Buttons Indicators

HOWTO on doing a factory reset, remove the Wi-Fi password and add/remove Z-Wave devices

• Note: The red and black buttons on the back of Vera (1) are used to do a factory reset, remove the Wi-Fi password, and add/remove Z-Wave devices.  The power light on the front indicates the current status

Power light indicator

• Normal bootup:  When turning on Vera the power light will come on for about one second when the power is first connected.  But then it will remain off while Vera is starting up, except for one brief flash.  Once Vera has finished booting up and is ready to go, the power light will either be on solid, or double flash.

• Solid = OK:  When the power light is on solid, that means Vera was able to get an internet connection on the WAN port and everything is OK.

• Double blink = No internet:  If the power light starts to double blink (blink twice, pause, blink twice, etc.), that means Vera is ready to go, but was unable to get an internet connection on the WAN port, so remote access and FindVera will not work.  See Quick Start Hardware for details.

• Slow, steady blink = Firmware is corrupted:  When you connect the power, if the power light starts blinking slow and steady right away, this means the firmware is corrupted and Vera cannot boot.  This happens if you unplug Vera while during a firmware update. If it does, see Firmware Flash for a utility to restore Vera's firmware.

Hardware reset & Wi-Fi password

• Black button = factory reset:  If you wait until Vera has booted up and the power light is either on solid or double flashing, then you can double-click the black button to restore Vera to the factory default state. See: Factory Reset

• Red button = unsecure wi-fi:  By default, Vera's Wi-Fi comes turned on, and the highest security setting, WPA2, is on by default. Most recent laptops and Wi-Fi devices can connect with WPA2. If your computer cannot connect wirelessly with WPA2, you can either (a) connect your computer directly to one of the LAN ports on the back of Vera, or (b) you can double-click the red button on the back of Vera. Doing so temporarily removes any encryption on Vera's Wi-Fi network, so your computer can connect wirelessly to Vera (note that this is only a temporary change).  Then, you can access Vera's 'Net & Wi-Fi' setup page to reconfigure the wireless networking as needed.  Click 'Save' to keep any changes you made.

• Note: To avoid saving your changes, simply unplug Vera and plug it in again; her original network settings will return.

Remember that when you double-click the red button and thereby remove the Wi-Fi network security, Vera's network is temporarily unsecure and anybody within 100 feet or so of Vera can connect.

It is also possible to do a (partial or complete) soft reset to factory settings. Information on this can be found here: [1]

Adding/Removing Z-Wave devices

Normally you add Z-Wave devices by removing Vera's black Z-Wave dongle as explained here, or you add Z-Wave controllers as explained here. You can also add/remove Z-Wave devices without removing the dongle by choosing Z-Wave Options on Vera's 'Setup' page. Or, you can do this with Vera's red and black buttons as explained below. This may be necessary when you want to add Z-Wave door locks or similar secure devices. This is because when you add a secure Z-Wave device, at the same time the device is being added, Vera needs to exchange encryption keys with the device. If you remove Vera's Z-Wave dongle to try adding secure devices the normal way, Vera is not able to exchange these keys. You can add them from the Z-Wave Options page, but that requires a PC computer with a web browser connected to Vera so you can access Vera's 'Setup' site. This may not be practical if you want to pair a secure device you have already installed in your home, like a Z-Wave door lock, because Vera must be within a few feet of the door lock in order to pair it. The solution is to disconnect Vera, take Vera near the door lock, plug Vera in (use an extension cord if necessary), and use the red and black buttons on the back of Vera to do the pairing:

• Hold down black button and tap red button = Add Z-Wave device:  Press and hold the black button. While it is held down, tap and release the red button once. Then let go. Be careful not to hit the black (reset) button twice in a row, as this will reset the router to the factory default configuration. Vera's power light on the front will starting to blink slow and steady, about 1 time per second. This means Vera is ready to add another device. Vera will stay in this mode for 60 seconds, after which time the power light will return to normal. Each time you successfully add a device, the power light will flutter for 2 seconds to let you know it was successfully added. When you are done adding devices, you can either wait until the 60 second timeout when the power light returns to normal, or tap the black button once to stop the 'add mode'. Once you stop the 'add mode', or it times out, wait 10 seconds before disconnecting Vera's power.

• Hold down red button and tap black button = Remove Z-Wave device:  Press and hold the red button. While it is held down, tap and release the black button once. Then let go. Vera's power light on the front will starting to blink fast and steady, about 3 times per second. This means Vera is ready to remove, or reset a device. See Reset Node for an explanation of this. Vera will stay in this mode for 60 seconds, after which time the power light will return to normal. Each time you successfully remove a device, the power light will flutter for 2 seconds to let you know it was successfully reset. When you are done reseting devices, you can either wait until the 60 second timeout when the power light returns to normal, or tap the black button once to stop the 'reset mode'. Once you stop the 'reset mode', or it times out, wait 10 seconds before disconnecting Vera's power.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: When you are adding/removing devices 'blindly' this way, without being able to see the Z-Wave status on Vera's 'Setup' page, you won't be able to see when the Z-Wave network is actually ready to add/remove devices. Just like when you're using the web interface, there are times that Vera is busy configuring the Z-Wave network and momentarily cannot add/remove devices. So, if you press the button sequence above and Vera's lights do not start flashing to indicate Vera is in add or remove mode, wait 30 seconds. If the light doesn't start flashing, try the button sequence again. Also remember that if you are unable to add a device, it's possible the device is already paired with another Z-Wave network. In this case you must reset it first by putting Vera in 'remove/reset' device as explained above. See also: Reset Node.