Inovelli firmware update - .gbl file

[grahamk]

Inovelli has a firmware fix for a fan light unit that is in a .gbl file format.

Apparently Smartthings and hubitat will use that format, but homeseer Zflash will not?

They are working on a .hex file, but i am curious if anyone knows a way to make these files work......

[Guest]

I'm also interested in this

[bebaldin]

Aeotec Gen7 devices all require the GBL format now, and they have no plans to offer HEC or HEX files, according to an engineer I just talked to. This is very disappointing since it effectively kills the OTA update functionality in HS3. I have been completely unable to get HS4 working on a new S6 PRO that is now sitting and gathering dust, since I cannot import my existing configurations into it from my SEL.

[jmedemar]

I also would like to see this functionality implemented, so I submitted a feature request to HomeSeer on August 27th. Please go to the new support service desk and submit a feature request. If they get enough requests, maybe they will add it in an update.

[George]

I also would like to see this functionality implemented, so I submitted a feature request to HomeSeer on August 27th. Please go to the new support service desk and submit a feature request. If they get enough requests, maybe they will add it in an update.

jmedemar does that mean that the Invoelli LZW36 Fan/Dimmer combo does not work on HS at all? I have 3 rooms where the electriitans were lazy and just ran a switch loop to the ceiling. So the fan/lights in that room all have to be controlled by the pull chains. This would have been the perfect solution.

If they don't support it then I'm rather glad I haven't shilled out the $70 each to get them.

Thanks.

[jmedemar]

jmedemar does that mean that the Invoelli LZW36 Fan/Dimmer combo does not work on HS at all? I have 3 rooms where the electriitans were lazy and just ran a switch loop to the ceiling. So the fan/lights in that room all have to be controlled by the pull chains. This would have been the perfect solution.

If they don't support it then I'm rather glad I haven't shilled out the $70 each to get them.

Thanks.

The LZW36 actually works really well once you know how to add it properly to HomeSeer. I have two of them, and they both have worked flawlessly so far after getting the inclusion procedure correct.

Step 1: Upgrade the firmware on the LZW36 to at least version 1.36. I could not get them to include properly on earlier versions, some of the child devices were missing.

Step 2: Include to HomeSeer using the "Add/Include a Node Non Secure" option per this bulletin by Inovelli: https://support.inovelli.com/portal/...mo9rWMyyTmrQic

Once Inovelli directed me to this support page from a Facebook post, I was able to get the LZW36 included just fine.
You should see these devices in HomeSeer:

[George]

jmedemar Great thanks, how did you get the firmware to update as HS doesn't support the GBL format? Does Inovelli supply an update utility? And if they don't include into a Z-Wave network, how is the firmware updated? Just curious. I don't have any other Z-Wave networks.

Non-Secure is not an issue for me. The closest house to me is about 1/4 mile away.

[jmedemar]

jmedemar Great thanks, how did you get the firmware to update as HS doesn't support the GBL format? Does Inovelli supply an update utility? And if they don't include into a Z-Wave network, how is the firmware updated? Just curious. I don't have any other Z-Wave networks.

Non-Secure is not an issue for me. The closest house to me is about 1/4 mile away.

I used the instructions from Inovelli's support page. Here are the two pages I referenced.

Firmware files found here: https://support.inovelli.com/portal/...ght-red-series

Firmware update procedure here: https://support.inovelli.com/portal/...-pc-controller

I used the HUSBZB-1 usb stick with the Silicon Labs controller software installed on a spare laptop I had sitting around. It took a few minutes to follow the procedure the first time, but now it's easy to update all my switches firmware.

[George]

Thanks, I looked at the Aeotec's controller and it said MAC compatible and also directly specifies GEN 5 and OTA capabilities. I don't have a spare PC laptop but my guess is that it should work fine on my Mac using VMWare Fusion running WIndows 7 with the USB stick directly attached to Win7. Or possibly, I might be able to plug it into another spare port on my existing HS3 system, it should take on another COM port address and most likely their update software should recognize it.

