More Robust Way to Upgrade Z-Wave Device Firmware?

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Z-Wave firmware updates are slow and not very reliable. I have lots of switches in my house and I am looking for an easier, quicker, more robust way to update the firmware on them.

I know proximity to the hub and other factors play into it. What I am looking to do is get a Z-Wave USB stick for my laptop and then be able to go around to each switch and update the firmware using that.

This doesn't make much sense if I need to completely remove the device and re-set up all the associations (e.g. Rules, button controllers, etc) because that would be a crazy amount of work.

I have various little issues with a lot of my switches (mainly Zooz and Inovelli) and after upgrading a few of them to the latest versions, I am noticing they work a lot better, so that's my reason for wanting to upgrade the other ones around the house.

Is this even feasible? Is there a way I can exclude a switch from my Hubitat hub, include it to the USB Z-Wave controller, do the firmware update, exclude it from the USB controller, and re-include to Hubitat without having to delete the device and re-set up all the associations?

Is there another recommended way to upgrade these things that's quicker and more reliable? I am open to any number of ideas as long as it makes the process a little quicker and more reliable.

Thanks!

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Yes if you have a C7 but the associations will be reset. If you have the settings and associations in an app or settings though, they may get reapplied. This would be similar as if you updated it right from the hub, usually the settings are reset after an update and have to be re-applied.

You can also include the USB stick as a secondary controller and then do as you said and bring it close to the device. You can update the firmware from the secondary controller and at first it may route through other devices but it will eventually settle on a direct route from the stick to the device and it goes pretty quick. I have done this before and it works pretty good.

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You don't. If you have a C-7 hub, the "Replace" feature on Settings > Z-Wave Details lets you add a "new" (or reset, etc.) device by re-using the existing node ID for failed nodes, which your device should easily become after being off your network for the update (a "Refresh" or two should speed that up if not). So, that's one option.

On any model hub, the Settings > Swap Apps Device feature also lets you choose (almost) any device to "trade places with" in the hub database. Perhaps most commonly, this would be a new device you paired to replace an old device, so you'd swap them and then remove the old device. This does not work with child devices, but it's otherwise a pretty easy process.

If nothing else, you really shouldn't have to "re-build" rules or other apps, as you should be able to swap out devices manually in each app, including rules, the old-fashioned way. This assumes the old device is still available, which it should be as long as you don't exclude it from the hub. (You can reset it or use another hub/controller to do a general exclusion.) But this is a bit of clicking if you have a lot of apps or complicated ones like some rules, so I understand it may not be desirable. There is something else that can help: cloning an app will offer the option to replace devices with other devices, so especially for complicated apps, that may be faster (clone, choose replacements, remove old app).

Yet another option is to use a secondary controller, which should theoretically be able to join to your hub's network and perform the update. Then there is no need to mess with anything on the hub afterwards, but if you have devices that need re-included after updates (as some Zooz devices do, but also potentially others), it doesn't really gain anything. Hubitat also doesn't officially support modifying your network via secondary controllers, though I don't think this really counts as long as you don't use it to add/remove nodes (though many people do so still).

If you don't want to have to bother with any of this in the first place, it tends to help when the hub is close to the device (as you know) and when the rest of the network is "quiet," it seems. So, making sure things like power monitoring devices aren't causing a bunch of traffic during an update would be good to check as well. But I do tend to have much more luck doing this on either a dedicated hub (only this device or a few others on the network) or "USB stick" controller, ideally near the device.

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Awesome. I learned a lot here! I think I wanna tinker with a USB stick and see how that goes. I see a lot of different ones on Amazon. Any recommendations on which one to get? I will probably use my MacBook Pro or my Ubuntu Linux laptop if that makes a difference. Thanks!

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I have found the secondary controller path using a UZB stick to not to be as reliable as using a UZB as the primary controller. But definitely worth a try as it's simpler. I've also use the Replace option, but also found that to sometimes be a little hit and miss.

I updated some Z-Wave devices recently using PC Controller app and a UZB stick as primary controller. It's pretty quick and easy. What I did:

  1. Reset the device (local button presses on the device. You can also exclude it using any other Z-Wave controller (like a second HE hub, SmartThings hub, or UZB stick). Just don't exclude them w/the hub they are currently attached to or you will bork your automations using them!

  2. Connected the device to my UZB stick in the PC Controller app and did the FW update.

  3. Excluded and then re-joined the device to my hub.

  4. Ran Swap Apps Device to swap in the new for the old. Of course you're really just swapping the same device, the new instance replacing the old.

Easy-peasy. FW udpates using the UZB stick as the primary controller are the fastest and most reliable for me. No issues.

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Pretty low tech but when I need to update firmware on Z-Wave devices - I'm looking at you, iBlinds - I use a 100 foot Ethernet cable from my router, move the hub close to the device, and plug the power supply into a nearby outlet. Shut down before moving and powering up, of course.

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Yeah after messing with a Z-Stick this weekend, Iā€™m thinking this might be the best option. Excluding/including and doing all that other BS is a PITA. Iā€™m guessing moving the hub closer is probably the easiest. :cry:

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