Aeotec Z-Stick 7 Plus, Zwave Plus USB to Create Z-Wave hub, Gateway Controller with 700 Series ZWave, SmartStart and S2, Works with Raspberry Pi 4, Compatible with Home Assistant

This has been running in my Home Assistant for probably three years now without any hiccups whatsoever. It runs a handful of smoke detectors, two garage door openers, four smart locks, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Been rock stable and performant since the first day. Also, I have this plugged into a 5m powered USB extension cable and then routed through my wiring closet wall to the attic, and it's absolutely HOT in that space. So far, it hasn't even so much as blinked, so it seems pretty well built too.

Edit: 8/14/2022 - After messing around with this a bit, I've discovered the range is not as good as the Gen 5, it DOES see all of my devices but you have to put it in a place that NOTHING is blocking it. I actually purchased a USB extension cable and put it in the ceiling. After doing that, it sees all of my devices and can control all of them (I had it directly attached to my server previously just like the Gen 5 that had no issues being directly connected). Seeing as this could have been an oversight on my part, I have raised it to 5 stars for being very quick to respond to requests. Initial Review (Sometime before 8/14/2022) Although this device is snappy (very quick to respond to requests), it is not compatible with all of my devices, at least not without trying to connect them repeatedly (and I still haven't been able to connect them). I have the quickset Z-Wave deadbolt locks on my house and they all connected to the GEN5+ just fine. No connection errors, everything was quick to respond, and I received near real-time feedback about the lock status. I purchased a new server, new Z-wave bridge (this device) and attempted to connect all of my Z-Wave devices. Most of them connected just fine but the door locks WILL NOT CONNECT. I don't know if this is because they don't have the S2 encryption or if it is something else but they simply will not connect properly. I've removed and added multiple times (roughly 10 times for each lock). The system connects them but can't do anything else with them after connecting. It's quite annoying as I have everything in my house go to "lockdown" at 9pm (doors lock and they automatically lock again after 3 minutes of being unlocked). The Gen 5 plus device worked flawlessly, the only reason I upgraded to this one was because of the enhanced security feature of it. I'm hesitant to move back because when you remove a Z-Wave hub, you have to remove ALL of your devices and add them to the "new" hub... which means if I moved back to the Gen 5, I would essentially be adding a "new hub" back into the mix. I would then have to go to all of the Z-Wave devices, remove them from their current network and add them to the new hub. Rather annoying to do.

I am very happy I bought this product. I have plugged in to my Pi3 with home automation. I had to upgrade the firmware, in that process I bricked it. I was then able to use nodejs and push a new firmware to it. Connectivity is great, it is a great value for your money. I was able to pair my zwave sensors easily and quickly. It has been reliable so far.

Bought this to replace a very old Z-Stick with very old software. Decided to keep with the Aeotec since I had good luck with the older stick. I miss the ability to include/exclude devices by using a physical button on the Z-Stick and bringing it closer to devices. I know that's supposedly not really necessary any more but I had issues excluding. Using this with Home Assistant and the Z-Wave JS integration. (Almost) Everything is working well and I'm able to operate my Z-Wave lights and fans without issues. Only problem I had was that I could not exclude a device with this controller. This could be an issue with the stick, the firmware on the stick or Home Assistant. Can't say which, and I didn't want to start messing with firmware. I managed to exclude it by using the old controller and software so did not investigate further.

Installed easily, I migrated from an HUSB-ZB1, I only have 7 devices on my ZWave network but had lots of issues with devices not responding. After excluding and including the whole network I was up and running. Out of the box I still had some minor issues but they were significantly improved. After the firmware upgrade everything went away and works like a dream! If you're using Home Assistant I recommend ZWave JS UI, to do the firmware upgrade. Just be warned that in the US you will have to change back from the EU frequency after the upgrade. I lost a lot of hours to that...

Since purchasing the device, I have had no issues. Perfect for a HomeAssistant setup. Depending on where the device is located, you may need a USB extension cable to alleviate potential signal issues.

Bought for HomeAssistant - and it probably works - but the setup required to get the firmware updated is ridiculous. It's not that it's difficult, if you are computer savvy - but it's a mundane and archaic process - lots of steps involved. This could be packaged up so nicely into a single process. In my 30 years of handling systems, I've never seen an update process that's this many steps. Oh - and the update is pretty much required, as there is a nasty bug in the prior version of the firmware. Unless they start shipping these with the new firmware, be prepared for pain. Thanks Silicon Labs and Aeotec for making sure computer science is still a respected field!

My setup is openzwave based which just stopped being maintained and it does not support Bridged controllers like this one. Nice opportunity to update my stack to nodejszwave which is actively maintained and supports this stick.