I don't see any C-4's for sale on the hubitat website. Does anyone know if we can still get them or is it better to get the new C-5 and just use the stick that came with the C-4 (so I can keep my device pairings) ?
Thoughts?
I don't see any C-4's for sale on the hubitat website. Does anyone know if we can still get them or is it better to get the new C-5 and just use the stick that came with the C-4 (so I can keep my device pairings) ?
Thoughts?
I think someone was able to basically special-order a C4 recently by contacting staff directly. I don't see any publicly listed for sale. Not sure how willing they are to do this, but it seems to have been possible at least recently.
Are you currently using a C4 with an external stick? Otherwise, I don't understand this question. Either the C4 or a C5 will let you use an external stick (adapter required for the C5, which has only a micro USB port). On the C4, of course, that was the only way. If you currently have your devices paired internally to a C5, moving to another hub will involve a lot of work for Z-Wave and a bit of work (just resetting and re-pairing--but not creating new Hubitat devices, so all your automations will still work afterwards) for Zigbee.
Between using a C4 or a C5 with an external stick, I guess the difference is up to you. They're almost identical besides the fact that the C5 is a bit prettier with no unused ports and otherwise identical specs.
I requested 1 C4 and 1 C5, and they were able to accommodate. So there is still stock it seems.
I have a C4 with external stick now and I think maybe it is going bad? Not sure.... but one last ditch idea was to get another hub and try that out...
I am all zigbee-all the time ... so maybe it is not so difficult to port everything from a C4 to a C5?
Is there any particular reason why a C4 USB stick would be less robust than the C5 integrated radios? The USB stick is a mechanical connection while the integrated radios are an electrical connection - that would be my only guess at a benefit.
Zigbee is easier.. which is not at all the same as 'easy'
Every Zigbee device will have the C4's network number and that will not be the same as the network number of a second Hub.
However, if you did a backup of your C4 and restored it on your C5, then as you reset each Zigbee device and paired it to the new C5, it would 'drop right in' to the old automations. This is because for Zigbee, the device specific number is hard coded and therefore matches (always) with the device number in the DB.
What if you moved from one C4 to another and moved the existing external Zigbee stick across to the new one, would that avoid having the re-pair each device?
I bought a bare C4 recently as backup for my existing C4. I just PMed Bruce and he sorted me out very quickly. I think he said they have plenty left.
Yes, a C4 to C4 is as straightforward as you suggest. The whole Nortec USB stick moves to the new hub and a restore of the old DB would put you back in biz.
@csteele - can you put the C4 stick on a C5 and restore the C4 database to the C5 and similarly be back in biz?
not really. As far as I know, the Zigbee side of the Nortec USB stick doesn't disable the internal Zigbee radio. For ZWave, yes.
I have Zigbee disabled on my Zwave only C4:
Or are you talking the C5βs? Since it would be duplicated?
Sorry, I wasn't detailed enough.. When you plug in an External ZWave USB stick, the Platform automagically disables the internal ZWave radio.. so there's only one. I don't know if that 'automagic' part is true for Zigbee.
Ah gotcha. I have seen @bravenel mention the Nortek stick will work in the C5 via micro-usb adapter but thatβs a good question on what happens to the internal radios and which one takes precedence.
I purchased 2 of the USB Y cables several months back, as a Just In Case... took me 2 hours to find them, but now I have the ability to test.
Built-in Zigbee:
--
After adding external Nortec USB:
Apparently Zigbee has 'automagic' too