Z-Wave controller conundrum

I have been using the Aeon Labs Z Stick S2 fine and still am except for one device: Heatit Underfloor Heating Thermostat. The S2 will not Include this device. This is a known issue with this device and the S2.

So my conundrum is how i get this device to talk to Indigo.

I am happy to by the Aeon Labs Z Stick Gen5 which does work with this device but I gather that i cant just buy this device and Include it as only 1 Z-Wave controller at a time is supported by Indigo (assumed).

So. What do i do? I have over 100 zwave deices included on the S2 so to manually exclude and include the all on the Gen5 would take days.

Any ideas how i can over come this issue? I assume as more and more Gen5 devices come out there will be less and less testing with non Gen5 controllers.

Any help appreciated.

[jay (support)]

Unfortunately, I think there are really just two options: move your entire network over to a new Gen5 Z-Stick or find a different thermostat that works with the Series 2 stick you already have. There may be other solutions as well for your thermostat, but I don't know exactly how that device works so I can't really speculate more.

Thanks Jay. I feared that would be the answer but thought id ask incase i was overlooking an option.

Would the following work?:

1) Backup the database from Indigo 6 (Dedicated Indigo Mac Mini)
2) Install Indigo 6 on my Macbook
3) Load the copy of the DB into indigo on my Macbook
4) Configure Indigo on my Macbook to use the Gen5 stick
5) Begin exclusion of zwave devices on a room by room basis on the S2
6) Include the zwave devices in the Gen5 (on the Macbook)
7) Once all zwave devices have migrated to the Gen5 controller, backup the DB on the Macbook
Copy the DB to the Mac Mini and replace the S2 stick with the Gen5
9) Start Indigo with he new DB on the Mac Mini

Would that work or is there a technical issue i have over looked or even a licensing issue?

The point of doing it this way is so i can do it over time, room by room, as most scenes are room based, very few are whole house. With 100 or so devices I would not have the patience to do it in a day.

[jay (support)]

Well, Indigo is licensed per server, but running two of them while migrating is OK by us as long as it's temporary.

Just a few thoughts: you're going to see TONS of errors, first on the Gen5 Indigo instance because the devices it's trying to control won't exist, then as you transition you'll get more and more on the old instance because devices will start disappearing. Another thing is that you'll likely end up with split actions: some need to execute on the new system and some on the old so you have to make sure that everything stays exactly the same on both or you're going to hit some very confusing issues. If you do anything with Indigo Touch then you'll have to be constantly switching between the two servers.

My suspicion is that it's going to be painful for a while no matter which course of action you take. I think if it were me, I'd just disable all automation, get the devices moved as quickly as possible, then turn the automation back on. Like a bandaid - rip it off as fast as you can.

I'm in the same boat. I'm replacing a gen 2 with a gen 5.

I plan to move all devices at one time - same day. Do I need to exclude any of my existing devices from the gen 2?

Would it be best to pair and then sync in Indigo, one device at a time, or is it Ok for me to pair all the devices (keeping track), then do a mass update in Indigo?

Thanks,
Frank

Hi Frank.

You don't need to exclude your devices from the old controller, but you do need to exclude your devices from *a* controller. I find it's best to think about the fact that each device can only be associated with one controller at a time. In the event that your primary controller completely fails, you still need to be able to exclude your devices in order to associate them with a new one. I think it's easiest to think about the device as the important part of the equation.

So I'd suggest that you use your new controller to first exclude and then include each device. I do this as standard procedure even when adding new devices as they are often included with a controller at the factory for testing and haven't always been successfully excluded before shipping.

Cheers,
Dave


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Hello Dave,

Thanks for the reply.

I understand a device can only be included with a single controller. Are you sure you can "exclude" a device from a controller it isn't "included" with? I'm not sure that would do anything with the device, would it?

Thanks,
Frank

Frank,

Yes, you definitely can. Any controller can exclude any device.

The original controller will still try and talk to any device that it thinks is still included to itself, but once it fails to get a response you can use the "remove failed modules" command (in Indigo, or similar in other products) to remove it from that controllers memory.

The device will only talk to the controller that included it, with the exception of an exclude command.

Peter


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Howartp beat me to the punch. Any controller can exclude a device--this covers situations where a controller fails completely. Otherwise, you'd have to get rid of all your devices.


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So excluding a device, via a controller the device isn't included with, just clears the information from the device. This is how Z-Wave is designed to work?

I understand the case of a lost/non-functional controller would require some method for devices to forget the controller, but I thought most of my devices could just be included over & over again (with different controllers), without being required to be "excluded" (made to forget) the previous controller.

Thanks for all the feedback,
Frank

Right. This is how Z-Wave is designed to work. I've found that inclusion without exclusion sometimes works, but in my experience, excluding first always works (although some devices may need multiple inclusion attempts for it to take.)


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OK done. Took the pain and excluded everything one by one (or in like batches making not of the order i did them in) then included them on the new controller. I then sync/denined each back to the Indigo device objects and all is well.

Worth noting any custom settings you have set such as pulse length and switch type on Fibaro dimmers before excluding as they get lost once included and synced to the indigo device. Not a big deal but some of my lights are acting a bit weird which is down to dim speed and pulse length being reset so will play with that over christmas.

[jay (support)]

Worth noting any custom settings you have set such as pulse length and switch type on Fibaro dimmers before excluding as they get lost once included and synced to the indigo device. Not a big deal but some of my lights are acting a bit weird which is down to dim speed and pulse length being reset so will play with that over christmas.

Yeah, on many (but not all) Z-Wave devices, an exclusion also acts somewhat like a factory reset - everything reverts back to defaults.