Update 4-12-25: Possible alternate solution here (still recommend using driver on step #1 below): First Alert ZCOMBO (1st Gen) Smoke/CO not compatible with C8/C8-Pro? - #13 by Servalan
Discontinued First Alert ZCOMBO Smoke/CO alarms (Gen 1) are difficult to install/include on C8 hubs, and don’t appear to work with the pre-selected “Generic Z-Wave Smoke/CO Detector” driver. As these old units reach their end-of-life this post will become less relevant. But for those few of you still interested, here’s a solution that worked for me (somewhat verbose but detailed)…
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Install the “First Alert Smoke/Carbon Detector” driver found here: First Alert Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detector Model ZCombo
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Suggest to open Live Logs in separate window for monitoring actions during setup
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Perform Remove/exclude of ZCOMBO alarm from Devices page if already installed. Else, perform a general exclude from the Z-Wave details page. Exclusion steps: Start remove/exclusion, open smoke/co bat door, wait 5+ secs, close bat door while holding down the test button and release after beep.
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Reboot the hub. While rebooting, perform a factory reset on the ZCOMBO alarm (open smoke/co bat door, wait 5+ secs, close bat door while holding down the test button for 10 secs and release after long beep.)
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Perform standard Z-Wave inclusion from Devices > Add Device page. Inclusion steps: Start z-wave inclusion, open smoke/co bat door, wait 5+ secs, close bat door while holding down the test button and release after beep. IMPORTANT: Let the inclusion timer run out before moving to the next step.
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Reboot the hub. After restart you should now see a new node on the Z-Wave details page without a device (e.g. GENERIC_TYPE_SENSOR_ALARM). If not, repeat steps 3-5.
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This step requires patience… From Z-Wave details page, begin inclusion on the ZCOMBO alarm (open smoke/co bat door, wait 5+ secs, close bat door while holding down the test button and release after beep). Select “Discover” and then continue pressing “Refresh” every second or so. Check live logs to monitor if device wakes up and installs. If you get a Z-Wave network busy message on live logs, wait a minute or two, reboot hub and then repeat this step over until you see the device install from the live logs. This can take several minutes and several tries. Once Live Logs confirms installing the alarm, you’ll need to refresh the Z-Wave details page to see the newly added device.
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Go to the newly added device detail page (e.g. Sensor Alarm [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]). Change the driver type on Device Info tab from “Generic Z-Wave Smoke/CO Detector” to “First Alert Smoke/Carbon Detector” that was installed from step 1. Save and close.
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Ping from the Commands tab logs an error message (not working?). So, I perform a Refresh of the node from the Z-Wave details page after waking the alarm up (open bat door, wait 5+ secs, close bat door).
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Once Live Logs confirms unit checked-in I perform an alarm test on the alarm while checking the “Current States” on the Commands tab of the device’s detail page. Should see “Testing” for alarm state, co and smoke while testing, and “clear” when completed. Battery % also checks in.
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Rebooted hub for good measure.
Best of luck!
