I just migrated from my C7 to a C8 (everything went super smooth)... I removed a Zooz Scene Controller that was S2 joined so I could re-add it and do a firmware update and I noticed the UI now gave me an option to add it with or without security. I thought you had do have that QR code to secure add a ZWave device.
Assuming this is a new feature of the C8 is there any difference doing it that way vs with the QR code ? It did read S2 Authenticated in Z Wave settings.
If you choose the Secure option, doesn't ask you for a code?
I've never used a QR code (that's the thing you scan with a phone, right?).
It did not ask me for a code. It just joined with S2 which surprised me. I expected to have to find the QR code or type in the DSK
So, you actually excluded it, and when you went to re-include, the hub didn't ask you for an S2 code? Weird.
That is correct.
I have another one to update so I will repeat more carefully later on today.
Did it join with S2 Auth or Unauth? You can see in Zwave details. Unauth does not need a DSK so it is slightly less secure for the pairing part, but once paired it is the same as S2 Auth.
Also, did you ever pair this device with SmartStart in the past? In that case the DSK would have been saved already and it may pair again without asking for it. I vaguely recall this happening to me, may have been with a Z-Wave replace (cannot remember exactly).
Joined with S2 Authenticated... But it was joined before as this was a switch around to do a firmware update. In the past I did do a Smartstart.
Just as an aside...many of us feel that there is no real reason to join Z-Wave devices w/security unless they are barrier devices (e.g., locks, garage doors). Joining devices w/S2 results in more chattiness on the mesh. I don't know if had a separate reason why you wanted this joined S2, but if it's just because S2 is available, you might be better off only joining barrier devices w/security in the future.
I think there's another theory that says that's no longer true and that it helps with the integrity of data transmission. That is, less of the 1 million volt readings on a power plug. I could be wrong.
Unless you deleted it from Smart Start, the DSK was still saved in there.
Yes I agree, S2 was only an issue with the early C7 Zwave firmware. Still probably not really needed for light switches, but should not hurt anything. I would use S2 for sensors though, for more reliable data in the transmissions.
Disagree. Maybe an occasional resync of the S2 nonce for a device but otherwise it's the same number of packets. Firmware update are a different story but those are rare and controlled by the user.
I use S2 on every device that supports it on both the C7 and C8.
@jtp10181 - Thats it - I didn't delete it from smart start.
Yeah, I was typing S2 while thinking (for some reason, maybe it was too hot that day 
) S0, S2's very chatty older sibling. I still don't pair anything but barrier devices using S2, haven't seen any reliability/responsiveness benefit on my mesh when I've re-paired devices from no security to S2 and back again, and prefer to avoid the slower FW updates when I'm lazy and do them via the hub's FW update utility rather than PC Controller.
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