long Range devices can only be included this way.
Z-Wave S2 security
Current Z-Wave devices use the S2 security framework. The Z-Wave JS driver documentation says modern Z-Wave devices are required to support S2, and the Alliance’s Long Range whitepaper summary calls S2 mandatory. S2 has three classes with separate keys, so a compromised key exposes only its own class:
- S2 Access Control for door locks and garage doors.
- S2 Authenticated for security systems, sensors and lighting.
- S2 Unauthenticated, like Authenticated but without checking that the right device was included.
S0 is the legacy class for older devices without S2. During inclusion with S2, the user confirms the device-specific key (DSK) and enters the device’s PIN, which is what ties the new device to the one in your hand. The Alliance’s certification programme tests S2 security as part of every certification.
Z-Wave governance and open source status
The Z-Wave Alliance governs Z-Wave, and it says Z-Wave is an open standard rather than a proprietary one. In July 2026 the Alliance described itself as an independent, member-driven standards development organisation that runs the specification, the certification programme and the standards process. The specification package, currently 2026A, can be downloaded from the Alliance’s site, and the Alliance updates it twice a year.
The stack itself is open to members. In 2022 the Alliance completed a source code project that gives members the Z-Wave mesh and Long Range network layers, a platform abstraction layer for other silicon and sample applications under a BSD 3 licence. Chips come from three suppliers, Silicon Labs, Trident IoT and Semtech, according to an Alliance post from August 2026. On the controller side, Home Assistant controls Z-Wave networks through Z-Wave JS, an MIT-licensed open-source driver that was donated to the Open Home Foundation.
Z-Wave vs Zigbee, Thread and Matter
Z-Wave and Zigbee are complete stacks with their own radios and application languages, Thread is a network with no application layer of its own, and Matter is an application standard that runs on Wi-Fi, Thread and Ethernet.
| Z-Wave | Zigbee | Thread | Matter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Full stack, radio to application | Full stack, radio to application | IPv6 mesh network | Application standard over IP |
| Radio | Sub-GHz, one frequency per region | 2.4 GHz worldwide; sub-GHz (Suzi) in some regions | IEEE 802.15.4 at 2.4 GHz | Wi-Fi, Thread or Ethernet; Bluetooth LE for setup |
| Governed by | Z-Wave Alliance | Connectivity Standards Alliance | Thread Group | Connectivity Standards Alliance |
| Reaching apps and the internet | Through a hub or controller | Through a hub or gateway; phones also via Zigbee Direct | Through a border router | Over IP; Thread devices through a border router |
| Mesh size | 232 nodes; 4,000 with Long Range | Hundreds per network, coordinators can be linked | 32 routers, 511 end devices per router | Depends on the network beneath |
The comparisons of Thread and Zigbee and of Matter and Thread cover the other columns in depth, and how Zigbee works explains Zigbee’s stack.
Z-Wave and Matter bridges
Z-Wave works with Matter through a bridge. The Connectivity Standards Alliance’s Matter FAQ says Matter supports bridges that let devices on other protocols, such as Zigbee or Z-Wave, take part in a Matter ecosystem. Google’s Matter primer describes the bridge as a member of both the Matter network and the bridged network, so the Z-Wave devices behind it can be operated as if they were Matter devices. In practice that is a hub with a Z-Wave controller that also presents itself to Matter apps. Z-Wave devices do not become Matter devices, and a Matter controller cannot reach them without the bridge.
Offline Protocol alongside Z-Wave
Offline Protocol is not a Z-Wave controller and does not speak Z-Wave, include devices or hold Z-Wave keys. It works one level up, as an SDK inside apps on phones, computers and Linux gateways, which lets them verify each other and exchange encrypted messages, shared documents and service calls over Bluetooth LE, the local network or a relay. A gateway that already runs a Z-Wave controller could also run the SDK’s Python binding to share what it sees with nearby phones, with the Z-Wave side left to the controller software.