Suggestion : New users hub troubleshooting checklist

With the influx of new users (which is great for the ecosystem!) there's a constant stream of help requests for issues like lost connections, hub not working, pairing and a bunch of other common themes which come up pretty regularly.

Unfortunately in many cases not a lot of information is provided initially (due to lack of experience specifically with HE or home automation in general) and quite a few info requests are needed from the community or support to be able to make at least a stab at identifying the root cause of the problem.

To make helping users easier can I suggest that there be a pinned post or tab on the forum front page with a checklist of steps/information for users to do/provide to assist in troubleshooting in various common scenarios?

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Or an editable Wiki....?

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Tagging @bobbyD @rlithgow1 @neonturbo

I like @rocketwiz' suggestion of a pinned post. @rlithgow1 and @neonturbo have helped lots of new HE users who have come over from Wink. Maybe a pinned post can be created using their already posted material?

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It really seems to be the usual suspects. Leviton non plus switches and Ge Link bulbs...(yuck), But I like your idea

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Don't forget about the docs, including the Z-Wave doc that, in part, afdresses general exclusion, polling, ghosts, and other issues. Happy to add or create something else as needed. :slight_smile:

https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Troubleshoot_Z-Wave

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If you do, lead with ghosts. This by far is the biggest new person issue. Maybe present it a a semi non technical way (ie easy for a new person to understand) along with what it does to one's mesh. We've all gone through it at the start (well hey, at least I did). Honestly I keep pushing for notices about ghosts on the add z-wave page page.

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For my part in suggesting topics for new comers, though more so those who move beyond a 1-hub setup.... Partially driven by having left my garage door open earlier today :slight_smile:

  • Notifications with more than 1 hub
  • Setting up and maintaining Hub Mesh
  • Options for external access to hubs and device states
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  1. how to deal with green led but cannot access hub
  2. links that explain building meshes.
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<...Insert Community Summary here....> :smile:

It's the second thing in the above. The first is failure to include (think of people who never excluded anything from their old system). Is second close enough? :slight_smile: I figured you can't get a ghost if you can't even try to include in the first place. (I also think ghosts are less common nowadays than those of us with early C-7 hubs have been traumatized into remembering...the updated have really helped if you haven't set up a new hub/network lately!)

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Man, I remember my first experience with Ghosts… I went so far as to take my hub in the car with me and go for a drive, and still that one ghost would not go away… Oh the good old days… (Plus I still had some old leftover non-plus devices at that time…)

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