So quick update… I finally got the firmware to update. I ended up manually typing in the url rather than copy/paste from above. Not sure how it would make a difference, but seems there may have been an added space in the url. In either the update ran to completion. However, when I look at the device info in Hubitat it is still reporting v1.31 instead of the updated 1.34. When I go back into the zwave updater it shows it is v1.34, so I am not sure which it really is. I will watch now and hope this solves the canopy disconnect issue.
I started the update and it seems stuck at “Padding hex bytes…”. I’ll let it sit as people have stated in the other thread that the update takes a long time. I haven’t had any disconnects in a while anyway but glad that you’ve seemed to have found the issue with the firmware.
I hit the padding when I had an “old” version of the firmware updater. Make sure you use the one @bcopeland listed. A good way to check that you have the correct one is if you have a firmware Target field as part of the Update Firmware button, as shown in @DougP’s screenshot above.
I did update it before trying the firmware update and it accepted the .gbl file. But it didn’t have the Target field. I updated it again and the field appeared.
It did take quite a while for the firmware version to show up in the actual device driver screen. I switched it back to the updater and it showed 1.34. Eventually it showed the same in the actual driver page so I assume it worked.
Installed 2 more this weekend (up to 3 now) and 1 of mine wasn’t consistently keeping connected. It wouldn’t drop the connection per-se, but it would just not react to the switch even though the switch was working perfectly (seeing activities, receiving inputs from hub, etc.).
This one is on a fan that was in the home when I moved in so I don’t have a make/model but the module is 20ft up in the air (yes it SUCKED to install the canopy module) but I made sure the antenna was exposed just a bit on the top of the enclosure. It was about 30% reliable on repeated commands spaced by 3-5 seconds even with the reporting turned off. Nowhere near acceptable levels of failures.
I updated the firmware overnight (hello 2+ hour Z-wave 700 series chip updates) and will continue to report back.
Other 2 are in bedrooms within 8’ of the module and are working flawlessly in some pretty rigorous testing.
I think the better question would be is this the final beta or is there still break-fix development work going on with this firmware, which I’m also curious about.
For the record @Eric_Inovelli, I have only had one hiccup in the weeks since upgrading the switch to this firmware. The scenario was that I needed to add an outlet, so I shut off the breaker that happened to feed the canopy and the switch for about 2 hours. When I powered the breaker back on, everything was fine and the fan and light were both turned back on without issue; however, about 5 hours later, when I went to shut off the light, the canopy had stopped responding. An air-gap reset didn’t fix it, but a breaker bounce did - that was about a week ago and everything has been fine since.
Hey all – sorry for the delay here – we are testing one last thing with a customer who is still having issues on 1.34 and are creating a modified firmware that scans 2.4 GHz channels for the lowest congestion.
It’s currently done, but the manufacturer is finalizing some tests prior to releasing it to us – it should be released tomorrow (Friday).
Thanks for the update Eric! I have been holding off installing mine until the firmware stabilized the issue. For the most part it seems the current beta did the trick though yeah?
Yeah, there’s been two instances where the 1.34 is not working, but we’re trying to figure out why. We believe it’s due to the 2.4 GHz channels being used and the traffic, but we haven’t been able to replicate it, so this new firmware is only a theory.
The 1.34 firmware has solved 99.9% of the issues that we’ve seen. I actually experienced the disconnection issue finally at my house (just installed the 4th fan/light) and the 1.34 fixed it
Thank you for the update Eric. Will look for the new FW (hopefully!) this weekend. Totally understand the ZWA may require certification and it may still be beta…but am hoping that there will be files available to enable other hub ecosystems to apply the update no matter what.
@Eric_Inovelli thank you for all of your constant updates to the forum. I bought two of these on Amazon and have them fully installed and working with Home Assistant. I searched for the last 5 years for a product like this because the builder failed to install 2 hot wires in any room. My only issue is the intermittent disconnects between the remote and canopy. The remote has never had an issue communicating the home assistant via zwave. Is there a firmware available for home assistant configurations?
Thanks for the response. I read through this and a couple other pages where there was a specific firmware to be flashed using hubitat by beta testers and no official firmware was in the wild. I understand the firmware is for the end device but hoping to be able to use the OZW panel in HA to perform it as my switches are paired secure to HA with automations built around them that I may need to rebuild if I delete them. My instance is on Linux and haven’t flashed any of my ZW devices yet. I will review the links you sent to try and figure out the proper steps.
So… I just installed my 1st of 3 and I can’t get the switch and canopy to communicate, no matter what I do. I literally have the canopy module and the switch hanging out with ~8ft of open air in between them, but no dice. I’ve factory reset, I’ve flipped breakers, and air gapped countless times over the last week, even in different sequences… But to no avail. I REALLY like the feature set these offer, hence why I bought 3 of these and 6 red series dimmers for our 1st home (owned). But The Queen isn’t keen on these already since I have a DOA on the very first device.
I haven’t moved my ST hub (yeah, I know… It blows) from the old house yet, and haven’t even had time to begin my HA build out yet… What should I be doing for my next steps?
In regards to RF Interference, I haven’t even installed my wireless APs yet, but did scan using WiFiMAN app and the hottest 2.4 AP nearby is on CH11 (CF-2462MHz) at -65dBm at the Canopy, and -73dBm at the switch. Unfortunately, I do not have a spectrum analyzer to analyze other potential interference in the 2.4GHz bands.
I am very proficient in RF Communications (former WC Eng) and have tried taking every feasible step to eliminate RF issues.
I’m more than happy to help contribute and troubleshoot further if necessary.
All that being said, is the FW update is a guaranteed fix, or should I be preparing to send it back? I’m not sure I want to unbox the rest of the equipment until I have some sort of resolution.
If you have a way to update the firmware, it’s pretty much a requirement … but you could try one of your other switches, as the one you installed may simply be defective.
The problem you describe is similar to the bug in the original firmware and it seemed nearly unanimous that the update corrected connection problems. In most cases, however, the switch and canopy did connect for a period before they disconnected; your description seems to lack that part.
I was part of the preorder and installed the first of my two switches about a month ago. It’s worked perfectly the whole time.
Today I tried to install the second one. While the fan canopy was just connected to the ceiling with 1 screw I turned the power back on and tested and it worked fine. Great.
Turned the power back off. Fought with getting the stupid thing attached back to the ceiling for a long time, but finally got it. Turned the power back on and the damn thing isn’t working again. Tried the reset several times, popped the breaker on and off several times, updated the firmware to 1.36 (which took 40+ minutes). Took the metal faceplate off and tried pairing to the canopy module again, nada. Haven’t been able to get it to reconnect after that first time. The switch shows up fine in Home Assistant and the LEDs respond and report back. Just opened a ticket, too…
