FAQ: Use Aeon Minimote for Inclusion

Continuing the discussion from GE 45600 Handheld Remote as SmartThings Scene Controller (Edited: Does not work!):

How? SmartThings support said this wasn’t an option. I assume you are referring to pairing devices via the minimote and then transferring them to the hub?

Thanks @jody.albritton for pointing me to another thread with details on how to use this feature:

And relevant notes for the v1 minimote:

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Just to make sure we are referring to the same thing: I’m referring to the case where a device only supports low-power inclusion mode (like the Intermatic CA600, CA3000, and CA5100 devices). The devices can only be paired when the controller is within a few inches of the device.

You’re saying that even though the hub could be on the opposite side of my house, I could walk up to a low-power inclusion device like the CA600 and perform an include using the minimote and (perhaps with some steps in-between or not) have that device get included on the ST Hub?

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Thanks, Jody. I don’t know why I never just tried using the Include/Exclude buttons on the minimote.

This has worked great for me for an on/off switch and 2 dimmers, but when I tried to use it for a contact (door/window) sensor, the device was added, but didn’t seem to pair correctly. It might have been the specific contact sensor I was using it with (monoprice with custom/specific device type) or something else.

When I paired directly using the mobile app, it worked fine.

I’ll try again when I add more “stuff” (things.)

Take care
Gary

I have used the minimote successfully as well, even to help pair a zwave range extender…so it has come in handy although I was quite confused at first as to how it would work.

Two caveats:

  1. you probably can’t include door locks with the Minimote, you’ll have to pair those directly to the hub. But you should be able to exclude them. (You may run into the same issue with a few other “secure” devices which exchange an encryption key at time of pairing.)

  2. if you want to use the “instant status update” feature of a light switch that supports it like some Cooper and Leviton models, you generally must pair the switch directly to the hub, not via the Minimote.

Other than that, you should be able to exclude/include most zwave devices with a Minimote.

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Seems like many have found the Minimote to be useful in the V1->V2 migration. Any opinions over whether the version 2 Minimote is worth the extra cost, especially if it’s only use would be to assist in the exclusion/inclusion process?

Not worth it unless you have a very strong aesthetic preference for the black model.

You can update the firmware on the version one Minimote and functionally it will be identical to the version two.

If you’re using the US frequency, there are often deals on the Minimote that bring the price down to around $25, or sometimes less if it’s included in a bundle.

See the deals topic for current deals community members have shared:

Thanks JD, Amazon has the V1 for $25. If it saves me from having to remove each sensor on order to get it close to the hub, then it’s worth it.

The Minimote can only help with zwave, not zigbee. So if you have the fibaro Z wave sensors, it could help a lot. If you have the Peq zigbee sensors, it won’t help at all with those.

Right, I have about 40 devices, 6 of which are zigbee. Not sure if it works with the Schlage zwave locks, I’ll find out. But hopefully it’ll help with the door/window contact sensors, motion sensors and water sensors.

It should be able to exclude the schlage zwave lock, but probably not include it. The lock wants to exchange the new encryption key with the primary controller.

Well, I was able to get my entire system moved over to the V2 Hub and all reconfigured and working well. The Minimote wasn’t much help, but I’m not sure I had it configured correctly. I joined it to the ST v2 hub as a device (Connect new device) and it’s not clear to me if that’s the same as adding it as a secondary z-wave controller. After including it as a device, pressing the + or the - results in a solid red light for 2 seconds, not the blinking red or blue lights as I’ve read about in the manual.

Hopefully I’ll get this working for future adds and removes. It turns out that simply using the V2 App (android) and removing the device to put the hub into exclude mode worked for me in most cases. A few devices required a second General Device Exclude to fully clear it in order for it to be added to the V2 hub.

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I can confirm the Minimote doesn’t allow exclusion or inclusion with the V2 hub.

I tried everything I could find to get it to work and no go. I’m slowly migrating from V1 hub to V2. Paired the minimote with the V1 and Exclusion works just fine.

I had to pair and unpair the Minimote 5+ times to get it to work properly with inclusion and exclusion on Hub v2. Someone else mentioned that the Minimote needs to be paired right by the hub… I don’t recall doing that with Hub v1, but I tried it anyway and I’m not sure if it helped or not since I still had to pair/unpair multiple times before it worked properly with all buttons and inclusion/exclusion working.

Edit: Also note that each time you pair/unpair the Minimote, it increments the Z-wave node ID available for the next device you add to the hub. This isn’t an issue for most people, but some GE secondary keypads/remotes have a 32 ID limit which could be an issue for some people.

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This is true for any z-wave device that is paired and subsequently unpaired.

Hey Josh, thanks. Are you using a version 1 or a version 2 minimote? I tried a number of times with my v1 Minimote (white with the + and - device buttons) sitting on top of the ST Hub, still no luck.

Have you tried resetting the Minimote? By holding down Associate and Learn for 10 seconds?

Using V1 here. Reset it many times, included and excluded many times could not get inclusion and exclusion to work with V2 hub. Reset it one time, included it on my V1 hub and it works perfect. Made breaking down the V1 hub much easier but no help in setting up V2 hub.