[quote=“BrianLBeaton, post:80, topic:191115”]I had similar problems about two weeks ago with five GE Link bulbs directly paired with my VeraPlus. I learned that the GE Link bulbs are easy to unpair as described below. I moved all five GE Link bulbs to lamps that are always powered. I use a MiniMote to turn them on, dim them, and turn them off. I have not had any problems since I adopted this approach.
[tt]“To unpair a GE Link bulb, start with your GE Link bulb turned on. Then turn off the light and wait 3 seconds. Turn on the light and wait 3 seconds. Repeat turning the light off and on (approximately 5 times) until the bulb flashes once. As soon as the bulb dims and goes back to full brightness it has been reset.”[/tt]
NOTE: I observed that the unpairing can occur much sooner than 5 off-on cycles.[/quote]
Oh yes, I am very familiar with resetting the GE Link bulbs, I just had to do it yesterday for my front porch light. All of my fixtures with GE Link bulbs are always on, it seems to happen randomly. Sometimes it will be just 1 bulb loses connection in a fixture of 3, if it happens on multiple hubs then it’s probably the bulbs.
[quote=“JohnRob, post:7, topic:191115”]Tried to Pair a Philips Hue White Single bulb. This is a simple controllable bulb, no color change capability.
" Tried to Pair using a Generic Zigbee. Bulb was “discovered” but could not be configured.[/quote]Has this been fixed with current versions of philips hue? People on the smartthings forum claim that philips hue pairs fine as a zigbee ZHA device.
Wanted to say I got my Vera Plus working with the NYCE ZigBee door hinge sensors. The NYCE part number is NCZ-3010-HA. This is the ZigBee HA-1.2 compliant version. I think you want to avoid the C4 version, which is only for Control4. I actually bought mine off the shelf at Lowe’s. They say “#752888 works with IRIS” on them.
It was not explicitly listed under Add Device, so I had to add it as a Generic ZigBee Device. Two out of three I got going with little trouble. It figured out they were door sensors and was able to display advanced configuration options. I very quickly got these operational.
The third device was finicky. It was able to pair it, and it showed up as a door sensor. However I could not arm it, and there were no configuration options. After playing with it a while, suddenly it was fully functional.
In short, these devices are not officially supported but appear to operate with the system. There may be some quirks when initially setting them up, so YMMV.
One thing to note. You may need to bend the contact tab slightly with a screwdriver so that it makes contact when the door is closed. I’m still putting my system together, so I can’t say much about reliability or continued use. I’ll report back once I have everything operating and I’ve used it for a while.
[quote=“torrid, post:84, topic:191115”]Wanted to say I got my Vera Plus working with the NYCE ZigBee door hinge sensors. The NYCE part number is NCZ-3010-HA. This is the ZigBee HA-1.2 compliant version. I think you want to avoid the C4 version, which is only for Control4. I actually bought mine off the shelf at Lowe’s. They say “#752888 works with IRIS” on them.
It was not explicitly listed under Add Device, so I had to add it as a Generic ZigBee Device. Two out of three I got going with little trouble. It figured out they were door sensors and was able to display advanced configuration options. I very quickly got these operational.
The third device was finicky. It was able to pair it, and it showed up as a door sensor. However I could not arm it, and there were no configuration options. After playing with it a while, suddenly it was fully functional.
In short, these devices are not officially supported but appear to operate with the system. There may be some quirks when initially setting them up, so YMMV.
One thing to note. You may need to bend the contact tab slightly with a screwdriver so that it makes contact when the door is closed. I’m still putting my system together, so I can’t say much about reliability or continued use. I’ll report back once I have everything operating and I’ve used it for a while.[/quote]
I have the NYCE tilt sensor going, too. Again, I bought the Iris version off the shelf at Lowe’s. One thing I notice with both the garage tilt sensor and the door hinge sensor. Both paired with the Vera Plus quite easily. However, both devices did not immediately give me an option to arm/disarm them under Devices. The option magically appeared several minutes later. Maye the system had to download something, or it just took a while to completely configure. I don’t know.
