Device Reliability how is yours?

[jbfoster]

I bought the deCONZ and 6 ZigBee devices. I have 2 temp sensors, 2 water sensors, a push button switch and a double switch.

one temp sensor is working. The other one last reported the temp 3 days ago. Nothing since.
Both water sensors - can't tell since they only report if there is water.
Both switches takes minutes to respond if they resond at all.

I rebooted the HS3 computer and now seems to react quicker. Anyone have issues with their temp sensors stopping for days at a time then all of a sudden start working?
The reboot did not help the temp sensor.

I have 12 days left of my trial of the Plug-in. I have not had these issues with my Z-wave devices.

Jim

[simplextech]

I'm just going to guess and say those are Xiaomi devices right?

Have you checked your mesh through the deCONZ interface to see if the devices have dropped offline when you notice problems? I see sensors in your list but no routers so what are you using for routing the mesh other than the ConBee or RaspBee interface?

[jbfoster]

I'm just going to guess and say those are Xiaomi devices right?

Have you checked your mesh through the deCONZ interface to see if the devices have dropped offline when you notice problems? I see sensors in your list but no routers so what are you using for routing the mesh other than the ConBee or RaspBee interface?

Yes they are Xiaomi devices. Not sure what you mean by routers. Sorry I should of said ConBee. I have the ConBee in my Windows laptop.

[w.vuyk]

JIm,

Routers are devices that create the mesh for Zigbee. Those devices are lights and/or plugs mostly. Powered devices, just like Zwave is doing.

The danger you have with using only enddevices (battery operated devices, like the xiaomi sensors) with the grey lines on the left part of the device graphic, is that the distance for the sensors to the gateway can be too far away. With a router (light or plug) in between an enddevice can decide to connect to this routers, solving distance issues as the distance now can be 14 meters or more. Adding more routers extends the reach even more.

As a rule of thumb I keep 7 meters (21 ft) as a trustworthy distance between enddevice and router or gateway. Often you can go further away from router or gateway, but that depends on factors like walls, metal, inteference of wifi routers etc.

If you press the LQI button in the top middle of the deCONZ window, you will see numbers appear after some time on the lines, showing the quality of the link between the gateway and the device. This gives you an indication whether the signal is weak or stronger....

I see the device 0x5CFE is not yet completely scanned correctly by deCONZ. Once it is scanned correctly it should change the name to something more understandable. If this is a xiaomi device, open the configuration page and press the button scan devices on the bridge. Then reset the xiaomi device by pressing the little button (or water sensor, press the top, check the blue light) for 5 seconds, the blue light starts blinking then.... and check deconz, you will see the device staring to blink... press the button on the xiaomi short sveral time, you should see the blinking on decONZ almost synchronous. Once the device has been scanned, the name should change.

Also make sure you are on a current version of deCONZ? It should be 2.05.49 or higher (current is 2.05.58)

Wim

[Richel]

I bought the deCONZ and 6 ZigBee devices. I have 2 temp sensors, 2 water sensors, a push button switch and a double switch.

one temp sensor is working. The other one last reported the temp 3 days ago. Nothing since.
Both water sensors - can't tell since they only report if there is water.
Both switches takes minutes to respond if they resond at all.

I rebooted the HS3 computer and now seems to react quicker. Anyone have issues with their temp sensors stopping for days at a time then all of a sudden start working?
The reboot did not help the temp sensor.

I have 12 days left of my trial of the Plug-in. I have not had these issues with my Z-wave devices.

Jim

See my earlier post: https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/li...igbee-is-great
You may need to have some light bulbs that are routers in your system. Presently, I have 29 light bulbs (Osram/Lightify, Philips Hue, Ikea Tradfri, and Sengled), 2 switches (Xiaomi), and 27 sensors of various types (Xiaomi mainly). I have occasional drop outs, more frequent for my Osram/Lightify bulbs with the latest deConz update (January 30, 2019), but otherwise I continue to be very pleased with Zigbee - speed, range, reliability, and availability of low-cost sensors.

[drparker151]

Not sure if you can control the ZigBee channel that deCONZ uses. Make sure your ZigBee is not conflicting with your wifi.

https://support.metageek.com/hc/en-u...Fi-Coexistence

[mikepetro]

Not sure if you can control the ZigBee channel that deCONZ uses. Make sure your ZigBee is not conflicting with your wifi.

https://support.metageek.com/hc/en-u...Fi-Coexistence

deConz allows you to choose from 20 channels.

[mikepetro]

I too am new to Zigbee, so I did a lot of reading first. I mainly want zigbee for the low powered sensors that are available.

