Difficulty with Association Tool

Good afternoon

I have a Red Series dimmer that I’m trying to associate with three RGBW Illumin bulbs. It won’t work. I set it up, click the switch, and nothing happens. The log sees the dimmer being pressed, and no errors appear.

  • The switch is less than 4 feet from the bulbs
  • I’ve added the latest association tool app code and the child app code from Github to Hubitat.
  • I’ve turned off local control in the dimmer settings
  • I’ve set associations with groups 2 and 4
  • I’ve shut down the Hubitat and restarted it.
  • I’ve excluded everything and started again from scratch with no change.

I’m tearing my hair out. Please help!

Check to see if all the devices have been included as either S0 or S2. The bulbs and switch have to match authentication.

Oh great call!

…How do I tell?

I just learned this from @Ma2J! Click on the device and look for something like below for all devices.

See the Zwavesecure part.

Actually I have this issue I haven’t fixed yet. My switch and two bulbs are S0. One bulb is S2.

Thanks! This does indeed seem to be the problem. Is there any way to force a device inclusion to be secure or not secure? Including and excluding the bulbs over and over is getting… old.

I spoke too soon. I finally got one of the bulbs into non secure mode and it still doesn’t work, even after deleting and recreating the association. Is there anything else I can try?

Screenshots of device details and the association s please.

Just curious, what is your use case, requirements?
I’ve gone down the association path a few times and in the end it just never worked quite how I’d hoped (it did work, and it was cool, but there were short comings) … perhaps an alternative method of achieving your goal could be suggested before you run out of hair.

FWIW, I’ve been told by Hubitat staff that the associated devices don’t have to match in S0/S2 levels, just that they will use the highest common grant. For example, a bulb with S0 should work with a switch at S2 Authenticated as long as you leave the S0 grant also checked during pairing, which it would normally be by default. (An insecure device would not work.) The hub will always use the highest grant (period), but association will use the highest level shared by both devices — which is where the other boxes checked during pairing may come into play.

Whether there’s something with the way this tool works at the moment that may prevent that or something odd with these particular devices, I can’t say. I haven’t tested. Honestly, I’d probably avoid S2 on the C-7 (and S0 in general wherever possible) until Hubitat releases the next platform version, where they say they’re working on some problems people have noticed (most seem related to pairing, so I guess if you already got past that hurdle, I also wouldn’t try starting over). The joys of new things… :slight_smile:

Not to say Hubitat is wrong. I have no idea if it’s a tool problem or not. I just know I have 3 bulbs associated to a dimmer. All devices are S0 except 1 bulb. That one bulb is the one that does not turn on or off via the dimmer switch. Coincidence? Maybe.

OKAY I’ve used the hints here and spent a few days doing trial and error. Here is what I’ve found.

The ONLY way I have gotten direct association to work is if both the bulbs and the dimmer are included without security (S0).

This is easy with the Red dimmers. They ask. Not so much with the bulbs. It seems completely random whether or not the bulbs include with security, but they only seem to include without security 10% of the time.

It usually takes me a couple tries to include or exclude a bulb, so doing that until it is at S0 so that direct association will work has been taking me 10-20 minutes. Per bulb.

I have 15 of these things. I’ve done three.

I’ll buy a beer for anyone who can give me a consistent way to include bulbs at S0.

Try moving them directly next to the hub during pairing process. This is how I’ve been able to get them to pair via S0. Let me know if this helps!

Well that didn’t work I moved one right next to the hub, and after a dozen tries I couldn’t get it to connect at S0.

HOWEVER, on a whim I tried the opposite and moved it to the other side of the house and it worked! I got three bulbs connected at S0 after just a couple tries each, just by having them far from the hub!

I hope this tip helps someone. I’m rocking and rolling!