An update on the hinge sensors. I have them installed on all the doors of my house know. In each case, it took quite a bit of adjustment for the sensor tab to make contact when the door closes. I do not know if this is an “adjust once and forget it” issue, or if I will have to continuously have to re-adjust them. Only time will tell.
I’ve found the NYCE door hinge sensors to be too much trouble. I guess I have too much gap between my doors and the door frame, and I was constantly having to re-adjust the tab to keep from getting false alarms. Not the sort of reliability you want for a door sensor, so I removed them.
In their place, I am using the Iris magnetic contact sensors from Lowe’s. They are only $20. They too are ZigBee HA1.2 compliant, and they do work with the system. However, again getting them configured with the system seems to be a little bit of work. They will pair right away, and the Vera Plus will start “configuring”. However, it never seems to finish configuring. After a few attempts at re-pairing and rebooting the Vera Plus, suddenly they are working.
So yes, the work with the Vera Plus. I just don’t know the secret combination to getting a clean pairing and configuration. I’ve got three set up now, about to start the fourth.
[quote=“torrid, post:86, topic:191115”]In their place, I am using the Iris magnetic contact sensors from Lowe’s. They are only $20. They too are ZigBee HA1.2 compliant, and they do work with the system. However, again getting them configured with the system seems to be a little bit of work. They will pair right away, and the Vera Plus will start “configuring”. However, it never seems to finish configuring. After a few attempts at re-pairing and rebooting the Vera Plus, suddenly they are working.
So yes, the work with the Vera Plus. I just don’t know the secret combination to getting a clean pairing and configuration. I’ve got three set up now, about to start the fourth.[/quote]
When you got the contact sensor paired, does it report battery level and temperature?
Mine would pair with the original firmware. I took forever to configure, but did not report temperature or battery condition. After maybe a day, the device could not be detected.
On the latest firmware, it would pair but it didn’t configure. I had already wasted way too much time on this so I didn’t spend much more. Back to my Smartthings hub, it pairs and configures in seconds. It also reports battery level and temperature. Vera needs to do more work on this before I will use it.
Why the heck is it such a challenge to add ZigBee devices to Vera Plus? It is not like I am adding anything new that my Vera Plus is alien too, they are the same devices that have been set-up and working just fine. But it seems the biggest challenge with Vera Plus and ZigBee is the inclusion process. It is a touch and go thing. Sometimes randomly they get included and work and sometimes it needs an act of God to have the devices included. Come on MCV give us some answers here, please! I have the following working (iris contact sensor, ST water leak) and trying to add more but it just wouldn’t include. I have spent days on this and it is driving me crazy…
It is going to take several years before the Zigbee manufacturers stop futzing with the Zigbee HA profiles and/or the profiles become feature-rich enough to not need futzing with so that zigbee devices “just work.” Zigbee is the ideal tech to use if a manufacturer wants a walled garden without starting from scratch. There are no real teeth on zigbee compatibility as far as I know. Zwave, however, has required compliance testing.
I am going to repost from Amazon’s home automation guide to show this isn’t just my opinion or that I am willing for Vera:
…the ZigBee Certified mark by itself is not enough to ensure interoperability. In most cases, you will need to purchase all your ZigBee home control products from the same brand, because each manufacturer is free to implement ZigBee in its own proprietary way.
Link: Amazon.com Home Automation: Communication Protocols Guide
A few comments here. The VeraPlus firmware was definitely buggy on the Zigbee side not allowing “unknown” zigbee devices to pair without crashing the Luup engine. This seems to have been fixed in the last firmware. (One fix but 2 new things broke but that’s a different topic).
The other thing to note about zigbee is that although it is thoroughly embraced by Samsung ST, it is inherently a very poor choice of network for home automation and it is indeed really tailored for proprietary applications with customizations: (The Philips hue, plant link hub, Keen hub, Roomba remotes (Xbee), Ecobee remote sensors (even more proprietary but zigbee based)… to name a few)
It was another weakness which is that it runs at 2.4GHz which:
Has a poor range compared to Zwave at the same RF power.
