I just added my first two zwave devices. They are both GE/Jasco devices. One is a 26931 and the other is a 14291.
I tried to pair the 14291 and the hubitat immediately found the device (called device 02). However, it hung up on the initializing screen for over 10 minutes. So I noticed that there was a red dot on the upper right hand corner and it said there was a new update. The new update said it would help to fix zwave issued like the one I was having. So I installed the update.
After the update, I could not install the 14291. I tried to exclude, I tried the factory reset of the GE switch (3up/down and open up the air gap), I tried to reset the entire zwave as I had no devices there anyhow. I gave up and I moved to the 26931 and had no problems as it installed as device 03.
I am wondering if there is some hidden setting I am missing that will allow me to exclude the device or to properly reset it. Any thoughts?
I bought these switches on Amazon Warehouse. They came with free tech support from Amazon (which was one of the reasons why I bought it through the warehouse, save about $6 and get tech support to ensure it will work).
They suggested that I remove the working switch and then add the non-connected switch. Sure enough this worked. Although they are now connected as devices 4 and 5, not that makes a big difference to me.
I would guess the issue you had pairing the 14291 was due to distance from the hub and lack of repeaters at the time. Moving the switch most likely gave it a better signal to the hub (either because it was closer or less interference like plastic vs metal box) so it succeeded in pairing. I had issues when I mass migrated my devices where a few Z-Wave switches wouldn't pair then the next day I tried again after pairing others and I was able to pair the few that wouldn't before.
In addition to what @Terk said, you should read the building a solid Zwave mesh in the docs. https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Build_a_Solid_Z-Wave_Mesh
It can be difficult getting started with a mesh network, Zigbee or Zwave, if you don't have many devices. Starting by adding devices close to the hub is a good start. Keep in mind that radio waves travel in straight lines. The radio waves lose strength as they travel through walls, furniture etc.
I would agree with both comments. I have 6 GE/Jasco Switches that I just moved to Hubitat. All of them moved easy but two of them. Those I had to move the hub nearby and then paired with no issues. My dimmer switch was the hardest to deal with.
