SmartStick G8 Migration Guide

Use this guide for migrating from a 500 or 700 series controller to SmartStick G8 800 series controller

Overview

Users who wish to migrate or upgrade from their existing controller to SmartStick G8 can easily accomplish this but care must be exercised to avoid damaging (“bricking”) the SmartStick. Follow the steps below to ensure the best outcome.

Requirements

For HomeSeer Users

• HS4 Version: 4.2.19.16 or later

• Z-Wave Plus plugin v1.0.0.0 or later

For Home Assistant Users

Home Assistant has two Z-Wave add-ons, the (official) Z-Wave JS addon, and the community add-on for Z-Wave JS UI. Only the latter supports NVM backup and restore. Users can also run Z-Wave JS UI standalone (e.g. in Docker) as an alternative to using the community add-on, or entirely separate from Home Assistant.

• Z-Wave JS UI (either version listed below)

  • Standalone Z-Wave JS UI v9.9.0 (or later)

  • HA Community Add-on v3.4.0 (or later)

Steps

On a HomeSeer system

1. Ensure that your existing Z-Wave controller is attached to your system and working with the Z-Wave Plus plugin.

2. Navigate to Plugins > Z-Wave Plus > Advanced Functions and select Backup Interface. Go through the steps to create your backup file and save it. Remember the name of this file; you’ll need it soon!

3. Remove the existing Z-Wave controller from your system.

4. Connect the SmartStick G8 to your system

5. Navigate to Plugins > Z-Wave Plus > Settings and enter these settings:

   1. Connection Type: USB

   2. Serial Port: Select the port assigned to your SmartStick G8. (This may be different for each system.)

   3. Security Keys: Don’t make any changes to the keys that are currently displaying

6. Click SAVE

7. Navigate to Plugins > Z-Wave Plus > Advanced Functions and select Restore Interface. Go through the steps to restore the backup file to your SmartStick G8. Wait for this process to finish.

8. Navigate to Plugins > Manage and restart the Z-Wave Plus plugin by disabling and then enabling it. If the migration was successful, you should now be able to monitor and control your Z-Wave devices.

Migrating from a USB interface with an older SDK using HomeSeer

If you have a USB stick with an SDK older than 6.61, such as an older SmartStick or a Nortek stick, you can still migrate to the latest SmartStick G8. This procedure will require a 700 series interface such as SmartStick G3 or a Z-Net with a 700 series interface. The procedure is to back up the 500 series with the V4 plugin, restore to the 700 series with the V4 plugin, backup the 700 series with the Plus plugin, then restore to the 800 with the Plus plugin.

1. Install the HomeSeer V4 Z-Wave plugin and enable it to use your 500 series stick.

2. On the system with the 500 series interface (step 1), back up the interface and name the file so you can find it later. Note that the V4 Z-Wave plugin backs up the interface using HomeSeer data so it does not matter what brand or SDK version the stick is running.

3. Remove the 500 series interface and install a 700 series. Go into the V4 plugin settings and make sure the COM port is now set to the 700 series. It is best to stop and start the V4 plugin after a COM port change.

4. In the V4 plugin restore the backup file you created in step 2. The 700 series interface now contains all of your nodes.

5. Disable the V4 plugin and install the Z-Wave Plus plugin and enable it to use the COM port of the 700 series interface.

6. In the Z-Wave Plus plugin select the Advanced Functions and backup the interface. Name the backup file so you can find it later.

7. Remove the 700 series interface and install the 800 series. Edit the interface settings in the Z-Wave Plus plugin and set the COM port the port the 800 series interface is on. It is best to disable and then enable this interface.

8. You should now be running the Z-Wave Plus plugin on the 800 series and can restore this interface with the file you created in step 6.

9. Check the SS2 keys and make sure they match the keys that you were using in your 500 series interface otherwise devices added with S2 security will not function.

On a Home Assistant system

These instructions may change over time. Be sure to check the official Home Assistant documentation for the most up to date information.

1. Ensure that your existing Z-Wave controller is attached to your system and working with the Z-Wave JS UI (version 9.9.0 or later) app.

2. Open the Z-Wave JS UI Control Panel, click the round blue hamburger menu button and select Advanced actions.

3. Find the NVM Management action, click the BACKUP button and click OK to begin the backup. This may take a few minutes to complete. When finished, an NVM_<date>.bin backup file will be generated and saved in your store directory or downloads folder.

   

4. Remove the existing Z-Wave controller from your system.

5. Connect the SmartStick G8 to your system and configure its path in the Z-Wave JS UI settings.

6. Open the NVM Management action again, click the RESTORE button, select the NVM_<date>.bin backup file you created in Step 3 and click OK. This will initiate the restore process. A notification will appear when the process is complete. If the migration was successful, you should now be able to monitor and control your Z-Wave devices.

Migrating From Older Controllers

If your 500 series controller has an older ZDK library (less than 6.61), or if your migration from your 500 series controller was unsuccessful, you may still be able to convert to SmartStick G8 in stages. To accomplish this, you would need to backup the controller and restore it to a 700 series controller using the HomeSeer v4x Z-Wave plugin first. Then, follow the procedure above to migrate from the 700 series controller to the SmartStick G8.