How To: Update Device Firmware (Z-Wave)
This article is intended for users that are using a separate "Z-Stick" (Z-Wave Controller) than what they have installed in their "hub". This is sometimes necessary if your hub doesn't directly support Z-Wave OTA. For example, SmartThings. There are several ways to perform the firmware update, but this method is the most consistent and seems to be the easiest to follow. If you have Home Assistant, OpenHAB, or others, you may be able to temporarily use the Z-Stick from those systems to perform the upgrade. In that case you may not have to do the exclusion / inclusion mentioned in this article.
Overview
Below is a step by step tutorial to upgrade your Z-Wave devices (Inovelli & Non-Inovelli). The important thing to note is that your Z-Wave device needs to have the ability to update OTA (Over-the-Air). This is a special feature put on devices and not all devices have this capability.
Please proceed at your own risk. Bricked switches due to user error will not be replaced nor refunded. If you'd like to mail in your switch to have us do it for you, we're happy to do so.
Updating the firmware is a fairly safe & fool proof procedure with Z-Wave. Please double check you are updating the correct device with the appropriate model number. Do not interrupt power to the device while the update is taking place.
What You'll Need
At the very minimum, you'll need the following:
- Windows PC: Needs to have Windows 7, 8 or 10 with .NET Framework 4.6.1 or higher
(laptop or tablet preferred so you can move close to your Z-Wave devices during the update) - Z-Wave PC Controller from Silicon Labs (Free): Download Here (you'll have to sign up for an account with Silicon Labs -- it's free) (Mirror link)
- Z-Stick: Connects your PC with your Z-Wave Device (We recommend Z-Wave.me UZB Stick, but Aeotec's or Zooz's should work too)
- OTZ File: Please search for the .otz firmware file by typing in the model (ie: nzw30.otz) or reach out to us if you can't find it
Step-By-Step Instructions
Start by installing the PC Controller on your computer.
Open the Z-Wave PC Controller 5 Software
Click on “Network Management”
NOTE: If your screen is, “greyed” out -- please do the following below:
- Click on the Settings Icon (
)
- Click on, “Discover”
- Click on whatever shows up under, “Serial Port Data Source” (ie: COM3 USB Serial Device)
- Click, “Ok”
Click “Remove” to remove the Inovelli device from it’s current Z-Wave Network. Follow the exclusion instructions for the device. For example, the NZW30/NZW31 has you tap the top button 6x quickly. The Z-Wave PC Controller software will report that the process was successful.
Click the “Add” button to add the Inovelli device into the PC Controller’s network. Follow the directions to include the device from the manual. For example, the NZW30/NZW31 has you tap the top button 6x quickly. The Z-Wave PC Controller Software will confirm that the process was successful.
If you see a security prompt at this screen (as below) please hit "Cancel".
Click on the “Home” icon to return to the main screen.
Click on the “OTA” icon.
Click on the newly added device.
Click the “Get” button.
Click on the “...” button to select the firmware file.
After selecting the firmware (.otz) file, click on “Open”.
Click the “Firmware Target”.
Finally, click “Update” and wait for the process to complete. It should take only about 5-10 minutes.
You can view the status of the update at the bottom of the window. Please do not stop the process or unplug the Inovelli device or USB controller while the update is taking place.
After the update is complete, click on the “Home” icon again.
Click on “Network Management”.
Click “Remove” to remove the Inovelli device from the Z-Wave PC Controller Network.
- Note: If your device says that it was removed, but it still shows up on the list, please select it and press, “Is Failed” -- it should turn red -- then press, “Remove Failed” and it should disappear
At this point you can include the Inovelli device back into your SmartThings, Vera, Wink, Homeseer, etc. Network.
Troubleshooting
Some users have reported that on occasion, after adding the device back into their Z-Wave network, they are unable to change the configuration parameters (i.e. change the LED indicator, dimming rate, auto off, etc.). After including back into your network, please verify that the configuration options can be changed. If they cannot, please repeat the above instructions to flash the firmware a 2nd time.
For some reason, it seems that the configuration parameters are not getting overwritten on the first flash so a second flash is required. We are actively searching for a better solution for this, but in the meantime please flash the device a second time to correct the issue.
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