Zwave Aeotec Gen5

I'm having some issues with the Zwave interface, I don't actually think its Indigo but potentially a Mac issue.

About 5 times maybe more per day the Zwave stick stops working, the event log shows this as "lost connection with interface" and then "send get version failed after 9 attempts" followed by "restarting serial connection in 5.0 seconds"
Eventually it will start working again, but the only way to speed the process up is to unplug the stick and reinsert it. This always works, restarting the computer does not cure it as only a full power down and restart does that.
It's as if the stick is faulty but I replaced it and have exactly the same issue with the new one, I have a RFX device in another USB port and it works ok. I do have a short extension cable to the USB, but have tried plugging in directly and still have the same issues.

Looking for ideas as at the moment I have not got a clue!

Try connecting it to a USB hub and/or to an extension cable to see if it clear the issue.

[matt (support)]

Passive USB extension cables can definitely cause that type of issue (although I realize you've already ruled that out). Definitely follow the advice above and try different USB ports and different USB hubs.

I’m experiencing the same issues as DJI. I’m using a MacMini7.1, Monterey , Indigo 2022.2, usbmodem14110,, 4th USB slot, 30cm USB extension cable. I’ve tested 2 different Z-Sticks: same issues.

Following your advice I’ve removed a 30cm USB extension cable. I’ve now plugged in the Z-Stick in the first USB-port. The issue now does not repeat every hour as before, but it did just repeat, I think after 4 hours.

I’ve contacted Aeotec. They are not familiar with this issue. I asked if submodem14110 could be the root cause, they could not confirm.

Does anybody have other advice? Thanks in advance!

[jay (support)]

A couple of other things to try:

1. Unplug everything else from USB except the Z-Stick and mouse/keyboard. This will help determine if there's some other device that's not playing nice with the USB bus.
2. Try a USB2 hub plugged into your Mac. Sometimes serial devices like that are sensitive to USB versions.

Hi Jay,

I'm running the MacMini "headless", so the Z-Stick is the only plugged USB-device. It took some effort to find a USB2 hub, but I've tested with the Z-stick via the USB2 hub.
Result: same behaviour, about once an hour the same error:
- Interface Failure.

Any other ideas?

[matt (support)]

Copy/paste what you are seeing in the Event Log (and include a few lines before and after the errors) into a reply.

Also, do you have any other USB devices attached to the Mac?

I've kind of found a solution.
I noticed in the log that the interface failure error occurred after communicating with a Aetotec ZW112-C. Excluding, resetting and re-including the ZW112-C stopped the interface failure. I repeated this for 3 other ZW112-C in my network. It's been running without errors for about a day now.
What I don't understand is: why has this behaviour started after 3 years? Also, how is it possible that a communication error with a device can cause the Z-Stick/whole network to fail? I'm waiting fro a reply from Aeotec..

Sounds like it could be a bug in the Z-Stick (recovering from a bad transmission from a device). Interesting that it's its own dev ice that appears to be causing it.

Firmware bugs aren't unheard of; last I heard, there were also a few problems with the Gen 7 Z-Stick.

I have seen this kind of issue but never been able to get to the cause. A heavily congested network, or a failing/device in bad state is a good shout and I then needed to physically unplug and re-insert the stick. I will regret saying this but not happened for a long time now.

I'm also having this issue with he Aeotec Gen5 stick after upgrading to 2022.1, and to Big Sur. The problem wasn't apparent after the Indigo upgrade, so probably Big Sur related - though as it takes a while to stop working I can't be completely sure which triggered the problem.

Because the back of the mac mini is so congested, the stick has been plugged into a short USB-C to USB cable...this been fine for years.

Rebooting the Mac does fix the issue for a while. Replugging the device into the same port doesn't. I've now tried plugging via a USB hub, it does work initially, but then fails.

not sure what to try next.


edit: its come back and seems to be stable.

i was too optimistic.

the stick works for a while then stops communicating. very frustrating.

Given the [non] cascade of responses, I assume problems with 2022.1 and/or BigSur and the Stick Gen 5 are not universal. I can get it going for several hours by rebooting or replugging but then loose it.

It seems too coincidental that the problems have begun with this upgrade, however I'm curious what behaviour is associated with a failing z-stick? Is connectivity a likely symptom?

[matt (support)]

We haven't had any other reports of this type of issue with 2022.1.

Is your Mac staying awake?

USB extension cables have been known to cause problems in the past, but given this is a configuration that was working it seems less likely that is the problem.

What I would do for troubleshooting: unplug all USB devices except your keyboard/mouse/trackpad and plug the Z-Stick directly into the Mac. See if that is stable or not. If it isn't then I suspect your Z-Stick has become marginal and a replacement will work better. Also possible the Mac's USB controller is having a problem, but that would be less likely.

Thanks, as you say it seems unlikely to be the cable given its been utterly stable for years, the only change being the Indigo and OS upgrades a few hours before the issue first manifested.

This is a headless mac mini which seems to be staying awake fine (amphetamine still configured) and other interfaces continue to work without issue.

Since last replug (now back on its original USB-C pigtail) it's been running happily for 12 hours, thats the longest so far.

I'll try your suggestions if I loose connectivity again.

Update: stabilised for several days now. And I changed nothing….go figure.