I am ready to migrate to a V3 from a V2. Update the firmware on the V3 first?
I ask this because in reading the procedure to make this migration it says that the V3 hub has to have a certain minimum firmware. From their instructions, “The 50.XX hub firmware will enable the Hub Replace functionality”. How do I put that firmware onto the new V3 hub?
You can’t update hub firmware manually. If you have connected it to your account and it hasn’t updated after 24 hours… you may want to follow the guide in the following thread –> https://community.smartthings.com/t/troubleshooting-smartthings-hub-2018-and-aeotec-hub/298332
What firmware is currently showing for the hub?
btw… it is 50.xx or higher that supports hub replace.
I don’t know about those things. The V3 is still in the box. Is there any danger to me adding it to my account? Can I add it to my account without doing the migration? If the V3 fails on me (as it seems to do with most people I read about online). Can I just unplug the V3 and keep using the V2 ?
You will certainly have been able to read about issues with installing ‘new’ V3 hubs this year. In very simple terms a number of hubs were produced with what amounted to an ‘install by’ date of March this year. Had they been installed by then there was no problem as the automatic firmware updates corrected the issue. The ones you hear about are the ones that were still sitting around unboxed. The workaround to install these hubs is basically to temporarily prevent them knowing what the date is. Once they have updated their firmware they are good to go. Apart from this issue I am not aware of any particular problem with failing hubs.
The best thing you can do with a V3 hub at the moment is to install it. It won’t do any harm as you can have multiple hubs installed. If you install it but leave it ‘empty’ then you can migrate your V2 hub to it at a time of your choosing. Your V2 will remain usable afterwards.
There isn’t a desperate need to migrate from V2 to V3. I migrated mine purely because I had a number of Zigbee devices that needed replacing and I wanted to start using Matter over Thread devices instead. The V3/Aeotec provided the best option for me at the time. The rubbery bases of my V2 hubs are going a bit manky and are sticky to the touch but otherwise they still work fine if required.
>> The ones you hear about are the ones that were still sitting around unboxed.<<
My V3 is still in a sealed box. I presume that means I can go ahead and attempt an installation?
>> The workaround to install these hubs is basically to temporarily prevent them knowing what the date is. <<
Do I need to do this? Once I plug in an Ethernet cable, won’t it to go out to the Internet and fetch the time anyway? How would you stop it from learning the time?
>> There isn’t a desperate need to migrate from V2 to V3 <<
My V2 is now about 8 years old. So I was becoming concerned about an age related failure. I was being patient about any upgrades until I learned that the V4 cannot handle Z-Wave devices. I have 60 devices connected, all but 2 are Z-Wave. Most are just simple plug-in. on-off switches. A few water sensors, and a water shut off valve. Nothing too fancy.
I meant it the other way around. Those that are still in their boxes are the ones that are most at risk. The issue is described here.
You should certainly go ahead regardless.
That is exactly the problem. When the hub is manufactured a security certificate is installed which is used to verify access to SmartThings update servers. This certificate expired at the beginning of March this year. The SmartThings hub doesn’t have a battery backed clock so when you turn it on it will typically start from the beginning of time (which is in 1970) and so not know the certificate has expired. Unfortunately it soon finds out using NTP. As the link above explains, the trick is to temporarily block access to the time servers somehow until the hub has downloaded firmware updates which include a replacement certificate. Lots of routers can do this but equally plenty can’t. Also some ISPs implement parental access by preventing the addresses of certain servers being looked up, so that is another approach.
The starting point is to try and installation and see where you get to.
If your hub/router has a firewall you should be able to block ntp traffic by denying access to traffic on port 123 (UDP Specifically if given the option).
to ease your mind a bit. If the V2 hub were to fail, you can add a hub at this point to the same Location as the dead V2 and perform the hub replace procedure to restore the last known backup of the dead V2. Note: do no delete the dead hub from your account before performing the hub replace procedure or you would lose all backed up data.
Thank you, you are very generous with your time. About the only thing I like about the SmartThings environment (right now) is this terrific community, and the smart people that contribute here.
I have two, brand new, still in the box Aeotec V3 hubs. (Both Serial numbers begin with 302175.)
Preventing my router from passing on time and date information is beyond my capabilities. I do have an IT professional that does my Control4 system, Network Video Recorder, and other things for me. He does not do anything SmartThings. IF, he was willing, it would be expensive.
I first started using Z-Wave devices before SmartThings. (2013 I think) that company went away, so I switched to SmartThings. Not hard to do, I only had about a dozen switches at that time.
I purchased these hubs from eBay. The seller has 100% feedback and has sold a large number of these devices. He is not someone I can return these to for an exchange, he is sold out.
On the link that you sent me, I’m reading hundreds of people with these difficulties. A few managed to fix the problem, but most do not.
I even thought about buying more V3 hubs directly from Aeotec. They don’t have any.
I cannot return the hubs to the seller, and I cannot get the update because of my technical limitations. I wonder what my options are. I wish there was a place I could send them for a firmware update.
As advised earlier in this thread, please install one of your new (to you) V3 hubs and go through the installation process. There is not much point in trying to solve a possible problem that you may not have.
If, as you say, your eBay vendor has sold multiple V3 hubs and has not received any negative feedback then the odds are you will be fine.
I am also a V2 hub user and received my second hand (SmartThings branded) V3 hub yesterday. I went through the factory reset and installation process without problem; I just had to be patient, it took tens of minutes.
I see from another thread that you have successfully installed your V3 hub.