Unable to activate learn z-wave mode as controller is SIS

Get Help
1

I'm new to Hubitat but I've read through a lot of the community posts. It's a great community!

I have about 70 devices and I've had little or no problems getting them discovered and added to the network. Yesterday I tried to get an Aeotec Sensor 6 registered, I got an error message on my iPhone stating "unable to activate z-wave learn mode as controller is SIS".

What does this mean? I can't start learn mode on my iPhone or my iPad to add new devices to my network. I shut down the hub and disconnected it for 10 minutes but nothing changed. I've searched our community posts and Googled everything and there is nothing that explains this problem,

Learn mode works fine on my PC, but not on my iPhone or iPad. The problem is that I have about another 10 devices I need to add to the network and they're too far away from my PC to be able to add them from there.

Please help!

2

I have never heard of that limitation after a couple years on this forum, but admittedly I don't use Apple products so maybe I missed something along the way.

@bcopeland is that Apple limitation really a thing? Or is there something else going on?

3

Learn mode is to include the hub in a different network.. This is not for including devices...

2 Likes
4

when you say "learn mode" where do you see this in Hubitat? I've seen it on z-wave pc controller but never on Hubitat. Do you mean Device Discovery -> Z-Wave inclusion, from the top of the devices page?

5

Well now that I read that again, I am not sure what they are doing. I was assuming they were doing a inclusion and getting this strange error.

6

LOL! I guess I discovered a hidden function. On the iPhone app, you go to Tools and at the bottom there is a Z-Wave Tools link at the bottom. There are 2 choices when you tap on that choice "Smart Start" and "Learn Mode". I assumed that this is where you discover devices. I have probably added about 20 devices using this "Learn Mode".

1 Like
7

You are correct. I am trying an inclusion. I'm new to Hubitat and Z-Wave, but If I understand this correctly, it's better to discover the device in the location it will occupy so the routes are set up at the moment of inclusion. If I set up a device near the hub and move it to it's location, it doesn't work for a while even after doing a repair. Is this correct or am I doing something wrong?

I have been discovering the devices using the iPhone app. It was working fine until I got the error message. I couldn't find anything that explained that error message (believe me, I did plenty of research) and I couldn't find a manual for the iPhone app. Since the Z-Wave Tools has 2 buttons and one is for Smart Start, I assumed that the other button labeled "Learn Mode" was for the other way to discover a device. It worked for a couple of weeks and then I got the error.

In any case, since it stopped working, I just used Safari on my iPad this morning to add an Aeotec Multi Sensor 6 and it worked, so I don't really need it, but it bothers me a bit that a cryptic error like this one can come up and no one knows what it means.

That said, I'm really impressed with the Hubitat hub and the responsiveness of this community.

Thanks,

Mario

1 Like
8

No, it's on the iPhone app under Z-Wave tools in the Settings menu.

Thanks,

Mario

9

Ah, That is missing from the android app. I understand now, thank you

10

I see the error that you are referring to on the iPhone. I still have the same message "unable to activate z-wave learn mode as controller is SIS"... How did you activate?

11

I bypassed the app and used the browser on my iPad. I still haven't been able to figure out what "SIS" is. No one seems to know.

12

"SIS" is "static ID server," which means that this controller (the hub, in your case) is the one responsible for handing out node IDs. What are you actually trying to accomplish? If you are trying to use your hub as your primary contoller and want to add a new Z-Wave device (like a switch, sensor, etc.) to your hub's network, then what you did in the end is correct: you do want to use the browser (or SmartStart in the app if you have devices that support it and happnen to prefer that route). This is the way that most people use their hub.

"Learn Mode" in the app is the wrong way to go for this. This is meant for adding the hub as a secondary controller to an existing network. It's technically something that is required by Z-Wave certification and is probably why Hubitat has this "feature," but I wouldn't recommend using the hub in this manner unless you really know what you're doing. And if you've already joined devices to the hub, you won't be able to use it this way at all (which I suspect is the root of your error).

13

Please correct if this is not the correct place to ask. How can I find the Z-Wave tools to initiate Learn Mode from the web browser? I'm trying to set up the C7 as a secondary controller.

14

This is not possible from the web interface, only the mobile app (under "Tools"). However, I'm not sure that it works on current firmware, quite likely only 2.2.4 and a version or two surrounding that. If you are trying to migrate devices to Hubitat from another controller this way, it won't work.

1 Like