A few devices work so poorly now

You likely have a Z-wave ghost. Post your z-wave details page

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Or deux. :slight_smile:

@rmann - before making any other changes, put the C8 back on it's original power supply, the one that came with it, to remove any variables from that. Then post your Z-Wave Details page as requested.

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I've updated the original post with the Z-Wave details (sorry I forgot to be more specific, it was very late and I was frustrated again by not being able to turn on the light in my bedroom, and have kept putting off asking for help).

The Hub is back on its original power supply.

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The advice to look at the logs was good, and I had actually meant to do that. It's showing much more complex failures than I had gleaned from observing behaviors alone. It seems those few devices are not to blame, entirely.

For example, the button remotes seem to be sending events just fine, but the command to the switch is getting lost (maybe).

I see in my node list there are nodes with no corresponding device. I decided to remove those (by clicking Refresh until Remove appears), but only one successfully removed. The others all spin a bit but remain after clicking Remove.

Following the advice here doesn’t seem to help, at least for node 0x25, for example, as the previous and following GENERIC_TYPE_SWITCH_BINARY are all powered off.

One of my devices (0x14) refuses to show the Remove button no matter how many times I refresh.

Yeah, you have a a bunch of ghosts...see this topic and begin w/the section on the hub's built-in ghost removal tools. Until you remove them your mesh/devices will not function properly.

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Just wondering .. I see people get "ghosts" How does this happen ?
I Only have 6 devices but thinking adding more ..

During the pairing process "something goes wrong" and the device does not complete pairing properly. Looks like a fail, so you try again and the next time (hopefully) pairing completes normally.

What you don't know if you don't look at the Z-Wave Details page when the pairing fails, is that the pairing has not completed (= ghost created). If you catch it and remove it right away it usually will be removed easily using the Refresh/Remove process.

As for what "something goes wrong" means I can't cover the technical details, but something in the Z-Wave communication during pairing fails, presumably due to mesh weakness. Hence the support docs that cover how to build a strong mesh.

Sorry - I'm not the guy for a deep explanation of the techincal details behind my mumbo-jumbo. :slight_smile: Maybe @jtp10181 can provide more deets.

Thanks danabw So best practice would be
If it does not complete do not try again TILL you remove the other one first ?
Then try again to pair ?

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Absolutely - confirm on the Z-Wave details page that the entry is complete, and by controlling the device from the device's page after paring it. If it's a bad pair, remove immediately. I also find it can be helpful to shut down/pull power/wait 30s/restore power in the middle of adding Z-Wave devices if you're adding a lot at one time.

Only exception is some battery devices may not show routing in the final column which is usually indicative of a ghost, but not so w/battery powered devices.

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Good to know .. God zigbee seem way easier LOL
I would have 100"s of ghost if that was the case with zibee lol

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Yes that would be best to remove before it gets out of hand.

Also they can be created if you force remove a device from the hub devices list, without excluding it. Then you can be left with a node that is still connected but no device entry. Not really a ghost but would look like it. Also happens if you factory reset the device (or it breaks) leaving the node dead.

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Thanks for adding the additional potential "paths to Z-Wave unhappiness." :slight_smile:

Seems like I may not getting more of them .. then ! LOL
I will stick with ZigBee if that's the case ! ( Wipes Brow ) really lucky they paired the first try ! LOL

Yes, Zigbee is way more forgiving and so much easier to reset/re-pair, since it slots back into its old position.

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I have had to use device swap and re-pair soooo many times with zigee !
and yes it is cool :slight_smile:

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IMO its not really as big of a deal as people make it out to be.
I always have 2-3 unplugged devices on my mesh, basically same a ghost node. Never causes any problems.

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Well .. it seems like a problem for the OP and many others I see on this forum, IDK
I have enough problems as it is .. with this darn thing !
Then to create other problems that I can't fix! LOL

Really depends on the devices and the mesh...I had a ghost that was a "long-term" guest a year or two ago. I finally removed it using the UZB stick method just because it bothered me, but never had an effect on my other Z-Wave devices. I've also had some Z-Wave devices offline for varying periods of time w/out issues. But...if things act up, it ain't fun.

Really seems it is a problem .. would be cool if someone ( dev ) or the higher ups would
create a driver or a app or someway to just remove the darn things from the chipset.
and all you would do is reboot the radio or hub. and wooolaaa it was gone. :confused:
Seems weird you have to go through such extremes and buying AUSB stick and Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera. Just to delete a device that you don't want. I don't know. I don't know how this stuff works, but just seems to me it should be way easier, just kind of like how zigbee is.
I mean if a USB stick can do it .. why can not the HUB do it ?

https://community.hubitat.com/search?q=z-wave%20ghost