So… I got a whole box of UZB3 sticks

Maybe they thought you wanted 700 sticks?

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I saw what you did there. :wink:

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I read ghost nodes go away by themselves after some time. Is that not true?

I have not had issues with ghost nodes. Reports on this forum suggest the stick is the only sure fire way to kill them.

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As @cwwilson08 indicates, using an USB stick just works. It can be a bit of effort to initially setup the software, but once in place it works well.

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Only if the device whose incomplete pairing caused them is not powered, i.e. remove battery, or disconnect from mains.

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So one of my Zooz dimmer switches was not responding and the Zooz support team asked me to exclude the device. I didn't want to lose the automations so instead today I did another inclusion that generated a new working dimmer switch. I then force removed the original, unresponsive device. The original device no longer shows up in my device list but this is what the original entry looks like when I go to Settings->Zwave details:

Will that entry go away on it's own or do I need a UZB stick to remove it? I've already tried the remove button shown but it just refreshes the page and does nothing. I don't notice any sort of performance or other ill effect of the entry being there but it's my OCD that wants to have it removed.

Anytime you are clicking buttons on this page it is a good practice to have another browser window open and view the live logs at the same time. With refresh and remove etc, the page can refresh quickly but the command is still being executed in the background. The log window give you insight to what is taking place.

In your case the ghost device will not be removed automatically over time because the physical device is still powered and in the mesh. You will not be able to manually remove it from the zwave details page either while the device is still powered.

Yes you need to get rid of it even if you are not noticing any issues.

Since it’s a dimmer, you can pull out the air gap on the switch and on this page try clicking the remove. It may take care of it for you. If it doesn’t work after a couple attempts, next I would suggest shutting down the hub, pull power for a minute, boot back up and try again.

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The advise @steve.maddigan is solid for how to remove the ghost.

Next time you have to re-include a device try doing a "Replace" as I have outlined in this post. So far I have used it on various devices and it works great if you follow the correct steps.

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I did try those exact instructions but I got the following:
image

I also tried to move the hub as close as possible to the switch but same issue happened. I tried multiple times over a couple of days and nothing was successful. That's when I finally resorted to doing another inclusion and just replacing the old device with the new one in all apps and automations.

This is what's making me start to lean toward zigbee over z-wave. There is too many issues with onboarding and device management that I don't experience with zigbee. Or perhaps it is strictly related to Zooz switches. Either way it's frustrating.

I think I got that immediate status failed once. I powered off the hub and pulled power from it to reset the zwave radio, that solved it.

I even got a battery powered motion sensor back in on a replace yesterday. Not sure what happened but it just stopped working and I ended up just getting it to factory reset and got the replace to work.

I think the frustrations with zwave come from the 700 chip SDk in the C7 which Hubitat is at the mercy of Silicone Labs. It is slowly getting better.

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Yeah I bet that's it.

For troubleshooting, I safely shut down my hub and repositioned closer to the switch. I also tried pulling the airgap multiple times. I also tried triple tapping more than once during a replace in case the inclusion on the switch timed out. None of that worked for me unfortunatley.

Yeah reading a thread on here the other day about different sdk being released and people playing with them. Crazy.

IMO zigbee co-existing with wifi is a dealbreaker for me. Everything wired permanently into my walls is zwave (well except for one Hampton bay fan controller that will be replaced with a second inovelli some day.

I not saying I don’t use zigbee - do have more zigbee devices than zwave. I just feel the wired in stuff is more critical.

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There are many manufacturers that do not remove power to the Z-radio via the air gap. They see it as a safety issue only and just cut power to the load path. The Z-radios remain powered. I know those engineers have computers and realize that computers need rebooting now and again. Therefore, I conclude it's a Marketing requirement :smiley:

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@jtp10181 Jeff, did the shipper want them back? If not, and if you decide to sell them, Id be interested in taking one or two off your hands (depending on price).

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Yes they were very happy to take them back especially since retail value was over $900. Not going to lie, I thought about just keeping them. I guess it was over my unconscious limit, just didn't feel right.

Here is what I got if anyone is interested, the UZB3 is what is recommended for a Zniffer setup and if you just want a cheap USB stick for ghost removal then the 700 chip is cheaper for some reason. Looks like they are out of the 700 right now but the UZB3 would work for either case as well.

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/silicon-labs/ACC-UZB3-U-STA/6111632
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/silicon-labs/SLUSB001A/9867108

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I use a UZB3 for my sniffer, and my UZB7 is now relegated to zwave-js/certain z-wave firmware testing (as you can freely change the firmware on the UZBs), so I probably need to pick up another UZB7 anyway. Thanks for the unintentional reminder.

EDIT: As usual digikey is out of stock. But also as usual Mouser has plenty (and they are cheaper, and a Texas company which is a bonus to me):
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Silicon-Labs/SLUSB001A?qs=u16ybLDytRbJsMfgk3EnSA%3D%3D

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Curious - Is there a reason to use the UZB3 for a sniffer? Would the UZB7 do the same?

The stick you choose has to be re-flashed and thus is no longer a functioning "ordinary" controller. Yes, it's theoretically possible to flash it back, but you'd have to save the image before you flashed it to a zniffer. Then test it and verify the image was complete enough. I have a saved copy of mine, but I've never really been interested in NOT having a zniffer. No plan to flash it back, in other words.

Thus keeping the "newer" UZB7 for fun and exploration is why I made the exact same choice.. UZB3 for Zniffer, UZB7 attached to PC Controller for ghost removal or anything else I want to experiment with.

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