C8 Hub, Completely Frustrated

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1

So I am currently beyond frustrated with the C8 Hub. Currently cant pair anything to the C8.

I been a Hubitat user since the C5. Last year I decided to upgrade my hub to the C8 model. Nothing was wrong with the C5, just felt like an upgrade would be nice. I followed the instructions with migrating everything over to the C8 with the migration tool. Thats where everything started going wrong. After many failed attempts of migrating, I learned at the time the migration tool was having issues. Patiently waited months for them to fix it. They finally fixed it and was able to migrate everything from my C5 to my C8.

Since then, its been months and months of issues. Both radio frequency (ZWave and Zigbee) not working reliably, constant automation issues, constant devices not being recognized by the hub. I spent almost 4 months constantly fixing something, or trying to at least. It finally came to the point where the hub was just a brick (to the point nothing would include or exclude to fix, nor could I get anything to work period). I was completely fed up and decided, "Lets just completely wipe this whole thing out to factory settings, and restart it all over again". Most my system is Caseta Switches, I maybe have 15-20 ZWave/Zigbee Devices, so this should be easy. Well here we are...

I factory reset the hub, wiped the whole entire thing. I tried to exclude as much devicess as I can before I reset it. That didnt go as planned, I couldnt get anything to exclude. So I was like "Ill just factory reset, and either exclude when I get it back running as a fresh system, or just factory reset the devices so it forces the exclusion".

Now here I am, still at the dead end of nothing excluding, nothing including. Factory reset every device multiple times, still wont include both Zigbee or ZWave. I honestly dont know what to do anymore besides take the hub outside and run it over with my truck and go to Home Assistant. As much as I dont want to do that yet, cuz I had such great success with the C5, I am basically all out of options.

My final move is to turn here for some help or insight on what is going on and how it can be fixed. All my Lutron devices came over without issue, as well as all my Bond devices using the integrations. Zigbee and Zwave is dead in the water...

Any direction or help will be appreciated

2

What exactly did you click to factory reset it?
How is hub being powered, and have you tried a different power source?
Factory supplied antennas?

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3

I am very sorry to hear about your struggle. This community is an awesome place to get quick help without the need to fight a misbehaving system alone.

It should be the first place to reach out to, even before you begin troubleshooting. Doing so could save you countless hours.

With that being said, based on the description provided, you may be dealing with a hardware malfunction. If you'd like to confirm (or rule that out), I suggest creating a warranty case by visiting the following page: Warranty – Hubitat Support

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4

Not sure if you upgraded to the C8 or the C8 Pro. If it's the Pro model, they're is an option to increase the power of the zigbee/z wave antenna under settings. I just upgraded to the Pro and couldn't get devices that were in the same room to stay connected. After changing the zigbee channel from 20 to 25 and incteasing the power setting to 16, devices started showing up after a scan. F.Y.I changing the channel may take some time as the devices will have to do a search. If you don't have the option to increase power, the channel route as mentioned by one of the other users is the next best path.

5

As non-intuitive as it may be, sometimes reducing the power helps with Zigbee connectivity.

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6

Same here. I ended up moving to the C8 pro and that fixed everything. I had endless problems with the C8. I have no idea why. But when I restored the backup to the c8 pro, the issues stopped and no problems ever since :crazy_face:

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7

Hate to agree here as i'm slightly annoyed about it but I was in the same boat.

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I really dont want to spend the money on a new hub again. I shouldn't have to. Next thing I will spend my money on is a Home Assistant Setup. I tried putting in a claim with them for warranty for a new hub. If its anything like their customer support i have had for the past 6 months, i guess I will have a paperweight sitting here..

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9

There is no logical reason that upgrading from a C8 to C8 Pro would fix any issues. Its nearly the same thing just with a faster processor and more RAM. I would never suggest that as a "fix" for your issues.

However if you read my post above and answer some questions maybe someone can offer some real advice.

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10

How have you been working with customer support for the last six months?

Above it seemed like you had come here after troubleshooting on your own for quite some time. And your last forum post was almost a year ago, so that would seem to track.

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11

Model: C8
Firmware: 2.3.9.184
Power Source: Provided Power Block
Direct Ethernet

Want me to provide the ZWave details page and Topology? Its nothing. The hub is completely wiped out and cant include anything anymore..

12

Did you go into the diagnoatic page and reset the radio itself? Or just did the factory reset.

Try doing that for thr zwave radio. Then shut it down and pull power for 1 min. Reboot and see if zwave will alllow a exclude then.

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Yes, at first i was told to unplug and let sit for 10 minutes. Doing this would reset the radios. I did that and it didnt work. Then I was told to go to the diagnostics page and reset the radios from there. I did that as well. Still didnt work. Its actually where I found that you can factory reset the hub. I honestly didnt know you can.

14

I checked your cases and I see you've created your first case this morning. Do you mind elaborating on previous support cases, I would like to understand how customer support has failed you in the past 6 months, since today's case is the first we received.

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15

Here we go, the regular Hubitat response. Its always on the customer/consumer. NEVER on your end. Find them. Thats your job, not mine. 2 other people on here seem to have the same issues. Must be all of our faults..

16

I would test with a different power block just to be sure its not a power issue, anything USB-A and 1A or greater should work. The C8 zwave radio is very sensitive to voltage changes.

Also try swapping the antennas (with hub powered off) in case one of them is defective a swap may allow z-wave to start working.

Are you using the supplied antennas?

17

I just tried a new power block. 5v, 3 amps from anker. It didnt even power on with this block. I am using the supplied antennas, but my zigbee doesnt work either. So i have no other antennas to try/swap

Screenshot 2024-09-29 at 6.34.39 PM
Screenshot 2024-09-29 at 6.34.39 PM1920×1249 152 KB

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My job is to make sure we provide outstanding customer support. Since you mentioned you've had less than stellar experience with our support, I am genuinely interested in learning more about your experience, so I can make sure that it doesn't happen to others. If you prefer to provide additional details about your encounters with our support, privately, please send me a direct message. I'd be happy to further assist.

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19

Yes because that is a USB-C supply, even though the hub has a USB-C input it does not negotiate for power like a true USB-C device, so often has issues with some of the USB-C supplies (depending on the cord used actually). Some C-C cords will force the default 5v but others will not and then do not work at all.

This is why I recommended a USB-A type supply, which always provides 5v without negotiation by the device. If you have any old phone chargers, usually those will work if they are 1A or greater.

I would still try the antenna swap, the zigbee and zwave issues are possibly unrelated, could be two different issues. I am more of an expert on Z-wave issues so I am focused on that.

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20

Not sure if this has been discussed, but I needed to increase the separation of other electronic gear from the C8 vice the C7. It is more susceptible to interference.

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