Aeotec Z-Stick 7 and HomeSeer - Working!

[brett_cp]

I was also upgrading from Aeotec Gen5 ZStick

Thank you! That's interesting as I know in previous version of HS (such as HS3), we could backup the Aeotec Gen5 ZStick, but not restore to it. I just checked and it appears in HS4 there is a "Restore a Network to this interface" option now. I also contacted Aeotec yesterday and was told "Unfortunately, the memory format between series 700 and series 500 are different, i have not found a good method to easily transfer over a Z-Stick Gen5 network to Z-Stick 7." Perhaps Homeseer is using a different backup/restore procedure.

I plan to upgrade from the Aeotec Gen5 ZStick to the newer Aeotec Z-Stick 7 soon so I'm hoping this works for me as well.

[mulu]

Apparently, HS has some save/restore feature to go from Gen5 to Gen7. This depends on a server that they are operating but should be a one-time thing, as far as I understand. I am not sure if this also applies to the Aeotec stick, I would assume it does as they probably all use the same chip but it probably best if you open a ticket with HS about this.

[fresnoboy]

Apparently, HS has some save/restore feature to go from Gen5 to Gen7. This depends on a server that they are operating but should be a one-time thing, as far as I understand. I am not sure if this also applies to the Aeotec stick, I would assume it does as they probably all use the same chip but it probably best if you open a ticket with HS about this.

Yes. I tried it but there was a couple day delay because the server apparently was out of disk space. I did the migration as documented and it worked fine. Not sure it works on non-HS sticks, but worth a try.

[brett_cp]

Unfortunately the Aeotec Z-Stick 7 and HS4 aren't quite ready for prime time, at least in my particular case.

The backup of the Gen5 and restore to the Z-Stick 7 seemed to go smooth, just as expected... but I only had 15 of my 50 nodes present. Shutdown, rebooted, and then all 50 were there, but when running a node connectivity test it couldn't connect to anything - all nodes failed to connect. I stopped and restarted the plugin, then it could connect to about half of them. Tried to run an optimization but it just hangs on trying to optimize the very first node (get the "..." cycling for over 2 hours). Deleted the Z-Wave interface, started over but got similar results - an inconsistent number of Z-Wave nodes present - sometimes 15, sometimes 30, then finally all 50 showed up after a few reboots, but I still can't consistently connect to all of my Z-Wave nodes, and attempting to optimize may succeed or fail. Seems there's still some work to be done with these new 700-series sticks. I am currently running Z-Wave 3.0.7.0 (the latest beta as of today).

I went back to my Gen5 stick and all is well again. Will circle back in a couple of months to see where things are at.

[STB400]

Unfortunately the Aeotec Z-Stick 7 and HS4 aren't quite ready for prime time, at least in my particular case.

The backup of the Gen5 and restore to the Z-Stick 7 seemed to go smooth, just as expected... but I only had 15 of my 50 nodes present. Shutdown, rebooted, and then all 50 were there, but when running a node connectivity test it couldn't connect to anything - all nodes failed to connect. I stopped and restarted the plugin, then it could connect to about half of them. Tried to run an optimization but it just hangs on trying to optimize the very first node (get the "..." cycling for over 2 hours). Deleted the Z-Wave interface, started over but got similar results - an inconsistent number of Z-Wave nodes present - sometimes 15, sometimes 30, then finally all 50 showed up after a few reboots, but I still can't consistently connect to all of my Z-Wave nodes, and attempting to optimize may succeed or fail. Seems there's still some work to be done with these new 700-series sticks. I am currently running Z-Wave 3.0.7.0 (the latest beta as of today).

I went back to my Gen5 stick and all is well again. Will circle back in a couple of months to see where things are at.

It's not just the Aeotec, I am having the same issue with migration for SmartStick G2 to SmartStick G3. Additionally, I started from scratch with just the SmartStick G3 and communicating to the nodes is anything but stable - requires a reboot or interface restart every hour to correct.

[SpiderSense]

same here. the initial hurdle was to make the backup work, including having only one 'network' and both homeseer and the stick in sync. after tinkering for a while, connectivity to all nodes work. but after a period of time, connectivity fails and the restart of the interface is required. i tried this with the G3 and the new Zooz 7 series and got the same behavior. i hope it can be fixed with a new zwave plugin and not something to do with the change to USB0. good to hear you started from scratch and saw the same behavior, that it isn't an artifact of backup/restore/network.

