I am using the ZSE50 with Home Assistant to build a warning system between multiple rooms - when someone in any room presses a button, the sirens in all rooms turn on, along with the lights flashing.
I want to have a feature where the siren itself can be silenced, but the light will continue to flash. In my testing, I discovered that if the siren is already sounding, I can set the volume to 0 and the light will continue to flash. I can also use the “Advanced Controls” to turn on the siren with the volume set to 0.
However, if I set Parameter 5 - “Siren Playback Volume” - to 0, then turn on the siren, the light does not turn on.
I suspect this is a bug, because I would think that turning on the device with the volume set to 0 in the Advanced Controls should do the same thing as turning on the device with the volume remembered at 0 from previous operation.
Device Firmware: 1.20.0
Home Assistant: 2026.2.0 (and seen with previous 2025.12.x too)
Z-Wave JS add-on: 0.29.1
Z-Wave Radio: Aeotec Z-Stick 7 Plus, firmware 7.17.2
Hey @kohenkatz, thanks for reaching out! This is actually a limitation of the Z-Wave specifications. When the default volume is set to 0, Z-Wave defines the device as silent and inactive. In that state, the device is not allowed to behave as if it is actively on.
Keeping the LED on or controllable while the volume is set to 0 would make the device report an active state to the hub when it is supposed to be inactive. That violates Z Wave supervision rules and causes certification test failures, which is why this behavior is not allowed.
If the goal is to use the LED without sound, there is an option for that. Parameter 1 set to value 4 disables the speaker and uses the LED only. In this mode, the LED will flash for alerts and the volume setting does not matter, since audio is fully disabled.
Thanks for the suggestion about using parameter 1.
The reason I wanted to use the volume is that I can update it while the siren is already on to add/remove the noise while keeping the light flashing. If I have to update a parameter, I have to stop and start it again for that to be picked up. But I’ll work around it, that’s not a problem..
Out of curiosity, if the specification calls it “inactive” if the volume is set to 0, why does the light continue to flash if the device is turned on and then the volume is changed to 0?