C-7 suddenly stopped controlling z-wave devices

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1

I have a C-7 hub currently running platform 2.4.2.134. A couple weeks ago, I upgraded the firmware, added some lights that didn’t play well my GE Enbrighten switch, and added a lamp module (node) that had trouble connecting to the hub all about the same time. All that to say, if I’d done just one thing perhaps I’d be able to pinpoint the problem.

Well, I lost control of all my z-wave devices (about 17 in total). I rolled the firmware back, no dice. Rolled it farther back, still no dice. Tried resetting the z-wave antenna (shutting down, unplugging the hub, waiting), no dice. Tried z-wave system repair under the newer and older firmware versions, no dice. Tried repairing the individual nodes, no dice. Of course tried multiple reboots with each version of the firmware, no dice. Tried the alternate US frequency somewhere in all that, no dice.

BUT THEN, I tried removing some old nodes from my network that I’d just never removed when they died (these are confirmed hardware failures), and suddenly the system came back to life…for a few minutes, and went right back to not working. Alright! Progress!!

I have some additional nodes I only put out at Christmas for lights that I’d also left in the device list (but aren’t plugged in). So, after restoring from an old back up and returning to the latest firmware, I removed all those, removed all the dead pieces of hardware, and the system came back long enough for me to get all the devices working with Alexa again (I’d removed all the nodes in case the Hubitat Alexa apps might have been causing an issue). “SUCCESS!,” I thought!! Everything worked with the new firmware and Alexa was controlling everything correctly.

Until an hour or so later, everything stopped working again. I’d read that doing too many repairs might be a problem, but at this point I was desperate and tried a system repair. It’s just “sat and spun” never completing. Rebooted. No dice.

I’m at the end of my rope. The device list is clean (no unused nodes), and everything SEEMS to be set correctly. I REALLY don’t want to have remove every node, factory reset them, and start over from scratch…and since there have been “signs of life” I feel like there’s probably something small I’m missing?

Please help??

2

It sounds like you've done some good troubleshooting. Two things I don't see mentioned: any particularly "chatty" devices like power monitoring plugs? And anything S0 that doesn't need to be? This doc has more on both, plus some ideas you've already tried:

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Thanks for the quick reply! In checking the security column, all my devices say “None” or “S2 Authenticated.” I’ll look at a couple specific devices’ info and see if anything might indicate S0.

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That information should match, so you probably don't have any. I'd still check out the other tip.

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5

The only devices I have are dimmer switches, dimmer lamp modules, outdoor on/off switches, and one z-wave outlet. If I understand your meaning correctly, nothing that is “power monitoring.”

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Oh, meant to say I tried deleting what I thought were “ghost nodes” too (devices in the z-wave settings device list that did not have a name). That was also not productive…actually seemed to make everything STOP working once I’d gotten it going again. But it’s hard to say if it just stopped on its own like I described above.

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Many of these offer that feature, though it depends on the specific device. Look at "Current States" to see if it's ever reported power, energy, current, or anything similar, and check "Events" or make sure at least description text logging is enabled (it is by default) to see how often. The first two appear on the device detail page; the logging appears in Logs (and enabling debug logging will show even more).

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Need confirmation / screenshots on all of this :point_down:

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I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT! Turns out the new lights I installed (which were internally Alexa enabled) was causing the GE Enbrighten switch controlling them to malfunction!! I noticed the blue LED indicator on the switch randomly flickering, so (thinking the switch might have gone bad), removed it from my z-wave network. When I did that?? Everything started working again! So I just replaced the 2 light fixtures, reset the GE switch, added back and VOI LA!! Everything works!

Thank you all for your assistance! Turns out it was some hardware throwing a wrench in the works!

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10

do tell, what were the model/brand of lights, so we can avoid them like the plague

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Lumary Smart Gimbal LED Recessed Lighting 4 Inch, 360°+ 90° Adjustable, ETC & COB Light, 7W 550lm RGBCW Directional Lights Eyeball Color Changing Lights, Work with Alexa Google Assistant, 1 Pack

12

Were you trying to use these lights on a circuit controlled by a smart switch?

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The circuit was not controlled by a smart switch. The load (the light fixture I mentioned) was controlled by a z-wave switch.

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A switch creates a circuit between itself and the fixture, so that is what he meant. Not the entire run back to the circuit breaker panel.

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15

You cannot use a smart light in the fashion you are trying to do so. This isn't the fault of the light, it is misuse of the product.

Nearly all these smart lights are meant to be wired to continuous power. They become very angry if they get power cut, or dimmed power to them. They can be damaged by doing so as well.

Even non-dimmable bulbs can really mess with a smart switch, one time I accidentally put in a bulb that wasn't rated to be dimmed, and my lights were flashing on and off like a cheap disco dance hall.

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Except I’ve used this exact same light with the exact same switch in another room and had no issue. I guess I just got lucky there.

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@wdavidrichardson ,
I started my Hubitat world with GE Embrighten wall and plug-in switches a few years ago, To date, I've had to replace nearly all of them, some causing the problem you've encountered. They don't handle power failures well - it's a known design issue where a power-outage (not necessarily a surge) kills an internal component, and others just die eventually. I suggest abandoning those and buy a bunch of replacements. My Hubitat quality-of-life has improved greatly with those gone. Zooz had proven solid for me so far.

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