[STB400]

same here. the initial hurdle was to make the backup work, including having only one 'network' and both homeseer and the stick in sync. after tinkering for a while, connectivity to all nodes work. but after a period of time, connectivity fails and the restart of the interface is required. i tried this with the G3 and the new Zooz 7 series and got the same behavior. i hope it can be fixed with a new zwave plugin and not something to do with the change to USB0. good to hear you started from scratch and saw the same behavior, that it isn't an artifact of backup/restore/network.

Interesting, I also have several Zooz 7 series devices, several 5 series, and no base series. On a different thread I had a couple responses from others who were able to achieve stability using G3 and HS4 - wondering if the Zooz 7 series may be the culprit, as we have the same issue.

[SpiderSense]

i dont think it is 7 series devices, but most likely around the linux usb0 driver, the 700 chip inside the dongle, or the plugin. are you on linux? i bought a bunch of Zooz 7 series switches but dont think I have installed them yet. I was just referring to the dongle/stick itself; the Zooz and the SmartStick seem to perform the same (loss of connectivity over time).

I'm inclined to think it's like a memory leak or an issue with load/performance. I have toggled the interface to get it working, and by quickly switching something on/off repeatedly, i can reproduce the issue more. i also have lots of switches that get controlled via remotes or virtual switches. activating a few of those events may be enough to cause the issue. i'm not sure though, and i've been seen connectivity last for 12hrs and as low as a few minutes.

i've waited 7 months since buying the 7 series stuff, i guess i can wait longer for a fix.

[STB400]

i dont think it is 7 series devices, but most likely around the linux usb0 driver, the 700 chip inside the dongle, or the plugin. are you on linux? i bought a bunch of Zooz 7 series switches but dont think I have installed them yet. I was just referring to the dongle/stick itself; the Zooz and the SmartStick seem to perform the same (loss of connectivity over time).

I'm inclined to think it's like a memory leak or an issue with load/performance. I have toggled the interface to get it working, and by quickly switching something on/off repeatedly, i can reproduce the issue more. i also have lots of switches that get controlled via remotes or virtual switches. activating a few of those events may be enough to cause the issue. i'm not sure though, and i've been seen connectivity last for 12hrs and as low as a few minutes.

i've waited 7 months since buying the 7 series stuff, i guess i can wait longer for a fix.

I'm using Windows 10 for HS4 Pro. While troubleshooting after trying migration upgrade from HS4 Pro and Smartstick G2 I tried a new Windows 10 install on test PC and a second new SmartStick G3 to eliminate some possibilities - same results as mentioned above. That being said, on a separate thread, I had responses of people say they do noit have the issues we do. Leads me to believe a certain type of device, like the 700 Zooz may have a hand to play - but that's only an assumption at this point. When I get some time this week I may do a fresh install of HS4 on a test PC and just add a few non 700 devices slowly and see if I can come to some conclusion by way of deduction etc. I have a new Ezlo secure that uses 700 series in a box next to me that I really don't want to use, but I have some semi-important controls that need to be back online for crypto mining asap. Going back to HS4 and G2 at this point is a depressing thought.

[brett_cp]

Just another few notes regarding my setup.. I have approximately 50 Z-Wave devices consisting of the following mix:

~35 GE/Jasco Z-Wave (non-plus) dimmers/switches/controlled outlets

~5 GE/Jasco Z-Wave Plus dimmers/switches/controlled outlets

~10 assorted Z-Wave devices (relays such as the Zooz ZEN16/ZEN17, switches such as the ZEN15, a few Utilitech Z-Wave water leak detectors, etc) which are a mix of non-plus, plus, and even a few newer 700 series devices.

I'm running HS4 on an 8th gen Intel i7 NUC, and am using the front yellow USB port for my USB Z-Wave stick (plenty of power from this port).

