Reset C8, start from scratch

[Tom415]

Hi I'm very new to the HE platform. Recently purchased a C8. What do I need to do to reset the C8 so I can rebuild with a clean slate. I'm coming from the Vera platform, which is pretty much plug and play. What I'm learning is the HE platform takes a little more finesse and the Zwave network is extremely delicate. Had some issues (TLDR below) that have me to the point to returning the C8. But I'd like to give it another chance with a clean slate. Thanks!!

TLDR version,
I recently purchased a C8, coming from the Vera Platform. My home automation system is very small. Just a few Zwave devices. I slowly transitioned my devices to the C8, about 1 a night. Things were working well.

After a few days, (at this point I only had 4-5 devices connected to the C8) the system was very slow to respond in the morning. By afternoon response was a little faster, but not what I would call back to normal. By evening my the evening automations would run ok and things seemed to be back to normal.

The next morning it would be back to very slow response.

I started removing devices and drivers. Last one added, first one to be removed. No improvement.

I noticed a high amount of zwave ghost devices. At one point around 75.

I may have been a little too impatient at this point. I did a soft reset, and reset the zwave radio hoping to be starting with a clean slate.

I tried to add just one device, a Minoston dimmer outlet. The C8 would not add it. I did a factory reset of the outlet and the C8 still will not add it.

But by morning I'd have about 30-50 ghost devices.

I've returned all my devices back to the Vera and all are working as expected.

What am I doing wrong? What should I be doing differently?
I think I may have not done the Zwave inclusion/exclusion properly.
Is this an issue related to the C8 being so new and I should wait for things to settle down with new firmware?

Currently I've done a Zwave radio reset, a soft reset, shutdown and unplugged the C8 from mains power. Anything else I should do before I try again?

Thanks!!!

[FriedCheese2006]

The key is to take it slow. After removing a device from Vera, I would use the exclude function in Hubitat to make sure that the device is completely unpaired. Then include it. Start with mains power devices first. Start with the device closest to the hub and work your way outward in a circle. After pairing each device, make sure that the routing table looks good and that the device functions from the device page before moving on to the next one. Pair your battery powered devices last. Any device that gives the option to pair with no security, select the no security option, except for entry related devices (locks, garage door opener, that sort of thing).

If you have sensors (power, temp, humidity), be sure to throttle back their reporting frequency, if the driver gives the option to. Some can get quite chatty.

[bobbyD]

@Tom415

give it another chance with a clean slate.

If you'd like to start over, follow steps 1-4 in this post:

How to factory reset the hub for the purposes of resale?

You certainly do not need to open a ticket to reset your own hub. Following are the steps that should be performed: Connect to hub and click Settings on the left menu, then select Z-Wave Details. On the Z-Wave Details page, reset the radio by typing "reset" in the Reset Z-Wave Radio field. Go back to Settings and select Zigbee Details. Reset the radio by typing "reset" in the Reset Zigbee Radio field. Go to Diagnostic Tool and select "Soft Reset" (make sure you mark the checkbox to "Also cle…

[rlithgow1]

@Tom415 If you haven't seen it, take a gander at this. it will help you avoid some gotchas and make setup much smoother.

Are you new to home automation or Hubitat or coming from a different platform such as SmartThings, Vera, or Wink? This may help!

Just throwing this out there. It may or may not be a help and I'm sure many others will contribute to this thread. Here are a few things to start you off. Z-wave Devices: 1: You do not need Wink/ST/Vera etc. to exclude your existing z-wave devices. Hubitat can do the exclusion for you. (Make sure you turn off your old hub first!) In most cases this is sufficient before pairing. Sometimes though you may need to factory reset the device. Non Plus z-wave devices may have to be included/excluded …

[Mayhem]

@rlithgow1 for me this should be standard reading for many people moving into home automation. I moved to Hubitat about 6 months ago after about 10 years on Indigo (Mac) and 4 on Vera before that were all Z-Wave.
Hubitat is very different in its presentation but the underlying rules of operation of Zigbee and Z-Wave are the same. Just lobbing this stuff in cause pain further on. (Experience )
I did that with my first 2 c7’s and all was fine. No it wasn’t. I had about 5 ghost devices from pairing impatience. Didn’t really notice them and a few days later mesh was running like a dog with 3 legs. Getting rid of them was almost impossible so went down the route of using an Aeon USB zwave device and S.W. Cleared them out and instant karma.

Also environment. Look at what your device has to transmit through to get to its next nodes or hub. Particularly Zigbee. Higher frequency so less distance. Double glazing was my nemesis. Especially good quality like Pilkington that has coatings to reflect solar radiation. Bounces radio waves off it like pee off a cling filmed toilet bowl.
Great link to useful information. Wish I had read it earlier.