Zigbee Device compatibility with ConBee

[jbfoster]

I do not know much about Zigbee. From my understanding Zigbee is not as standaerized as Z-wave and there is different types of Zigbee.

I wan't to get the ConBee. When looking for Zigbee device how would I know which ZigBee devices work with the ConBee?

Thanks
Jim

[jbfoster]

What's the difference between the two Plug-ins HomeSeer ZigBee and JowiHue?

Thanks
Jim

[logman]

Hi Jim,

The Homeseer Zigbee plugin is actually only compatible with Sylvania/Osram bulbs and requires the Osram Lightify gateway. The name is misleading; It should really be called the Lightify plugin. It is not compatible with the Conbee gateway nor any other devices.

The JowiHue plugin is compatible with the Conbee gateway and either already supports or will soon support nearly all Zigbee Home Automation devices available in the USA. The developers of the Conbee are very active in their support and they are constantly adding new devices to the supported list. The JowiHue plugin developer also provides first class support and responds very quickly and thoroughly as needed.

As for standardization that is not really much of an issue. The main thing to remember is that Zigbee protocols are region (country) dependent. A Philips Hue bulb for instance sold in the UK is going to be on a different radio frequency than one sold in the US market. Again not really an issue because switches and plugs are already region specific due to different voltages or configurations. Bulbs are a little different as each manufacturer has their own little idiosyncrasies specific to their hubs. But for the most part the major brands like Philips, Osram and IKEA are all supported by the Conbee/JowiHue duo.

The JowiHue plugin also gives you the flexibility to use a Philips Hue hub (in addition to the Conbee) if you choose to do so. That's the route I chose to take... I have all my Philips bulbs (150+) controlled by 3 Hue bridges that JowiHue manages. Sensors and other brand bulbs are controlled by Conbee and managed by JowiHue. Makes for a pretty awesome setup.

--Barry

[jbfoster]

So if I puchase ZigBee devices out of the USA will not work with the ConBee?

I was looking at the devices at gearbest.com.

https://www.gearbest.com/smart-home-...ml?wid=1433363
https://www.gearbest.com/access-control/pp_626703.html?wid=1433363

[logman]

Probably the safest thing is to head over to the JowiHue forum and scan to see if anyone else has posted success with using this item. Myself personally I have used the Xiaomi Aqara door sensors, temperature sensors, magic cubes and the buttons. I'm really impressed with their products and you can't beat the price! I caught the door/window sensors on sale a while back for $6.26 each with free shipping from China, so I bought several dozen. Those little things join super fast to the deCONZ network and the reporting back to Homeseer for open/close is nearly instantaneous. Dirt cheap, free shipping and excellent quality... Almost unheard of!

--Barry

[Michael McSharry]

I have seen no regional dependencies based upon the wide location of users of Zigbee2mqtt. I have most of my Zigbee devices from China. The USB hardware interface for Windows or Linux is $10 https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/li...ailable-for-10. The mcsMQTT plugin is free.