Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR)
Z-Wave Long Range is a mode of Z-Wave (700/800-series hardware) that swaps mesh for a direct star topology: every device talks straight to the controller at up to a mile or more line of sight, with up to about 4,000 nodes per network and 10-year battery claims. Both the controller and the device must explicitly support it.
ZWLR uses dynamic transmit-power control and a different channel plan to reach ranges classic Z-Wave mesh cannot, which suits detached garages, gates, mailboxes, and outbuildings — the places where mesh hops run out. Because the topology is a star, there is no routing to debug: a node either reaches the controller or it does not, and battery devices spend no energy relaying for neighbors.
Long Range and classic mesh coexist on the same controller, but a given device joins in one mode or the other. It launched in North America; the European-frequency variant was ratified later and EU devices have been arriving since, so regional availability is still uneven as of mid-2026. Check the specific controller and device — “800 series” alone does not guarantee the feature is enabled in firmware.