I’ve had a c5 for years. It’s been bullet proof. Recently a friend of mine, that I set up with some Phillips hue light strips, has been having issues with his gateway and for the life of me I couldn’t get it working again so I was thinking about upgrading my c5 to a c7 and giving him my c5 to control his lights.
So. Questions.
Are the c7s as solid as the c5s?
And is it pretty seamless to transfer everything across with the subscription.
I have the c7. Bought it as a backup when they were on sale.
Appreciate any opinions from people who did the transition.
TIA.
My understanding is the only real improvement is the zwave radio was upgraded to zwave 700. It is pretty reliable now just make sure you upgrade the zwave firmware.
1 Like
Upgrade the firmware on the zwave devices or the new hub?
On the hub. Go to zwave settings. Then click on the Button for zwave firmware. Let it update.
2 Likes
There are a few devices like the Zooz 4-in-1 sensor with the 500 series chip that don’t behave well with the 700 series chip.
If you are okay with being busy for a while, then go ahead and move over to the C7. You can cloud backup-restore and most times it will work well, but there are some people who did have to do a bit of work to get their hub’s Z-Wave radio working well again, though that was on an older Z-Wave firmware version. It is likely much better now. You can also re-start from scratch which could take a bit more time. (Also, I believe that it is best to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised when it all works well.)
If you are happy with things as they are and would rather avoid the risk of issues, then keep the C5 and get your friend a C7. 
I think ive made the decision to give him my c7 and either re order a new one ( for a backup ) or considering i just bought the hub protect - let HE replace it if it dies!
what furthered that decision was not only a factor of potential hassle of migrating but moreover the options for a zigbee gateway for just a few devices wasn't that much cheaper than a new hub ( at least while they are on sale )
Appreciate the input
1 Like
