This turned out to work great, but it didn't start there. The documentation says that the drivers for it should be built into Windows 10/11, but that is only really true for Windows 11. For Windows 10, you need to search the internet for the serial port drivers this needs - try something like "Silicon Labs CP210x" So under Windows this device appears as a good ole RS232 COM port.
To connect this to Home Assistant was not obvious to me - I have HA running as a Linux virtual machine under Windows - "Home Assistant Core" and I could never get this to work with the HA Z-Wave JS add-on directly even though my VM (VirtualBox) engine did pass serial ports through to HA. So instead I ran Z-Wave JS outside of HA on Windows directly, and used the Z-Wave JS server wrapper to connect it to HA via IP. That has worked perfectly. If you run the server wrapper like I did you should know that you have to specify the external config file and put the four Z-Wave security keys there. I start the server with this command:
ts-node.cmd server.ts COM3 --host 192.168.1.133 --config zwave_config.js --port 3001.
Your options, of course, will vary as will the keys you put in the .js file. I post this because it took forever to figure it out. Most folks I gather run HA on dedicated hardware, but I had a very solid Windows 10 on a NUC with loads of capacity running other things that require Windows. By the way I also use Node Red running directly on Windows and it has also been very stable and a great way to have HA connect up to other physical resources on the Windows server.
Once this was all figured out it has worked great. I ran a USB extension cable so I could position the dongle for the best reception. Pairing has been much easier than when I was using Vera, the old home automation server I left behind.
| Brand | ZOOZ |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Linux, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000 |
| Item Weight | 1.06 ounces |
| Package Dimensions | 4.33 x 1.97 x 0.87 inches |
| Color | black |
| Manufacturer | ZOOZ |
| ASIN | B07GNZ56BK |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | August 21, 2018 |
