OpenHAB 4.1.1 deb packages
Raspbian 11
ZWave Controller Zooz Zwave 800 Series Controller ZST39
Pi4b 4GB
This controller has ZERO buttons, it uses the Serial API to activate inclusion/exclusion modes and as near as I can tell the ZWave binding doesn’t do it. Am I mistaken? I know you cannot perform an NMS backup of the Aeotec Gen5 or any other 500 series and restore it to the 800 series without bricking it because the 800 series has 8k smaller NMS by spec. So I’ll likely have to set up a temp OpenHAB server to include the 800 to the existing zwave network thus copying said network. But then how do I tell teh 800 series to join? I know how to set the Aeotec to include mode, but since the 800 needs the serial API to issue the join/pair command as a SUC how can I do that?
You are mistaken. From the docs:
When the discovery process is started, the binding will put the controller into inclusion mode for a defined period of time to allow new devices to be discovered and added to the network.
If you need to exclude devices, you would do so from the thing for your controller.
Saying all of that, I’m not sure if 800-series controllers are supported by the 4.1.1 binding. You may need to update to a snapshot. @apella12, can you comment on this?
You could alternatively try Zwave-JS-UI (also thanks to @apella12’s efforts).
This kind of highlights why the inclusion buttons on Aeotecs can be problematic. We would generally recommend starting inclusion from the binding, but many Aeotec users never learn this since the button is more convenient. That’s fine until they change controllers or try to add a door lock, because secure inclusion only works if initiated by software.
It is hard to tell, but I’m guessing you want to transfer your 500 stick network to the 800 controller without bricking it. I wrote this up earlier from my experiences.
Transitioning a network from 500 chip.pdf (235.8 KB)
Yes I will look into that tonight along with that ZWaveJS-UI
Missed this on the first look. 800-series are supported in the OH zwave binding starting with 4.1.0. I tested the OH4.1 zwave binding with a Zooz zst39. The only caveat is that the LR mode is not supported, but the zst39 will work fine in “classic” zwave. FWIW this is the same situation with Zwave-js-ui at this moment. Something else I wrote;
Starting with OH4.1M4 700 and 800 chip Zsticks should work in the OH ZWave. The biggest beneficiary will be the new OH user as the 500 chip controllers are hard to find and cost more. For current OH users with 500 chip controllers, observed gains from 700/800 controllers may be modest. The top speed of 100KB/sec is the same. There may be a few more devices are in direct communication with the controller and the chip processes messages a bit faster. Your results may vary.
The 800 chip “Long Range” capability is misleading. Long Range Zsticks have dual frequency ranges. One set of frequencies are for “classic” Zwave and have the same range as 700 chip (and 500 chip) controllers. Long Range uses a separate set of frequencies with a spread spectrum technology that allows for higher power. I found this on the Silabs website and the summary below is extracted from my understanding. To achieve the higher power Long Range capability, the device must be included with the following requirements (these could change over time?):
1) Long Range nodes have 12 bit addresses (vs classic 8 bit) starting at 256. This would require a major refactoring on the binding.
2) Long Range inclusion requires Smart Start. This is not currently coded into the OH Zwave binding.
3) Long Range inclusion requires S2 security. The OH Zwave binding currently only supports S0 security.
4) Long Range is currently only permitted in North America.
5) Long Range nodes only ‘talk’ to the controller (no mesh) so the binding needs to relay messages to other nodes (No Association Group messages).
6) Without all the Long Range requirements nodes will automatically be included in classic mode.
Awesome. Maybe it would be worthwhile to add a “Supported controllers” section to the docs?
I did add a note to the GitHub.md, but it was after the 4.1 release, so is in the 4.2 docs. 
Just to let all know, who are afraid of a complicated controller change/upgrade.
Backup/Restore seems not to be such a big issue anymore (at least in my case).
Look at this post for details. Hope this helps.
I read the “Zwave Z-stick SDK issue with OH Z-wave binding” link you provided. What I’m curious to know is: it seems like the Zooz ZST39 is supported by OpenHAB, so why is it not listed of Things Supported by the Z-Wave Binding? Same with the Aeotec Z-Stick 10 Pro. I see some posts where it seems like people are using it, but it’s not listed as a sported thing.
I’m checking on this because I have a Aeotec Z-stick Gen5 that seems to be dying and looking to replace it. Sidenote, I’m reading some info about backup and restore using Zwave-JS-UI, but at this point, I’m perfectly fine just readding everything manually from scratch to the new stick.
Unlike devices, controllers do not need to be added to the ZW DB in order to work (although some have been). The supported list you referenced is extracted from the ZW DB, so may not contain all working controllers.
Bottom line you should be able to buy any ZW controller.
tl;dr - What does matter for a controller is the Chip (500, 700 & 800) and the firmware (SDK). From memory the highest firmware for a 500 chip is SDK 6.8x. Up until OH4.1 this was all the OH ZW binding could support. In OH4.1 and after 700 and 800 chips were supported with SDK7.1x with the exception that Long Range inclusion with 800 chips (nodes 256+) is not supported. 800LR devices and controllers can be used but must be used in the classic mode (nodes 1-232) using the native OH ZW binding.
The Zwave-js application does support 800LR but requires running that program. In OH5.0 a binding to that application was introduced to make it easier to discover devices. Details are elsewhere on the forum.
One glitch in the OH ZW binding that was solved in OH5.0 (July 2025) is that 700 & 800 chips started to ship with SDK 7.2x firmware that had 16-bit addresses as default (in early 2025). The post you referenced had an interim procedure to reverse the default, but now the binding does that automatically. Hopefully you are on OH5.x and won’t need that.
I haven’t used the Zwave-js backup utility. I bought my 700 and 800 chip controllers before that feature was available. I did write a guide Transitioning a network from 500 chip.pdf (235.8 KB) on options earlier, including starting from scratch. On the Zwave-js option you may have to update the controller firmware to the latest version noted above first.
Thanks, apella12 for your detailed response. In your opinion, which stick works better? The Aeotec 800 (10 pro) or Zooz 800 (ZST39)?
The Zooz is lower priced, but the Z-stick 10 pro supports both Zwave and Zigbee (I currently only have zwave devices).
Have you had better experience with one vs the other?
Currently running OH 4.3.3, but it seems like I’ll need to upgrade to OH 5.
Thanks!
I only have the zooz 800 ZST39LR. They work fine for several years. I also only have Zwave. There was an Aeotec pro 10 recommendation here in the forum because of the zigbee angle. Like I said the chips are the same and the firmware is the same so I wouldn’t expect much difference in performance.