the other thing that you can do to successfully include a device is just power up the device at the HA machine (with the controller in it…). Then once it’s paired then move the device to its permanent location.
I see that a lot of devices say to not do it that way (they say to include it with it in its final location) but I do it like that all the time and I’ve never had an issue. The zwave network has always been smart enough (or my mesh is strong enough) that it always can find a route to the device. I even moved a device 15 yards from my garage to my basement and everything kept on working when I powered the device back up again.
As long as you don’t have devices that are not listed in version 1.4 of OpenZWave you should be OK (the QT OpenZWave Beta is version 1.6 and covers more devices). The other potential downside of the old ZWave integration is that it must restart every time HA is restarted, and rebuilding the network can take several minutes on each restart. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it is a hindrance for some of us.
Is that as simple as going to this directory and looking whether I can find my devices in there?
I just looked at my more recent purchases and they are all listed
But keep in mind that the repo is archived and static. You can get the old integration working with newer devices but you have to make the manufacture specific files by forking the repo into your config folder and adding & adjusting the files manually. Here’s a guide for the inovelli files.
That’s because Popp, while a German company, doesn’t hold inventory of the new Gen5+ stick (yet). They have to be shipped from China to you. My order took 7 days to reach Amsterdam International Mail Centre, and a few more days to reach me = 10 days.
There’s another option to include devices now. I use the Home Assistant app on my phone. I can walk to the device, press Add Device on my phone, and then put the device in include mode.
This is handy for troublesome devices that have trouble being included. Some need to be reset and it’s nice that I don’t have to go back to my computer to press Add Device again.
we don’t need the app for that, only a browser… always take my mobile along when installing new devices on zigbee or z-wave. Except when the need for a push button on the Hue hub forces us to climb the attic.
I might try an even easier route of getting the Z-stick to learn all the devices from my old Zipato Zipabox based on this explanation so that I don’t have to include all devices manually
Just to report back in case anybody else wants to try this:
So basically I tried to use Silabs PC controller software to first add my Z-stick to my old home automation Z-wave controller (Zipato Zipabox) and copy all the z-wave devices information that way.
When I turned off my old controller I was able to controll my z-wave devices using my Z-stick trough the PC controller software, so that looked promising!
However Home Assistant’s native Z-wave integration seemed to be extremely confused and nothing worked. Most likely not the fault of Home Assistant and I was simply trying something that’s not really supposed to be possible
So I’ll have to do the manual way of removing my z-wave devices from my old home automation controller and adding them one by one to Home Assistant.
I hope that won’t be necessary when I migrate from the current native integration to the future (likely z-wavejs based) solution.
Is the Aeotec Gen5+ still the preferred Z-Wave USB Stick for Home Assistant?
I’m currently using a Nortek HUSBZB-1, but I’m wondering if having the battery would improve the pairing of new devices (and of course running refreshnodeinfo after inclusion).
Or are the 700 series sticks worth the upgrade now?
I’m using ZwaveJS2MQTT for now until the native ZwaveJS integration surpasses the functionality.
There’s not really any preferred USB stick. They all provide the same functionality, and are nearly identical anyways, with the exception of the HUSBZB-1.
No, walking around and including devices with the controller recipe for disaster. It creates bad routes as each device thinks it has a direct connection to the controller. If you put the controller back into it’s permanent location and the devices don’t have a direct route, it causes a lot of problems. You also can’t include devices securely this way.
FYI the Aeotec Gen-7 stick does not have a battery, and neither do any of the other USB sticks on the market.
Or are the 700 series sticks worth the upgrade now?
There’s no general recommendation to upgrade, all 700-series devices are backwards compatible with 500-series controllers. If starting new, I would pick a 700 stick just for future proofing. You might want to upgrade if you want to take advantage of 700-series functionality (better wireless range, battery life improvements, z-wave long range), but you’ll also need 700-series devices to see any benefit.
I think it’s time to upgrade my HUSBZB-1 to something with a more modern firmware & platform like AEOTEC, so I’m debating going Gen 5 + or the Gen 7 since I’m upgrading anyway.
I have recently upgraded from the Silicon Labs stick to the Aeotec 700 series (yes I updated the firmware first). Currently having no issues with this stick, in fact the devices that were previously problematic are not having the same issues (occasional ‘dead’ device requiring re-interview). It’s part of a slow system-wide upgrade, so over the next year or two, everything will be replaced with a 700-series product if possible. Last upgrade I did about 6 months ago was to remove the last of the non-Plus devices, also a worthwhile exercise if you can do it.
always take my mobile along when installing new devices on zigbee or z-wave. Except when the need for a push button on the Hue hub forces us to climb the attic.
nice big USB Stick