Hello everyone, I have everything in the house integrated with Home Assistant with the exception of three Kwikset 916 deadbolts. I’ve been trying for days to work on this and I am extremely confused.
The locks (which I may just replace, but that is a lot of work) only communicate via Z-Wave. They were previously tied into a Control4 integration. The original smart home installer is holding my credentials for Control4 hostage, so I can’t just integrate the Control4 plugin and be done with it…
However, I’m assuming you cannot just add the locks via Z-Wave directly into HA. I’ve played with the Z-Wave JS plugin, but it doesn’t install. I don’t know if I need certain equipment or something, but it just fails after 5-10 minutes of thinking.
So then I bought a HomeSeer ZNet G3 device and got it configured. It won’t add the lock. My research shows me I need to get a Z-stick to add devices??? This is nuts. I didn’t have to buy a dongle to get Control4 to work… Not to mention i can’t find a local retailer who sells them. Amazon can’t get me one for over a week.
So, does anyone know:
Do i need to buy a “Z-stick” to add a device to HomeSeer so i can integrate with HA?
Is there ANYWAY to add this lock directly to HA?
Sorry for the questions; brand new to Z-Wave (and first impression: not a big fan. LOL)
This adds to my previous question. When you tried zwavejs, what happened? What error did you get? Did you follow the homeseer docs for connecting with home assistant.
Yes but seems you already got it
I don’t use it but the homeseernyou got should work. You need to add the zwavejsui integration and the use that to connect it. Instructions at previously mentioned and linked homeseer docs.
You did. The guy who’s holding your control4 hostage probably didn’t detail it out in the install quote. I think it’s just built in and the charge license to use. C4 was my least favorite home automation.
The locks are likely connected to and still working on your old system. A factory reset should allow you to connect them again
Sorry for this experience. If it means anything I hear these stories a lot and have had people in past contact me to help them move away from these. I think the old school AMX, crestron, C4 and such are fine but I avoided for years simply because of high costs and closed concept. You can’t even install a lot of this without getting their “certification”. You can buy, just no access to install documentation. It’s a pain. HA may be a hill if you are not tech savvy but ultimately you can build a more robust and user serviceable System. You can likely interface some of your C4 stuff since it’s on the network. I had an C4 video switcher that I was able to get working in HA.
Back to your problem.
Zwave requires dongle which you seem to have. Aeotech usb stick model is used but many also use homeseer. I don’t not but the docs seem clear.
Zwavejsui is a software interface and layer for managing the devices. It is simple to use once you get it running
You connect zwavejsui to HA using an integration. Integrations are called addons if you are using HAOS. There is reason for this but explainatiom will just add confusion right now
Zwavejs and zwavejsui both exist. You may only use one of these. Zwavejsui is,as suggested by the name, zwavejs with a bundled ui.
Lastly, used zwave equipment must be factory reset before connecting to new zwave network. That is likely part of problem along with other things.
I’m running Home Assistant Core 2025.1.2 on Raspberry Pi
I have over 100 devices successfully configured - everything from lights, garage, shades, buttons, etc. The Kwikset 916 is the only remaining (current) implementation.
I have read that these Kwikset locks are only Z-wave, so I purchased the HomeSeer HomeTroller Pi G3 Smart Home Hub and successfully installed it and have it up and running. I can access it via local network, log in, and have the ability to add devices.
I reset all the Kwikset locks to factory settings. I went through the process as per the instructions in the lock manual and the Homeseer instructions. Nothing happens.
I understand that this might not be the correct forum since this problem is technically a HomeSeer device, so I posed my question as a generic Z-Wave question.
The instructions are very specific that the Z-wave unit must be in close proximity to the lock. Other boards mention it should only be a few feet away from the lock. How is this even possible if the Homeseer device is connected directly to the switch in the IT closet.
As for your question about the error message, after about 5 minutes of it attempting to start the service, I get an error message in Home Assistant that says “Failed to start the Z-Wave JS add-on.”
So, I guess my problems are:
HomeSeer won’t find the lock (hence my question if I need an extra “dongle” so I can get within a foot of it).
Home Assistant won’t install Z-Wave JS Supervisor.
Again, I’m sorry, I’m not proficient with Z-Wave at all. And that fact that I’m a software engineer by profession and can’t figure out how to add a Z-wave device to my home automation is fairly comical. LOL.
In this case it is. You should search forum for info or post homeseer question directly. There are many homeseer user in the forum but I just am not one so only help I give is from googling info
It’s a generic recommendation but sometimes true. I have never done this personally.
Core as in direct install python package or docker?
I don’t believe core has addons?
On a pi you may be better with HA OS or docker.
HAOS has addons
Docker is just simpler and portable