4 days on my new Hubitat-please address these common issues

Open the logs page in another browser window/tab before you click configure.

Unclear to me what is meant by this. How were you controlling devices on your Vera?

We don't do any polling. You can poll yourself using Rule Machine if you really want to. Some Z-Wave devices either don't report, or report slowly, so these might benefit from polling.

This depends on the driver and the device. In many cases, nothing happens and there is nothing to display. Again, as the prior post suggested, have Logs open in another tab to see what comes back from the device.

I could control devices either via Vera and it's automation, phone apps. OR I can go to a wall switch and operate my lights, on/off and dimming.

Including these devices in Hubitat has reset the devices parameters, rendering my wall switches useless. And since I have no way to reset these parameters until I discover a driver for Hubitat, I cannot reconfigure them.

Example. My wall switches are momentary pushbutton. Now that Hubitat included, my switches parameter reset to toggle type. If I depress the switch, my light turns on until I release the pushbutton. Then it turns off. If I time it just right, I can quickly push the button twice (simulating a toggle) and the light will turn on.

Without access to device parameters, I have no way to set it back again. In this example parameter 14 0= momentary switch and 1=toggle. So my devices have all been set to 1 once included in Hubitat.

By logs, are you referring to open the device and click events? I tried that, I see nothing registered there except on or off, dimming %. No info about a poll (pushing the poll button) or config info (pushing the config button).
Am I looking in the right place? No real useful info is shown.

Here you go...

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This is a screenshot from my iPhone. On a desktop browser the menu is on the left hand side.

Ok I just did this now. First the page is blank. I started operating devices, however nothing is showing in the logs. Stays blank.

You are leaving a browser window/tab open on the Live Logs page while operating devices, correct? Not every device is written to write logs when things are behaving normally. Some include a slider switch on their device details page that turns on logging for about 30 minutes.

I see. You have four dashboard choices with Hubitat. Hubitat Dashboard, SharpTools.io, HousePanel (a bit involved for a newcomer to be honest) and SmartTiles (if you have a licensed copy, which since you're coming from Vera, you wouldn't). You can also create a dashboard and then use it like an app on your phone. There is no dedicated app at this time as I'm sure you're aware, but it's almost unnecessary. Hubitat is primarily about automation.

You can certainly control Hubitat via very simple and very complex automations, but it's going to take time for you to get those setup.

There are many switch types that work with Hubitat. You just need to do some work with your particular switches to get them working. Keep asking the community for advice to modify your driver so you can get your switches working. I'm sure you're going to get to a point soon enough where your wife is satisfied with the hub. You a least have more control now than you had with that dead Vera hub! :wink:

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Aha! I have logs populating now. When I opened the window it took 2 to 3 minutes before it starting working. Thanks for the info.

You mean you want to set up direct associations between switches and lights ? .. and to do that from a suitable webpage in Hubitat ?

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I think he is using z-wave relays that accept a dry contact switch input. The behavior of these inputs on the relays can be configured via z-wave config parameters.

Sounds like the default is for a toggle switch (i.e. a switch that stays on or off). User needs it to be configured for a momentary input. Press once for on, and a second time for off.

When the popup that tells you to put the device in exclusion mode disappears, I've always taken it as a sign that the device was successfully excluded. If it doesn't get excluded, the popup stays open--and if it doesn't get excluded after a while (15 or 30 seconds or something?), it will give you the option to force-remove and stay open until you take some action (or the device is successfully/properly excluded). I'm sure the logs will give more detail, but this is all I usually need. And, of course, the device will also disappear from your "Devices" page (and the "Z-Wave" section in "Settings" should you really want to check).

On SmartThings, there is a driver (they call them "device type handlers") called "Z-Wave Tweaker" that sort of does what you want: provides a UI to set Z-Wave parameters, with the intention that you'll then switch back to an appropriate driver to actually use the device. While it can address shortcomings in generic drivers that might not provide access to set parameters, I'd say this also arose out of a different need on ST, where any custom device type handler (that you might need to set parameters if ST doesn't support the device natively) executes in the cloud, so using this device type and then switching back to a local one gives you the best of both worlds. On Hubitat, custom drivers (like everything) run locally, so that is less of an issue, but you're right: if Hubitat doesn't have a customized driver for that device, even if the device can be used with a generic one, there is no way to set configuration parameters.

I can think of a couple workarounds. The "easiest" is probably finding a custom Hubitat driver for your device, but since Hubitat is relatively new, it may not exist yet. If there is a device type handler for SmartThings (that provides access to these parameters), it can usually be ported very easily, often with minimal, find-and-replace changes. You can use that long enough to set the desired parameters, and then you can either keep using that driver or switch to a generic one if it's compatible (the generic driver will not erase/overwrite parameters on the device, though like now you won't have a way to modify them--but I trust the generic drivers as being well-written and tested to work well on Hubitat, whereas community code can vary). The second would be to find something like Z-Wave Tweaker, but a quick search suggest nobody's ported or made anything similar (maybe I'm wrong).

The logs are "live logs." Unfortunately, we don't have a way to view history on these (I suspect support does if you're really having problems and want to look into something like whether a device or app is throwing a bunch of errors that might bog down your hub). As you may have figured out, the trick is: open the "Logs" link, then wait for it to start populating as apps/drivers/etc. log things. If you close it or refresh the page, you'll lose the history, so you'll want to keep it open as long as you're troubleshooting something. (The "Events" tab you mentioned before shows major events a device/driver is configured to log--e.g., on/off events for a switch--and sometimes can hint at what caused it, though not as much as a similar area on a certain other platform.)

