Hi, first post here, but long time home automation user. I started with X-10 more than 25 years ago and switched to Z-Wave 15 years ago when I moved to the current house. I’m using the Z-Stick as primary controller, and have my SmartThings V2 hub join its network.
When I add new devices, the only way to refresh appears to be do remove the hub from the network and add it back in. I’d done this a few times in the past and it works. Obviously, this means I lose any names I assigned, and any rules / automation I set up. Not a major problem with the relatively low number of switches and how rarely I add a device, but it does get tedious.
The reason I did it this way is because I don’t want to have to reset all the devices if the hub fails. I’m also worried about the ability to add devices that are physically far from the hub - with the Z-Stick, I can have it right next to the device I’m adding. I can also back up the ID of the Z-Stick, and clone it to another one if it fails.
I know that SmartThings do not support using it when it’s not used as the primary controller, so I’m turning to the community to see that if there’s any solution other than to remove / add, which was mentioned in earlier posts I found.
If I find out what’s the device network ID, can I add it manually with “Create Device” (using the Web Interface) and have it work? My new switches will only arrive later this week, so I can’t experiment.
Finally, are my worries unfounded? Is there a problem adding a device provided there is a route through other devices back to the hub, and is there an easy solution to replacing a failed hub?
Thank you.
you cannot manually add a Z wave device just by editing the table. (And it would be a horrible security breach if you could.)