Note that OZW (Beta) is dead and won’t be developed further. It will be replaced by zwave-js. So unless you are already using it, it won’t make much sense to migrate to it at this point.
I knew I shouldn’t have blinked!
Seems zwave-js is fairly certain at this stage. In the meantime, those starting up with HA/z-wave should choose whatever will lead to sufficient functionality now and easiest migration.
Pity all that devel will be trashed. What they learned, however is still of use.
What you say is true. I migrated from using OZW in Domoticz to OZW (Beta) in HA last November, and my Z-Wave network is working very well. I’ll stay here until zwave-js becomes mature enough to move to that.
I’m actually moving to from another home automation system to the (also dead) native zwave integration.
I figure that as long as my devices are supported by the old one, it is likely still the most stable solution.
Caution. Some devices are not supported on the native integration as it is based on ozw 1.4 (to the best of my knowledge).
This is not true. Openzwave is being developed at a slow pace. That is all.
Zwave JS is being worked on currently, it will be another zwave option that is side by side with OpenZwave.
It’s likely that Zwave JS will surpass OpenZwave in the future mainly because the code base is easier to work with for developers of HA.
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Let’s be realistic here, shall we. This is exactly the kind of damaging rhethoric that led to all the many unhappy ZWave users and spawned threads like the other one which eventually led to zwave-js being set as the de facto new path forward.
Trying to somehow paint the OZW Beta integration as a still viable future alternative at this point in time is completely counterproductive. It only leads to more confusion. The OZW 1.6 Beta integration is a complete dead end. At this time it still functions as a temporary stop gap measure for users who have ZWave setups that do not work with the old 1.4 native integration, and until zwave-js support is more mature. After that, the OZW 1.6 integration should be entirely removed from HA (with an appropriate migration path to zwave-js).
But yeah, I know, that won’t happen and you’ll keep it as an alternative. Technically as a ZWave stack, zwave-js has already surpassed OZW in pretty much every aspect.
@HeyImAlex, while I understand what you’re getting at, your tone does not really help to have a constructive discussion.
This is what Fishwaldo wrote:
Is OZW Dead - No. I’ll tinker with it, i’ll make changes as time allows, but it will be at my own pace, to scratch my own itches now. if people step up and offer to help maintain the code, or vet through config files (like Nechry does on Github) and they show they have some knowledge about Z-Wave in general and at least adhere to some sense of backwards/forwards compatibility - I’ll happily add them as maintainers - But in the 10+ years i’ve worked on that, most people will last at most 6 months and then also disappear).
What does it mean in practice? Who knows. It could become a fully working solution in the long run, parallel to zwave js. It could be a dead end that will not see any new features added as of now. I would guess that it will more lean towards the latter than the former, but in the best case, I will be proven wrong about that. What is certain is that it cannot be counted an as ‘the future of zwave in HA’, very glad that this has become clear in recent days and a new route is being chosen.
From my short experience here with Home Assistant my understanding is that whoever wants to build an integration for Home Assistant is welcome to do so. Therefore I dont see OZW Beta being ‘removed’ from Home Assistant.
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I assume you read the other thread for some more background information on where exactly I am coming from.
Of course there is no problem with keeping the OZW integration(s) as community addons in the future. But only a working integration should be part of the HA core and be promoted as such to new users. Keeping several implementations in the core beyond a reasonable migration period, from which at least one is seriously broken and, as you said yourself, no one other than Fishwaldo knows how/if it will ever be fixed, would bring us back exactly to the same spot we were in since OZW Beta was pushed - the HA core team officially promoting a completely broken ZWave integration.
Yes based on the ongoing architecture discussion on GitHub I would expect that OZW beta will not be promoted. It would be strange if it would.
It’s not broken. OpenZwave works great for plenty of people, myself included.
Exactly what issue did you run into?
This is not the place to reiterate the numerous issues myself and many others had with the OZW Beta integration, which made it completely unusable. I’m sure you’re perfectly aware of this, but if not I would suggest you read up on this, this and this. Of course you’re free to pretend that it is perfectly fine and use it yourself as much as you desire.
Thankfully, the HA main devs realized that it is not so and have stepped onto the emergency breaks right at the very last moment. I’m sure that HA ZWave support is going to be great now going forward with zwave-js !
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Dude, I’m helping with the development on Zwave JS as well. Cool your jets. That’s all I’m trying to get you to do. Jesus. If you don’t want help, how about just leave it be then?
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Look, I don’t know what exactly you’re expecting me to say here. My attempts to use it were a disaster. Major stability issues, devices not appearing at all or randomly going unavailable, the whole network becoming completely unreliable. Pretty much every single issue I faced had already been discussed and / or reported by multiple people, both on the Github and on these forums. Fast forward several months and the same issues still appeared with the maintainers either not reacting at all or saying ‘be patient’. What exactly do you expect me to do then other than switching back to OZW 1.4 native (which I did) ?
Anyway, all this is not really relevant anymore and a heated and emotional discussion is not productive anyway on either side. There’s a new kid in town now, so let’s see how it goes. I’m glad to know that you’re helping with the development of zwave-js. I will certainly make sure to report any issues I may face myself when I do the switch.
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I’m just asking you to stop telling everyone that OpenZwave is dead and leave it alone. That’s it. If there’s an announcement about it being dead… go for it, tell the world. Until then, just be happy that we have zwave options and share your experiences with each one that you tried.
Alright then. I’ll make sure to be very happy about all the great ZWave options we have from now on.
Anyway, I’m out.
It is effectively dead. As the head dev said “I’ll tinker with it, i’ll make changes as time allows, but it will be at my own pace.” With the fast paced changes to ANY software today this renders it effectively dead. Unless Fishwaldo’s demeanor about it does a complete 180 degree about face.
There is a reason that the HA team has decided to pursue another integration, and it isn’t because it is still a viable option… I think you may be the one misleading people. You haven’t been too nice about the whole thing either, which sucks.
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It had an update 2 days ago.
Honestly dude, that sort of demeanour is kinda what burnt Fishwaldo out. He was doing some of the most complex programming you can do, totally cross platform, for 10 years, voluntarily, but he ended up getting more of that sort of attitude than accolades.
You might not even have meant that to come across as rude or derogatory, but before you post statements like that, maybe pause and think how it could sound to the person/people who donate their time towards these projects…
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