Also, welcome to Hubitat. :slight_smile: I tried Vera for a while after I got fed up with SmartThings, but then I switched to Home Assistant since I found both awkward and figured I'd rather use something awkward for free than pay for it (and it worked with more of my devices, but neither with all I had on ST). I was quite happy when Hubitat was introduced since it worked with almost all my devices and was much easier to set up than Home Assistant and much more comfortable for me than Vera (though perhaps because it was inspired by the ST model I was already used to).

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Excellent info and I think you understand my problems.

The Hubitat excluding process -
"When the popup that tells you to put the device in exclusion mode disappears, I've always taken it as a sign that the device was successfully excluded." This is not the case as I find. Hubitat exclude popup disappears after 30 sec....period. It does not care it excluded or not. It goes away on mine and never have I got a option to force remove. (That may only apply to a device that Hubitat already included 1st.) If it is a device coming from say Vera, if it fails, there is nothing to say so. I have to just try to include it, and if it does not show up, than I know it never got reset. But in all cases Hubitat should report "Found device, excluding-then success or fail" right in the exclusion page. I have had several devices I had to exclude several times before they took.

Parameters- Now you are talking! Hubitat needs this app ASAP! I should be able to at least set parameters right after inclusion or my device is screwed as is my case now. Then I could load a generic driver if need b and at least have some control via manual or via Hubitat. I have 5 year old (1st generation Fibaro devices) and Hubitat has no drivers. I tried newer Fibaro community drivers, but they don't really work/ More importantly my physical switches don't work. (Wife mad about this!) My new Hubitat has made things worse as far as she is concerned.

Even as new devices come out, and older ones used, Hubitat should have this app to basically cover this issue. I am not a coder. No way I could attemp to "port" some kind of ST thing into a Hubitat thing. Just no way.
Hubitat should cover this base with a "Tweaker Tool"

I ported someone else’s ST device handler for a fairly obscure z-wave device to Hubitat without much difficulty. I’ve never written a single line of computer code in my life.

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I understand your frustration and the stress of an unsettled household, but Hubitat just started shipping in January. It's still very much a work in progress. Vera and SmartThings both have many years of development under their belts. No offense intended, but it's a bit much to expect that they should already have all the tools anyone could want and all the drivers for every device there is, even devices that are 5 years old. Also, you're just 4 days into this. I didn't feel my setup was even close to what I wanted after a month, and I had experience with SmartThings.

Just like SmartThings (which is where the founders of Hubitat started), you are the "Tweaker Tool". As @bertabcd1234, I and others have suggested, you can typically modify groovy code from SmartThings to run on Hubitat with little to no effort. If you get stuck, you can ask for help and you'll get a lot of great advice. Sometimes you'll even get a tweak done for you. All depends.

Here's some guidance as a start, that should help you understand what things to look for and change when porting groovy code from SmartThings to Hubitat. I'm not a coder either, but I would suggest at least familiarizing yourself with groovy code a little bit. It's going to make the transition easier.

You are in the UK, is that correct? There are already many Hubitat users in the UK, Europe and Australia. Many SmartThings users in just about every country where those devices you have would be popular. Try asking on the SmartThings forum about the device. The terminology is DTH on SmartThings. Just ask for a DTH for your devices and see what's available. If you find something more appropriate than what you've found so far, it would be a good base, or maybe a perfect fit for Hubitat.

Just trying to be straight forward with you about the reality of the platform. Good luck and do feel free to call on me. If I can help, I will. If I can suggest something or someone that might be able to help, I will. We're all on the forum (most of us anyway) because we want to learn and help each other.

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I had a similar requirement. I have a Dual Realy type device and I looked up the Manufacturers instructions and found that I had to set Parameter 1 with the value appropriate for the switch type. Sadly for me, the default is.. yea, momentary. I needed to set the parameter to be a 1. Because it's a Dual relay, I also had to set parameter 2 to be a 1 also.

I found a "configure ()" section that had a zwave command.

I duplicated the lines and updated the values:

zwave.configurationV1.configurationSet(parameterNumber:1, configurationValue: [1]).format(),
zwave.configurationV1.configurationSet(parameterNumber:2, configurationValue: [1]).format()

That was all it took. My Dual Relays now react to a toggle switch.

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Actually I am in China. There is nothing remotely here and besides I don't read/speak Chinese. I'm on my own.
I understand HA is an ongoing effort no doubt. I tweak my HA almost daily and did so in the Vera luup language environment. I can do some things, but I cannot sit down and just create code.

I appreciate the fact Hubitat is new. The purpose of my input as a user is to help Hubitat devs to improve their base product. An app that can access a z-wave device's attributes for initial parameter changes would be a powerful tool for users to get a device (any device) breathing so to speak.

Finally, I use a LAN interfaced security system (Elk M1) that 90% of my sensors connect to.(Motions, dr sensors, occupancy sensors) that are integral to pass state info into Hubitat for device control. (Motion lights, window shade control, alarm trip lighting, water and gas leak functions, etc)
So that becomes phase 2 for me. Phase 1 (right now) is just getting devices basic operation. I never suspected including a zwave device would whack it's internal parameters as it has.
A poster mentioned his dual relay device. Usually a controller would include this relay with a child device as well s each device is a single relay. With a app that tweaks zwave parameters, creating a child device would be easy in Hubitat.
I am not criticizing you guys. I want to see Hubitat develop into the ultimate controller and not being a coder, I can only offer ideas for your future FW or app development.

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I agree with you regarding the zwave device parameters. I have some devices that have no specific driver (TBK plug in switches and dimmers, Everspring relays) that have configuration parameters that I know details of, but have no way to access in Hubitat. I've got round it with a temporary bodged driver for the TBKs but could not use my Eversprings with a momentary switch if I needed to. I think some way of setting device parameters is essential.