[grahamk]

The LZW36 actually works really well once you know how to add it properly to HomeSeer. I have two of them, and they both have worked flawlessly so far after getting the inclusion procedure correct.

Same experience here. The firmware update is to fix an issue that i have never seen, so it's not that big of a deal. The switches are great - one thing i really like about inovelli is how easy it is to customize them. Scenes work super well too. It's great to finally have some control over the fans and lights on the old RF units via zwave!!

[popeye]

I used the instructions from Inovelli's support page. Here are the two pages I referenced.

Firmware files found here: https://support.inovelli.com/portal/...ght-red-series

Firmware update procedure here: https://support.inovelli.com/portal/...-pc-controller

I used the HUSBZB-1 usb stick with the Silicon Labs controller software installed on a spare laptop I had sitting around. It took a few minutes to follow the procedure the first time, but now it's easy to update all my switches firmware.

After creating a Silicon Labs account, where precisely did you navigate to in order to download this "PC Controller" app? The link provided by Inovelli produces an error stating that an SDK must be downloaded first, and attempting to download the "PC Controller SDK" also produces the same error.

Edit:
Silicon Labs has changed things. After creating an account go to https://www.silabs.com/development-t...evelopment-kit and download the "Z-Wave SDK" under "Getting Started", You can then discard that download, and your account will now be tagged as having downloaded an SDK. Then go and download the "Z-Wave PC Controller" app. The UI has changed a little bit from the Inovelli instructions.

Still not a great solution for updating f/w. v1.36 still seems to have the same problems (at least for me) as v1.34. Can't set LED intensity separately, only through LED Strip Effect, and it can get into a weird mode when the button is detached from the relay such that it actually turns on to 1% then back off again.

Edit:
The weirdness comes from automatic addition of a second association that should not be added. Get rid of the second one that is sending light level changes which are not actually happening. This does not break normal use when the relays are still controlled by the buttons.

[CPTKIRK]

Jmedemar,

I have 50 new Inovelli switches for a new home we are building. Have been testing a switch prior to installation. I have followed the firmware update process you referenced in post #8 above successfully until the very last step. Is there a way to include (re-include) an Inovelli device to Homeseer so that it resumes its node number etc. so that events will continue to work. Thanks in advance.

[popeye]

If you already removed it, too late, as far as I know. Otherwise you might be able to use the "replace node" option, then do the f/w update, and "replace" the original with itself. Never tried that, I just update the f/w before adding it to HS. Of course that won't work for the next update, and the only response to several inquiries is essentially, "We are too busy to support the 700 series chips, even though we are very much a Z-Wave centric product and tout how well we support Z-Wave." Yeah, I paid money for the HS4 product too.

But it also points out a flaw in the HS design that some other home automation products also have. That is, attaching events/scripts/whatnot directly to the representation of the device, rather than going through an intermediary which represents what the device functions as. A product from over 20 years ago I previously used employed this concept, wherein one would define in a tree format the layout (e.g., Property1 -> Building1 -> Floor1 -> Room1 -> Light), and then choose the device to which the virtual representation is attached (most of the time all properties need are automatically linked with respect to state/events). The "Linked Device" thing no one seems to use might be a crude approximation of this idea, though it only allows a single link.

[TC1]

If you are already using a USB Z-wave stick to run your home automation with Homeseer then there is zero reason to have to remove the node and re-include it. I recently upgraded the firmware on a Inovelli dimmer by simply loading the Silicon Labs software on the same laptop where I'm running Homeseer, shut down HS4, started the SL software, connected to the com port where the Smart Stick+ was, selected the dimmer in the Z-wave network, updated the firmware, shutdown SL software, started HS4, done.

All events and everything remained the same. People don't seem to understand that the Z-wave controller (the USB stick) owns the relationship with the nodes, not the Homeseer software. Homeseer is just an integration tool and event coordinator.

[CPTKIRK]

Thanks for the replys. TC1, I did try that option, but the get command in the SL software did not work so the targets were not there to load the firmware. I will try it again. Thanks