How to exclude/include GE Z-wave Switch which can not be factory reset @ the switch (zw4001)

Devices & Integrations
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i have some old switches which were not excluded for the network, so i could not re-pair them with the hub. To fix put your hub into general device exclusion mode (more tab at bottom of smartthings app, select the bub, zwave utilities, general device exclusion) and press the switch once, app will come back with unknown device excluded.
proceed as normal to include.
seems the old GE z-wave switches do not have a way to do a factory reset @ the switch.

tag: how to factory reset ge z-wave switch

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Power cycle is what I have always done.

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All GE smart switches have a way to reset.

What’s the exact model number? The reset instructions will be in the user manual which you should be able to find online.

Otherwise try the general instructions in the official knowledgebase article:

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not true, and not in manual.

i replaced a bunch of switches without excluding them, did a replace… and surprisingly there is no way to reset them… i was deploying a few of them to get to 100% smart switches and ran into this.

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What’s the model number of the switch?

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Model: zw4001

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Good, that one’s easy.

Many GE switches automatically do a factory reset when you do an exclude. That includes this one.

(The newer GE switches use a multi tap pattern to reset the parameters, so they can do a reset without an exclude.)

So as long as you get it excluded and included, the model that you have will have automatically factory reset. :sunglasses:

So that’s the good news. The bad news is that those models can be finicky to exclude, which is why people generally suggest using the airgap switch to essentially reboot the switch, then doing the exclude, and then doing the include.

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you see i needed the factory reset so i could include them… either way they have to be excluded before they can be included.

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I see. We may have run into a terminology issue with this. My apologies for any confusion.

In zwave, “reset” and “exclude” are two different things

In a Z wave context, a “reset” means to reset the feature parameters stored in the device to their original factory settings. An “exclude” means to remove the information from the device about the network that it belongs to. They are two different things.

This matters because, unlike zigbee devices, a zwave device doesn’t have a permanent network ID. Instead, the Z wave controller (in this case, the smartthings hub) assigned a network ID to each new device at the time that it joined the network. Once this network ID has been assigned, it cannot be changed as long as the device remains on the network. The only way to give the device a different network ID is to exclude it from the network and then include it again.

A zwave device cannot be “included” into a network if it Already has a network ID, because it will believe that it belongs to a different network. The factory reset does not change the network ID, because if it did, there would be no way to change the optional parameters like how quickly A switch dims up or down, Or whether the LED indicator light comes on when the switch is “on” or “off,” because once the network ID is lost, the switch and the hub won’t talk to each other except for the specific command to exclude or included.

So it’s not the reset that allows you to include the device again. It’s the exclude. Because it’s only the exclude which removes the old network ID from the switch’s memory. An a zwave context, a “reset“ specifically does not clear the network ID.

Of course you always run into some translations of instructions which may use words which should have been reserved for specific Z wave meanings. Sometimes you’re lucky to get an English translation at all! :wink:

Newer GE switches allow you to reset without excluding

The newer GE switches allow you to do the factory reset of the optional parameters with just a tap pattern. The older GE switches require you to do an exclusion Which, in the case of those particular models, also does the full factory reset. And then you have to re-include it to get it back on the network.

This is one of the reasons that model numbers matter. In the case of the switch model that you have, yes, you have to do an exclude (which in the case of those models includes the factory reset), And then the include, and that resets the parameters.

And again, in the case of the specific switch model that you have, you may have to use the airgap step as well.

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To get a GE smart switch to re-pair with a Smart Things hub, it’s important to be aware of several fine points. I’m including all major steps below. NOTE: The instructions below apply to my specific situation - yours may be different:

  1. I had an existing Z-wave home network using a 2013 Smart Things hub. All worked fine till the old hub got fried by an electrical surge. I replaced it with a 2018 (v3) Smart Things hub.