First I obtained the Conbee, then I got 7 IKEA Tradfi repeaters ($10 ea) to create a "mesh" for my 2300 sqft home. The goal being that no sensor should be more than 30 feet (10 meters) from a repeater.

Then I added 10 motion sensors, a couple of wireless switches, and a temp/humidty sensor.
Most everything is either Xiaomi or IKEA. I.e. very inexpensive stuff.

My zigbee network has responded extremely well. Not quite as good as Zwave in terms of range, but the advantages of Zigbee are low cost, and low power. Simple button battery Zigbee sensors outlast Zwave battery sensors by a long shot.

If you gain a good understanding of how "Mesh" networks work, you can get good performance out of Zigbee, at least that is my experience.

Some recommended reading:
Good primer here.

[jbfoster]

JIm,

Routers are devices that create the mesh for Zigbee. Those devices are lights and/or plugs mostly. Powered devices, just like Zwave is doing.

The danger you have with using only enddevices (battery operated devices, like the xiaomi sensors) with the grey lines on the left part of the device graphic, is that the distance for the sensors to the gateway can be too far away. With a router (light or plug) in between an enddevice can decide to connect to this routers, solving distance issues as the distance now can be 14 meters or more. Adding more routers extends the reach even more.

As a rule of thumb I keep 7 meters (21 ft) as a trustworthy distance between enddevice and router or gateway. Often you can go further away from router or gateway, but that depends on factors like walls, metal, inteference of wifi routers etc.

If you press the LQI button in the top middle of the deCONZ window, you will see numbers appear after some time on the lines, showing the quality of the link between the gateway and the device. This gives you an indication whether the signal is weak or stronger....

I see the device 0x5CFE is not yet completely scanned correctly by deCONZ. Once it is scanned correctly it should change the name to something more understandable. If this is a xiaomi device, open the configuration page and press the button scan devices on the bridge. Then reset the xiaomi device by pressing the little button (or water sensor, press the top, check the blue light) for 5 seconds, the blue light starts blinking then.... and check deconz, you will see the device staring to blink... press the button on the xiaomi short sveral time, you should see the blinking on decONZ almost synchronous. Once the device has been scanned, the name should change.

Also make sure you are on a current version of deCONZ? It should be 2.05.49 or higher (current is 2.05.58)

Wim

I didn't event think about the distance and that all devices are batterty powered. The distance from the controller to my devices is 35 feet and 1 wall. I will need to order a AC powered device and put inbetween. The device 0x5CFE is a Smartthings arrival senser that I bought several years ago that I have tried to get working but could not. Im not sure how te read the numbers on line. See blow.

I'm Version deCONZ 2.05.57

Thanks
Jim

[jbfoster]

I don't need any bulbs right now. Is there a smart outlet out there that will work in the USA? I didn't see anything on Gearbest.

[jbfoster]

Has anyone tried this ZigBee 3.0 plug?

https://www.amazon.com/ZigBee-Automa...eywords=zigbee

[bdickhaus]

I had already deployed Hue bulbs throughout the house, I just migrated them over to deCONZ and those are my primary routers. But I also have a couple of the Sylvania Smart Plugs https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M6UM8QD

And as mikepetro mentioned above, the IKEA Tradfi repeaters work, and about half the price of the Sylvania smart plug (assuming that you don't need the smart plug functionality).

Bill

[jbfoster]

I had already deployed Hue bulbs throughout the house, I just migrated them over to deCONZ and those are my primary routers. But I also have a couple of the Sylvania Smart Plugs https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M6UM8QD

And as mikepetro mentioned above, the IKEA Tradfi repeaters work, and about half the price of the Sylvania smart plug (assuming that you don't need the smart plug functionality).

Bill

I looked at the IKEA Tradfi repeaters but they are $11.99 plus $9 shipping. I would rather spend a couple more dollars and get the Sylvania Smart Plug. I just can't see paying $9 shipping for a $12 item.

Jim

[langenet]

Like others, I'm also new to ZigBee and have 3 repeaters and 5 Xiaomi water sensors. 2 of them are farthest away and don't show links in deCONZ. I have tested them and they work. Interestingly, they are the only ones which are updating their battery status. I have one under my water heater which is less than 20 feet from the deCONZ which shows a green link but it's not updating the battery status. I have trial tested every sensor and they report instantly on water detection.

Robert

[mikepetro]

Ikea has a new repeater just starting to hit the stores that is basically a USB charger and Zigbee repeater all in one. It is also only a 2 prong device which works great in older homes that dont have 3 prong receptacles (I have a 1950s home). And I personally can utilize the USB chargers much more than another controlled outlet, I already have enough Zwave controlled outlets.