I see the same thing on 2.5.2, I believe this is due to some problems associated with the 6.81 Z-wave. I will double check with Qolsys to see if this is included in the fixes for the upcoming firmware version 2.5.3
So, unexpected, but panels with Z-wave 6.81 no longer support this interaction. Apparently secondary controller options are no longer required in Z-wave certification.
This means that new panels will not have this capability.
I’ve made a request for these to be reconsidered, but as of now if you have Z-wave 6.81 this will not be an option.
Wow, I didn’t expect that! Luckily, for my needs Z-wave associations will be sufficient. But, I hope this doesn’t break other’s setups. I know a lot of people on here are using secondary controllers…
The Z-wave SDK and panel firmware are updated independently.
As long as the SDK is not updated manually the functionality would remain on older panels.
New IQ Panel 2+ will not support it at this time.
Wow that is a surprising omission - glad I held off on updating to the newest Z Wave software on my IQ 2…
Any idea if this change will still allow the IQ 2 Panel to join an existing network as a secondary controller? I plan on creating a new primary Z Wave network and having the Qolsys panel serve as a secondary panel, relegated to simple automation tasks and alarm functions.
Z-wave 6.81 does not support multiple controller network functions.
Thanks for the reply. I will definitely hold off the update in that case.
Whose decision was this? Is there somewhere I can direct an email in order to advocate for a change in policy?
Not sure whom at Qolsys is directly to blame for this omission but we have certainly voiced our concerns over this.
General contacts and support from Qolsys can be found here.
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Thanks Tyler - will I be able to update my panel to the forthcoming 2.5.3 without also upgrading the Z Wave to 6.81?
The Z-wave SDK and panel firmware are updated independently.
As long as the 6.81 SDK is not updated manually the functionality would remain on older panels. The SDK is not updated by general panel firmware files.
New IQ Panel 2+ will not support add/remove controllers at this time.
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Any update on this???
Total dealbreaker for me. Spent many hours setting all of this up with your help.
Now I may consider sending it all back.
I’m just talking to myself here but the option has now appeared! Yay. Much joy.
So, I go to add it. Vera as primary, Qolsys as secondary. When I hit the add/remove panel on the Qolsys I get a message to add a pin to the main device. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with this.
I tried it again and it made it past this part. It has added 3 unknown devices. I’m not sure what these are. On the Vera side it is stuck at ‘Please wait! Getting secure classes’.
Additional comments/suggestions have been placed at the thread below, specific to your issue
Here are the screenshots from my panel.
I know my Vera is set as primary.
Question: If I were to get them paired will the Qolsys recognize a zwave device added to Vera at a later time? If so, I would clear all zwave devices and reset the zwave network on both and then attempt to pair. If they successfully pair I could then go back and add each zwave device later.
If I were to get them paired will the Qolsys recognize a zwave device added to Vera at a later time?
Just for clarity the Qolsys panel cannot look for new devices, the Vera would need to share the device data with secondary controllers.
In most cases I have found this answer to be yes, as long as you are adding a compatible device, but in some cases automatic device sharing doesn’t work. There is often a manual function in the Primary controller UI to send device lists to the secondary. I am pretty sure Vera has that.
If all else fails, removing the controller and pairing it again will share all devices fresh, but this will mess up automation rules in ADC and should be a last resort.
Do you know if Qolsys recently added this function back in 6.81.03?
I have not had any luck getting it to successfully pair. I am looking for the best way to attempt to have success. It seems as thought the Vera Plus is very slow and this may be causing problems. Any other suggestions to make this work?
As far as I am aware no, they have made no changes. If they did, it would be with a new FW version (not an addition to the same FW version).
As far as the issue you are running into specifically, I could not say. Test panels on our end (using Z-Wave FW 6.81.03 and FW 2.5.3 are unable to access the Add/Remove Controller feature. I have reached out to Qolsys for more information and will follow up here once more information presents itself.
Just following up, still waiting on more information from Qolsys directly. There is a discrepancy here that I am trying to figure out.
Essentially, the feature for Add/Remove Controller was removed from all new panels shipped with FW 2.4.2 and Z-Wave FW 6.81.03. Any panel with that Z-Wave firmware (whether it was shipped natively with it, or a patch tag was used to update to it) should not have access.
However, it appears that your panel has the above FW versions and does have access to the feature. We have checked our test panels and none of them have access to the feature.
Any update on if Qolsys plans to support secondary zwave contollers in the future. Maybe in a 2.6.0 firmware
No official word yet on whether that might return.