It operates in a super cluttered spectrum (Microwave oven, Wifi, Bluetooth, Sonosnet, wireless phones, baby monitor etc…)
It offers only 4 channels to pick from with 3 of them right in the middle of the wifi spectrum… have fun finding a channel that works reliably if you have multiple zigbee networks like I do.
All this limits the range even more with the insane amount of noise you can get.
Overall a very HA unfriendly solution besides just the fact that the HA profile is just not up to par with zwave.
I 'd like to add a couple of ZigBee GE bulbs to my Vera Controller empire. The bulbs are old style pull chord switches in our laundry room in the basement. The good news is they would only be about open air feet from my VeraPlus.
Any advice on ZigBee introduction?
Also, the other logical place for some ZigBee bulbs, is not so close to the VeraPlus. In fact it is in a kid’s bathroom two stories up [but almost directly overhead] the controller.
Marc,
When is the Commercial Electric Smart LED (Zigbee) going to be supported? Even Wink, which sux, supports it. I gave in and bought a VeraPlus and would love to get rid of my Wink hub.
Even if you have a beta version of the files, I’ll try them.
[quote=“ChrisK, post:87, topic:191115”]When you got the contact sensor paired, does it report battery level and temperature?
Mine would pair with the original firmware. I took forever to configure, but did not report temperature or battery condition. After maybe a day, the device could not be detected.
On the latest firmware, it would pair but it didn’t configure. I had already wasted way too much time on this so I didn’t spend much more. Back to my Smartthings hub, it pairs and configures in seconds. It also reports battery level and temperature. Vera needs to do more work on this before I will use it.[/quote]
No, it does not give me the battery level or temperature. I think the main advantages of these sensors are they are only twenty bucks and conveniently available at Lowe’s.
Nope, but we do have a great working relationship with them. They make sure that we have samples of their devices for testing and we do the same for them. Our teams are well acquainted with each other and work together to make sure that their devices work properly on our platform. We wish more vendors were as wasy to work with as they are.
Marc,
When is the Commercial Electric Smart LED (Zigbee) going to be supported? Even Wink, which sux, supports it. I gave in and bought a VeraPlus and would love to get rid of my Wink hub.
Even if you have a beta version of the files, I’ll try them.
We are continuing to evaluate and ZigBee devices. We are evaluating what devices users are asking for and it is not lost on us the benefit of being able to go to a store like Lowes or Home Depot and being able to walk in and buy it.[/quote]
It has been nearly 5 months since this post. Still, the neither the popular Iris Contact Sensor or the Cree ZigBee light are supported. It may be that the benefit of adding these devices is not lost on Vera, but actions say it all. The excuse that it is hard and takes more effort to add ZigBee than Z-Wave devices is a lame excuse. Engineers do hard things, that is what they do. The talent is out there. For what ever reason, Vera is obviously not interested in getting the job done.
Agree with ChrisK. I too have waited patiently for these devices to work. It is so random - I have paired a few IRIS contact and motion sensors and they work fine but pairing additional units of the same kind/make and model requires an act of God. And I am not sure why this is so difficult to troubleshoot. I worked with the vera engineers a few times and they came up with nothing as well. I am so about to give up on VeraPlus Zigbee capabilities - it has been a waste of my time and money to invest in these.
@Jamr, based on my experience with Vera and ZigBee, I would say it is highly unlikely this would work with Vera. Even if it did, have you read the reviews of this device on Lowe’s website?
Nope, but we do have a great working relationship with them. They make sure that we have samples of their devices for testing and we do the same for them. Our teams are well acquainted with each other and work together to make sure that their devices work properly on our platform. We wish more vendors were as wasy to work with as they are.[/quote]
@Marc Shenker
I wish you and Vera would answer questions that need answering instead softball BS like the above which brings no value to the user base.
How about telling us when the devices we are asking about will be supported?
Yeah I get it… you guys are still trying to make UI7 work properly, yeah, it still sux and maybe your trying to stop the exodus of users by making UI7 work… Sure, OK. But we are still asking the questions and getting no answers from you and that is making users just as pissed.