Z-Wave JS / Z-Wave JS Server Update
This release updates the embedded Z-Wave stack from:
- Z-Wave JS: 15.15.3 → 15.25.3
- Z-Wave JS Server: 3.4.0 → 3.10.0
While this isn't a feature-heavy update, it includes a significant number of stability improvements, bug fixes, performance enhancements, and device compatibility updates.
Highlights
Improved Controller Stability
Several releases focused on improving controller resiliency, including:
- Better serial port recovery
- Improved controller restart handling
- Better recovery after NVM operations
- Improved handling of unexpected controller state changes
- Reduced situations requiring a complete driver restart
These improvements help make controller operation more resilient, particularly following maintenance operations or unexpected interruptions.
Command Class Improvements
Numerous fixes were made across a variety of Command Classes, including:
- Notification CC
- Supervision CC
- Association CC
- Central Scene CC
- Configuration CC
- Binary Sensor CC
- Binary Switch CC
- Multilevel Sensor CC
- Multilevel Switch CC
While many of these address edge cases, together they improve compatibility across a wide range of devices.
Device Compatibility Updates
This update also includes hundreds of upstream device configuration improvements from manufacturers including:
- Zooz
- Inovelli
- Fibaro
- Aeotec
- Shelly
- Heatit
- GE/Jasco
- Ring
- and many others
These updates improve:
- Configuration parameter definitions
- Association information
- Device fingerprints
- Firmware metadata
- Manufacturer-specific device handling
Firmware Update Improvements
Firmware update handling has also received numerous improvements, including:
- Better progress reporting
- Improved retry behavior
- Additional manufacturer-specific fixes
- Increased OTA reliability
Performance Improvements
Numerous internal optimizations were made, including:
- Reduced unnecessary polling
- Lower memory usage
- Faster startup
- Improved interview performance
- General performance optimizations
Z-Wave JS Server Improvements
Although smaller than the driver update, the server also received several important improvements.
WebSocket Stability
Improvements include:
- Better reconnect handling
- Improved subscription management
- More reliable message ordering
- Reduced race conditions
API Enhancements
Additional API functionality has been added over several releases, including:
- Expanded node information
- Additional maintenance operations
- More controller statistics
- Improved WebSocket interfaces
Synchronization Improvements
Several fixes reduce situations where:
- Node values
- Interview state
- Controller state
could temporarily become out of sync with connected clients.
Internal Improvements
Additional maintenance includes:
- Dependency updates
- Logging improvements
- Node.js compatibility updates
- TypeScript cleanup and refactoring
Summary
Although most of these improvements occur behind the scenes, they collectively improve controller stability, device compatibility, and overall reliability.
Users can expect improved compatibility with newer Z-Wave devices, better controller resiliency, and the cumulative benefit of numerous fixes and enhancements made by the Z-Wave JS project over the course of these releases.