I have zero issues with this setup when using the Aeotec Gen5 z-stick.. running a node connection test runs successfully through all nodes within just a few seconds, I can optimize successfully, etc.. but as I mentioned in my post above, many issues when using the same setup with the newer Aeotec Gen 7 stick. The fact that sometimes HS sees all 50 nodes, but then after a restart may see only a fraction of these nodes is interesting. I did see that under "Z-Wave Networks and Options", HS4 did leave a couple stale networks there which I manually deleted (then restarted) but didn't make any difference. I also ran the "Reset Z-Wave Data", but again this didn't solve the issues. When HS4/Z-stick 7 was able to see a node, I was able to successfully control it.

Note that I did try setting the "Interface Model" to both "Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Stick" and "HomeSeer SmartStick +" but got the same behavior/results with each of these choices. I also did verify I had the correct CP2102N driver installed for the new Z-Stick 7, and verified with Aeotec that I had the latest firmware on the Z-Stick 7.

[STB400]

Just another few notes regarding my setup.. I have approximately 50 Z-Wave devices consisting of the following mix:

~35 GE/Jasco Z-Wave (non-plus) dimmers/switches/controlled outlets

~5 GE/Jasco Z-Wave Plus dimmers/switches/controlled outlets

~10 assorted Z-Wave devices (relays such as the Zooz ZEN16/ZEN17, switches such as the ZEN15, a few Utilitech Z-Wave water leak detectors, etc) which are a mix of non-plus, plus, and even a few newer 700 series devices.

I'm running HS4 on an 8th gen Intel i7 NUC, and am using the front yellow USB port for my USB Z-Wave stick (plenty of power from this port).

I have zero issues with this setup when using the Aeotec Gen5 z-stick.. running a node connection test runs successfully through all nodes within just a few seconds, I can optimize successfully, etc.. but as I mentioned in my post above, many issues when using the same setup with the newer Aeotec Gen 7 stick. The fact that sometimes HS sees all 50 nodes, but then after a restart may see only a fraction of these nodes is interesting. I did see that under "Z-Wave Networks and Options", HS4 did leave a couple stale networks there which I manually deleted (then restarted) but didn't make any difference. I also ran the "Reset Z-Wave Data", but again this didn't solve the issues. When HS4/Z-stick 7 was able to see a node, I was able to successfully control it.

Note that I did try setting the "Interface Model" to both "Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Stick" and "HomeSeer SmartStick +" but got the same behavior/results with each of these choices. I also did verify I had the correct CP2102N driver installed for the new Z-Stick 7, and verified with Aeotec that I had the latest firmware on the Z-Stick 7.

Homeseer administrator just replied to my original post with the potential solution to this - please find in this thread.

https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...me#post1485367

[brett_cp]

Homeseer administrator just replied to my original post with the potential solution to this - please find in this thread.

https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...me#post1485367

Interesting - I do have two Zooz Zen15's on my washer and dryer which do report power every 5 seconds. Given that rjh has identified an issue here, I'll probably just wait for an update before going back to the Z-Stick 7.

[damonj2]

Glad to see I'm not the only one having these issues. It took me a few tries to successfully restore to my new Aeotec Z-Stick 7. The first time, there were missing devices. The second time I tried, it looked like it worked, I could even control devices, but it was SLOW. So I tried to optimize and it wouldn't work. Also found a few devices that wouldn't respond. Went back to my old SmartStick+, and everything works great again. I was hoping the faster internals of the z-stick 7 would speed up response times... but I'm not willing to manually migrate the 70+ light switches that I have.

[SpiderSense]

good news they were able to reproduce the issue. when i tested and reproduced, the zwave switch i toggled had energy reporting. and i had the issue with both the SmartStick G3 and the Zooz 700 stick. i hope they fix it soon.

[brett_cp]

So on Friday I jumped back into this Aeotec Z-Stick 7 which has just been collecting dust for the past several months. After seeing another thread about the G3+ smartstick getting a firmware update, I checked with Aeotec and found they have the same firmware update available for the Z-Stick 7 (version 7.17.1). I updated its firmware, did a backup on my old Aeotec Z-Stick Gen 5, restored it to the Z-Stick 7, did a manual optimize on each device, and so far so good! Everything has been running well for 3 days now. I have not had to restart anything, and all of my devices appear to be working properly. Will take some more time to thoroughly test, but this is a significant improvement as it previously wouldn't stay up and running for more than a few minutes.

The firmware for the Aeotec Z-Stick 7 can be found here: https://help.aeotec.com/support/solu...7-with-windows