I just did battle with my VRCS2-MRZ 2-button controller and thought I’d share in excruciating detail what I think I did to make it work.
0) I think the ST hub needs to be super-close (~1ft) to the light switch to make anything work. Super convenient, right?
1) reset the VRCS2 by holding down button for 15 seconds. The lights will flash red, and then the switches will behave as ordinary dumb switches.
2) Exclude from a pre-existing network (a Vera, in my case), if necessary:
a) go to the “General Device Exclusion” option in the ST settings on your phone
b) exclude the individual switch “devices” one at a time. You need to hold down the button until it turns amber. If its working, when you release the button, it will blink for a bit. Wait some more. Hopefully the ST will then report that the exclusion is complete. Restart the exclusion mode on the ST app, and do the same for the other button.
c) now you still need to exclude the “controller” device (whatever that means…). Back into exclusion mode, and hold down both buttons until they blink amber. Again, if they don’t blink after you release, then it probably isn’t going to work. Wait and wait some more. If you’re lucky, the ST app will report that it is excluded.
3) Pair the “controller” device to the ST hub.
a) Press the big plus sign on the “Things” page and select “Add new device”. Then the SmartThings logo will begin spinning (does anyone else find it interesting that the logo of the company is a “wait” spinner?)
b) press and hold both buttons for ~10 seconds. I found that when it worked, two device were reported as being added, one in the middle of the long press and one that seemed to coincide with releasing the button. At this point, you can leave the “searching for devices” screen (e.g. back button on Android). The one/two added devices are bogus “remote control” objects that have no obvious value. Perhaps they are decoys to distract non-believers? Don’t worry about these, we’ll delete them late.
c) At this point, if the last step worked correctly, both lights should be green and the buttons will no longer control the loads (/lights). This is a good thing. Now it is time to add the first button. Press the big plus again to get the ST searching, and press and HOLD one of the buttons for ~7 seconds. It should turn amber and start blinking when you release. If it is blinking, the ST app should eventually report that it added another device. Leave the “searching for devices” screen again.
d) Repeat the last step for the other button.
4) if the lights are blinking red at this point, an animal sacrifice will be required. I bit the head off of a live bat, and that seemed to appease the dark spirits residing within the VRCS2-MRZ. Your mileage may vary.
5) Hopefully those last two devices added as switches rather than remote controls. If not, start over. If they are switches, they might even work. Huzzah. Drink a stiff drink to celebrate. I recommend single malt scotch. Bourbon might also work in a pinch. Curse SmartThings. Curse Leviton. Curse whatever awful group-think committee created the Z-wave protocol. Ah, catharsis.
6) Cleanup. I found that I could just delete the vestigial “remote control” things via the ST app. An hour later without the useless items, and everything seems to be working. Fingers crossed!
Yay, internet of things! IoT4eva! It’s so easy!