  2. As many have noted, you must first exclude your Z-wave switches and other devices from the old hub and include them with your new hub. For a paddle-type GE In-Wall Smart Switch (I expect a toggle-type switch works the same), this involves the following steps:

a. Install the new Smart Things hub and make sure it’s communicating with the Smart Things app on your phone. This can be tricky all by itself, but I’ll assume you’re seeing a steady green indicator on the hub and your phone app says the hub is connected.

b. Use the app to place the hub in “exclude” mode by tapping the SmartThings hub icon > 3 vertical dots in upper right corner > Z-Wave utilities > Z-Wave exclusion. This will open a “Z-Wave exclusion” page.

c. Tap the top or bottom paddle on the GE switch QUICKLY. This is critical - press the paddle and immediately release. Do not hold the paddle down.

d. A successful exclusion is shown on the app by “Success!” plus a check mark. If this doesn’t happen right away, wait a couple seconds and tap again (either top or bottom paddle). Several attempts may be needed.

e. Once the switch has been excluded, you can include it on the new hub. From the app’s home page, press “+” (upper right) > Device > Scan nearby. (You can also search for GE switches by name, but that’s not essential.)

f. Once you get the “Scan” page, tap either paddle on your GE smart switch QUICKLY (press and immediately release). If you don’t get a response right away (“Success” plus a check mark), wait a couple seconds and try again.

g. Once the switch has been successfully included, you can assign it to the correct room and otherwise configure it.

The above applies to GE switches only. Devices from other manufacturers have different exclude/include procedures - consult their instructions. Good luck!

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Following into this conversation.
I have the SmartThings V1 hub.
SmartThings is shuttering the V1 this month so I’m forced to migrate all devices.
It does not have the “exclusion mode” mentioned.
You must go to the device and hit “delete device” then do the pairng/exclusion mode on the device.
BUT
I have multiple GE Z wave switches that will not exclude:

ZW4001 z wave switch, googling the manual, I dont see exclusion mode mentioned.
Multiple: 45637 (Z wave/Iris) switches

Any tips?

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I had similar problems with my many GE Z wave paddle switches. I was able to successfully exclude them all AFTER installing the new Aeotec hub. I put the hub in exclude mode using the app on my iPhone (not the IDE portal). When the hub was ready to exclude I pushed the down paddle button one time. Every switch worked perfectly this way. I was then able to successfully include each switch back into the network. Good luck! BTW, when excluding I started with the switch furthest from the hub, and when including back into the network I started with the switch closest to the hub!

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Thank you SO MUCH! I’ve been trying to do this since the upgrade…10 pushes up, 3 up 3 down, etc…. Was SO frustrated. One push down in exclusion mode, and it worked immediately!

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I’m in the same situation I have 2 hubs on v1 and a 2or3. I can no longer see my old hub to enable exclude. So what do I do now?

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You can use any hub to do exclusions. So you can use your working v2/v3 hub to do the exclusions.

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2 of these switches auto migrated to Edge last week and one of them stopped reponding. mfr:0063 prod:4952 model:3032 GE 12722. Could not get it working, would not exclude. pulled air gap for 20 seconds and then I was able to exclude it and include it and it is working fine now.

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Hi all - I have a ZW2004 and it refuses to exclude from my SmartThings hub. I’m really struggling with this and hoping there is someone here might have an idea… I spent the past 3+ hours reading everything on the web and tried everything I can find. I cannot get the switch to exclude… What have I tried, well the simple answer is imagine reading everything under the sun and trying that - that’s what I’ve tried. :confused:

One of the things I thought would work is the Aeon USB stick exclude function. But that too fails. I have a much newer version of this switch (Enbrighten Z-Wave Smart Rocker Light Switch) and using the technique with the Aeon USB stick it unpaired instantly the second I tried it. The same technique (nor anything else) will not work with this ZW2004.

At this point I am so frustrated with it I’m ready to just throw it in the trash and replace it with a new one, as its getting to the point where the time spent on it just isn’t worth it. But before I do, I thought I’d see if anyone has any other suggestions? Thanks!

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When you say you don’t think it excluded, how are you determining that?

The reason I ask is that some people have reported in the last week or so that they had to manually go into the IDE to delete a device to get rid of it, even though it should already have been gone and it already showed as gone when they checked the CLI.

So are you seeing something in your smartthings account that makes it look like it’s still connected? Or are you trying to add it to a different hub and it won’t add? Or?

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Well I figured it out… The switch I was wanting to exclude is part of a two-way, and I was clicking on the add-on switch during the exclusion. Turns out I have to click on the master switch. :smiling_face: As soon as I did, it excluded instantly. If anyone is maintaining a list of things to try in this situation, making sure that one is trying to exclude from the master and not an add-on would be a great addition to the list.

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I know this is an old Note JD Roberts, But I want to say, Your directions for exclusion, and reinclusion to a new Smart Hub was perfect and did the job. Very easily I may add, As I was worried about haing to reset all my GE SW4001 controllers throughout my house. Kudos, Thank you for your help.

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