Is there a difference between rebooting via the UI compared to physically unplugging and power-cycling the device?
I've noticed after installing the last few updates, my Z-Wave network stops working pretty much entirely. After a fair amount of troubleshooting, restarts, downgrading versions, restoring from backups I have found the issue can be cured by unplugging the device and plugging it back in - no other steps required.
These seems to happen every time an update is installed, and happened again today immediately after installing 2.3.4.132.
When this happens, the 'Route' column in Settings > Z-Wave Details appears empty for all devices.
This is a C-7 hub purchased in 2022, which is currently linked to ~90 Jasco switches (latest S2 model), and a few Fibaro flood sensors.
It's not the end of the world now that I know how to fix, but it seems to me rebooting via the UI should be the same as unplugging. Is this a bug?
It isn’t. Rebooting doesn’t cut power to the zigbee and zwave radios, whereas power-cycling (after a shutdown) does. And no, it isn’t a bug.
That being said, there is something awry if the zwave radio needs to be power cycled every few days.
I would encourage you to figure out what the issue is. Have you updated the zwave radio firmware? Are there any ghosts or stranded devices? Do you have a lot of devices that report frequently? And is there a reason you’ve included 90-odd devices with S2 security?
Yes; a Settings > Shut Down is the recommended method because it will politely stop all hub processes, perhaps the most important of which is safely closing the database. Pulling power without a proper shutdown (or restart) risks corruption.
But, as mentioned above, there is a difference between a regular shut down and pulling power after a shut down. As long as USB/power is connected, the Z-Wave radio remains powered. To fully power cycle that, you'll need to pull power (at least 30 seconds or so is generally recommended) after a regular hub shutdown, then reconnect power to restart both. That can help with some odd Z-Wave radio issues, but with recent (and long ago) updates, the need to do that should be severely reduced. If you aren't on the latest hub platform version (2.3.4, as of my writing -- sounds like you are) or Z-Wave radio firmware version (see if there's a Firmware Update button at the top of the Settings > Z-Wave Details page, and click it if so), I would recommend both. But if you need to do this on a regular basis despite all of this, I agree with trying to see what else might be going on.
