I’ve decided to jump ship and switch to SmartThings. How do I reset all my z-wave devices (switches, outlets, etc…) so I can pair them all with my new SmartThings? Do I have to go around and unpaid each one at a time or is there a quick way to reset the whole network?
You should be unpairing anyways when switching a controller
You will have to unpair each paired device from Vera and then pair it with SmartThings. That’s the only life preserver I can throw you. ;D
Let us know how it works out after the switch. I’d love a better alternative that works with all my devices.
Looks like the community is pretty light here…so I hope that is a sign that everything just works 
I’ve occasionally wondered how my divorce from Vera would play out…
(Shacking up with the hot new girl (controller) in the neighbourhood )
Because zwave devices can have certain setting applied to them either by Vera or ourselves via device configuration, you would be best placed to reset them all back to default, which I believe is helped by the exclude process. (I might be wrong)
Best practice would be then to reset your z-wave network on Vera, as that will purge all the remaining information you have stored, that way it’s a blank canvas for the next person to use it.
I’ve never done it myself, and depending in the size of your network it might take time…
Out if interest, does anyone know what it is exactly that stops you registering a z-wave device against two different controllers? Is there an Controller ID or something written to the device once paired/included (which is then removed when you exclude ?)
There is a home (network) value entered in all paired devices that matches the controller value. (Kinda like a WiFi SSID or Windows workgroup) so they know which controller to connect to. Excluding the device resets that value to the default one so the device is ready for inclusion again.
So who is this new ‘hottie’ you are cheating on Vera with? ;D
Good luck with that. You know that it can’t do scenes or set dimmers to individual levels, right? At least, not as far as I could see.
Vera has lots of flaws, but in the end I’m able to do almost all the stuff I want with it. I got lured into ST by the presence sensor and the built-in support for things like Nest and Sonos, but the platform is extraordinarily limited, with the focus shifted entirely on home automation with zero home control. Vera at least has a balance of the two.
Basically, I really dislike the Smartthings hub. I plan to try it out as simply the presence sensor device and see if that works.
You can unpair (exclude) a device using any zwave controller. The reason to exclude using your Vera is so that your Vera knows the device is gone. If you are going to reset Vera anyway, then use any controller that is handy.
You will have to exclude (‘unpair’) each device individually, or somehow reset each device individually. Keep in mind that if a device supports some form of a local reset (by pressing/holding a button etc.), it may not reset the actual Z-Wave information; so typically excluding is best.
However, for completeness, if another controller fully supports Z-Wave, you should be able to include that controller into Vera’s network and (optionally) make that controller the primary controller (a.k.a. a ‘controller shift’).
So, theoretically, you could backup Vera, do an ‘inclusion with controller shift’ of the new controller and then reset the Z-Wave network in Vera. The identifier of the Z-Wave network (HomeID) will not have changed, and the device identifiers within that Z-Wave network (NodeID) will not have changed. But your new primary controller probably needs to be able (to be told) to configure the devices to its liking (so that things like sensors report to it and not the old controller etc.).
(As an example: the other day, I powered up a Wink hub and included a Wink/Leviton dimmer and switch; I then included a Vera; both the Wink and Vera could now control the devices; then did a ‘controller shift’ so Vera was the primary controller; then reset the Wink hub; Vera now controls those devices and I didn’t have to exclude them.)
I doubt that smartthings would be any better, but please let us know how it goes. A lot of these new systems appear to be sexier, and get all the press, but Vera has the years of having a working system behind it. I am concerned that vera is running too light on development staff as they seem to be falling behind on getting new versions out. Smartthings has now got some big funding, and could be a big player now depending on Samsung.
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Vera has this forum. and PLEG…
You will have to exclude (‘unpair’) each device individually, or somehow reset each device individually. Keep in mind that if a device supports some form of a local reset (by pressing/holding a button etc.), it may not reset the actual Z-Wave information; so typically excluding is best.
However, for completeness, if another controller fully supports Z-Wave, you should be able to include that controller into Vera’s network and (optionally) make that controller the primary controller (a.k.a. a ‘controller shift’).
So, theoretically, you could backup Vera, do an ‘inclusion with controller shift’ of the new controller and then reset the Z-Wave network in Vera. The identifier of the Z-Wave network (HomeID) will not have changed, and the device identifiers within that Z-Wave network (NodeID) will not have changed. But your new primary controller probably needs to be able (to be told) to configure the devices to its liking (so that things like sensors report to it and not the old controller etc.).
(As an example: the other day, I powered up a Wink hub and included a Wink/Leviton dimmer and switch; I then included a Vera; both the Wink and Vera could now control the devices; then did a ‘controller shift’ so Vera was the primary controller; then reset the Wink hub; Vera now controls those devices and I didn’t have to exclude them.)[/quote]
Would you please tell me the steps on how you integrated Wink?
I just got the hub and a few of the GE Link lights. I would like to have Vera be the main controller to run a scene with my motion sensor (already in Vera) and have it turn on and off the GE wink lights.
I didn’t see how I could do this.
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I first bought a Vera Lite it eventually died, it wasn’t its fault… I ended up purchasing a smarthings bundle… It was the worst thing I did, the scenes “apps” were terrible. To create your own was terrible and then the cloud based service went down a few times during the 30 day window… I ended up returning it and buying a Vera 3… all is right with the world again…
On a side note, a friend of mine convinced me to get the ST hub in the first place, and he has recently been converted to Vera and he also says it is so much easier to use and build scenes with or without luup…
I think the ST stuff is nice if the only thing you want to do is control some lights, maybe monitor some things… but to do anything advanced you either need to know how to develop code (JAVA) or wait on someone to build the app… and then ST needs to publish it. In the Vera world I can use PLEG or even luup which is crazy easy to learn and understand.
[quote=“mchipser, post:13, topic:182979”]I first bought a Vera Lite it eventually died, it wasn’t its fault… I ended up purchasing a smarthings bundle… It was the worst thing I did, the scenes “apps” were terrible. To create your own was terrible and then the cloud based service went down a few times during the 30 day window… I ended up returning it and buying a Vera 3… all is right with the world again…
On a side note, a friend of mine convinced me to get the ST hub in the first place, and he has recently been converted to Vera and he also says it is so much easier to use and build scenes with or without luup…
I think the ST stuff is nice if the only thing you want to do is control some lights, maybe monitor some things… but to do anything advanced you either need to know how to develop code (JAVA) or wait on someone to build the app… and then ST needs to publish it. In the Vera world I can use PLEG or even luup which is crazy easy to learn and understand.[/quote]
My issue with ST is the “cloud logic”. I haven’t looked into it all that much, but I’m scared that if my internet goes down, my automation goes down. I realize that Vera is also somewhat limited in that fashion. It doesn’t have an internal clock, so if you have no internet when it restarts, I believe it messes with schedules. I’ve had this happen once or twice.
I’m very worried about all these companies going with putting all my logic in the cloud. I want it local so that it always works, not just when my internet it up. It’s not that my internet goes down a lot, but when it does, it would suck to lose all my logic.