I'm new to Habitat and had already missed that ghosts get created often when an add goes wrong.
I only have 50 or 60 devices moved over so far. They won't delete (did the soft reset stuff too) I have not tried the stick approach yet, but don't mind doing it all again if it's going to make it more stable in the long run. though I do have sticks and software from my current Homeseer setup. However, I can lock my own locks for a couple more days
Anyway...
I know to look and deal with ghosts that show up with any add now as they happen.
I know rule machine says not to click the back button,
I know to add devices starting closest to the hub.
I know to add all my powered devices before anything with batteries.
What else should I be careful/aware of???
I've been told to always add battery powered devices within a few feet of the hub in the past and then move them to where they'll live long-term. Is that still true with Hubitat C8's?
Or is this just true for locks? I have all four Z-Wave locks on the C8 currently and they added just fine from where they are mounted. Even the Schlege's that go into whisper mode when adding. I have no issue moving them to the hub to add them if I need to. I've seen comments about issues becoming apparent over time and will have no issue doing whatever it takes to avoid those kinds of things from the start.
Honestly, seems like you've already figured out all the big things.
This advice seems to stem from the days of classic Z-Wave before the feature called NWI, or Network-Wide Inclusion. If you still have devices that do not support this feature, you may need to do this (some locks in particular needed to be very close, others just in direct range). If you have all Z-Wave Plus devices, this should theoretically not be necessary, and if anything, it would be better to pair them in-place so they don't have to discover new routes later -- and if you have a range problem, say because they won't include, you'll know right away instead of figuring it out when you have problems later.
Zigbee has always been able to do this, but I guess one set of advice was easier than specifying protocols. In any case, the protocol is what the issue is here, not so much the hub itself (though the C-8 will probably give you more direct connections to more devices than older models or other hubs with internal antennas). For either protocol, this is one reason that having your powered devices -- your repeaters/routers -- in place first is helpful.
Thanks! Every light switch in my house is a powered z-wave device, so in theory as you said, if they are Z-Wave plus I should have no issues. Nothing for Zigbee or Z-Wave is more than 10 or 15 feet from a repeater, even in the garage and outside.
Again...thanks for the detailed response! I may move two of the 4 locks closer.
In addition to the good suggestions provided above, this is common recommendation from various manufacturers who are more concerned about their device(s) including on the first try, rather than overall mesh network agility.
As a rule of thumb to avoid inclusion failures, you may want to run an exclusion first. Doing so ensures that the device is within range and might help avoid inclusion problems.
One of the things this link says is to update the z-wave radio on z-wave details page. I have a C8 and don't find those buttons...any idea where I do that now?
The C-8 has not (yet?) had any Z-Wave radio firmware updates. Even on a C-7, you also won't see that button if your firmware is currently up to date; presumably, the same will apply to the C-8.
