Getting my feet wet with PC Controller and a Zooz Z-Stick. All 500 series Zooz 4-in-1 sensors are now security=none, as are all my other Z-Wave devices.
Correct me if my assumptions are wrong.
In the list of nodes, there is a check box for listening node (Lsn). Many of the nodes are checked and there is no way to uncheck it so I presume they have been identified as a listening node.
The other nodes have blank Lsn check boxes. Am I correct to assume if the device is battery operated it is only a listening node not a repeater and if the node is line powered, the node is a listening node and also a repeater?
I am unsure of what I am doing and don’t want to blindly change something without understanding why.
Am I correct to pair all my Z-Wave devices with security=none?
The listening checkbox is, as you note, read-only--so no worries about accidentally changing anything there. This is a flag set in the Node Information Frame (NIF), sent during pairing (possibly on other occasions too--I'm not sure of the details beyond that). These are normally going to be mains-powered (or USB- or C-wire-powered) devices, as opposed to battery devices. And again, the mains-powered (or USB, etc.) devices are going to be repeaters, whereas no battery device is going to be a repeater--it would drain the batteries too fast.
I think spec requires this, so it should match up as you note. I'm not aware of any exceptions (except devices that can be powered either way, where this is determined at pairing and it won't magically become a repeater if you switch to USB from batteries, for example--and more disastrously, it won't stop repeating if paired the other way and switched to batteries later). There may be some, but I'm not sure they'd be certified by the Z-Wave Alliance, which most devices are/should be.
There isn't technically a "correct" way for most devices, except devices like locks and garage door controllers that may require security to function correctly (and where it's probably a good idea regardless). But many people do recommend avoiding security elsewhere when possible, particualrly S0, which has much more overhead than S2, the current generation of Z-Wave security. Some people still avoid S2, but the Alliance seems to be encouraging it (and requiring it for Z-Wave Long Range, coming soon?). It should be less problematic, though--aside from a few devices that seem to have wonky firmware, like at least one other product from a manufacturer you mentioned previously.
So if a box is not checked, what would checking it do?
Still fighting with a Fibaro The Button. It is in the node list, and I have hit Update many many times yet it is not on the list of devices in the app,
