I am having trouble trying to pair older Leviton devices with my new Hubitat C8. The switches were previously paired with a Vera and worked fine for years. They continue to function as switches – I just can’t pair them to the Hubitat and thus control them.
To date, here is what I have done:
Exclude devices in question from the old Vera hub.
Powered off the Vera hub to minimize any chance of unexpected z-wave interactions.
Excluded the devices using the Hubitat as well
Focused on a single device like those I am having issue with (Leviton VRCS1)
a. The device is free – sitting on my desk
b. Powered via an extension cord
c. Next to the Hubitat hub at this time
d. Repeated the zwave exclude multiple times (I received an “unknown zwave device unpaired” message one time and haven’t since)
I have attempted numerous times to pair this device without success. Here are the steps I am using each time:
Factory reset: Lift cover engaging air gap for a 10 count and then closing holding lower rocker until I see yellow then a red LED indicator releasing after
Put in pairing mode: After reset above lift cover engaging air gap for a 10 count and then close holding lower rocker until I see yellow and release causing it to blink yellow
I have tried variations of the above with the zwave include running before step 2 and with it starting after. The yellow blinking led seems to continue without pairing eventually timing out. I have tried initiating pairing without a factory reset – no joy.
Did you ever figure this out? I ran into the same problem with my VRI06 devices (our entire house has them).
The first issue I had was any type C charger makes the C8 Pro misbehave and then no Zwave devices will pair. Something doesn't seem right about the way the power negotiation works.
If I use the power brick it came with then I see exactly what you describe. It'll exclude an Unknown device. Sometimes it'll even say it sees a device and does "Initializing" but then times out.
I was never able to make it work. Pairing with the Vera is super fast and works every time though.
The instructions for these Leviton devices are extremely confusing especially since they constantly reference some goofy programming remote system. So the key thing is figuring out how to put the device into inclusion / exclusion mode. Sometimes its the same for both and sometimes they each have their own button press sequence. I cannot figure it out from the manual I found.
First, try excluding the device, this is just to be sure it is excluded and also to test the comms with the hub. It will say unknown device excluded.
With that working, open the live logs in a new tab
Go to Devices > Add > ZWave > Start Inclusion, wait about 5 seconds.
Put the device into inclusion mode.
You should see some log entries going within 5-10 seconds if inclusion starts.
It does not do any PD negotiation, it just expects the normal 5v which should be the default output from any certified source from what I understand. Other people have reported issues with C<>C cables getting no power at all, but typically an A<>C cable works fine.
The issue is using a real type C charger doesn't provide enough power, which means something is wrong with the type C hardware in the hubitat. If I use one my type C phone chargers the C8 Pro does boot but the Zwave radio doesn't work. These real type C chargers can provide much more power than the type A one that ships with it can though. I similarly see lots of reports of PoE splitters causing issues. Something isn't right with the way type C is implemented on the C8 and Pro.
Yes that is the same symptoms as using a cheap PoE splitter. Someone did a bunch of testing and found unstable voltage seems to be causing the z-wave radio to malfunction. So possibly the source you tried to use is outputting unstable voltages similar to the inexpensive PoE splitters.
To answer the question - I have not resolved the issue.
I have also re-configured and now have a Aeotec controller as a slave so I can remove devices that aren't fully paired.
I am moving from Vera to Hubitat. While the Leviton devices are old and the process of pairing is odd/not consistent they did pair with Vera every time. I have excluded and confirmed . . . but pairing with the Hubitat is an issue. It seems like it is more than just following the device process (which I outlined at the start of the thread).
Someone out there must have Leviton devices paired to Hubitat. Why am I not able to do the same?
@larryk to add to what @jtp10181 asked, have aside from exclusion, have you turned off your vera hub while attempting to pair and have you done a factory reset on the devices themselves?
The issues I am having are with Levtion only. I have successfully paired other devices to hubitat.
I am using the power supply that came with the Hubitat.
I have powered off the Vera during these exercises.
At the start of the thread I called out the process - first a factory reset. Then a pair attempt. I have done exclusion attempts in between or before. No joy.
