Advice on Zigbee range extending

Aqara modules never change of parent router… even when the router is sub-optimal or even dead, that’s the issue :confused:

Indeed. I have the same model Xiaomi temp & hum. sensor in my kitchen, and that one routes fine through a Xiaomi plug. The Xiaomi plug does not have problems routing through an Ikea and Blitzwolf plug.

As mentioned above, my Aqara weather device has rerouted from the ConBee coordinator to the Philips light bulb router automatically even though it was working correctly on the coordinator.
Again I believe that it is a problem of ‘compatibility’ not a problem of the device alone. As @francisp mentions it works through a Xiaomi plug and for me it works through a Philips bulb.

Il also maybe depends of the Aqara module version. Mine are pretty old (more than 2 years).

Just received mine from China few weeks ago :wink:

@Hedda do you know if the Trådfri range repeater/extender work with Sonoff Zigbee Bridge? Here’s a tread from me trying to get them to connect but I can’t seem to pair them. I got the impression from your post that they might be compatible with each other How do I extend my Zigbee network with IKEA Trådfri repeater and Sonoff ZB Bridge?. Thanks for any insights.

do you know if the Trådfri range repeater/extender work with Sonoff Zigbee Bridge?

Yes! The IKEA TRADFRI repeaters work VERY well with the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge.
2 weeks ago I added one of the TRADFRI repeaters and within 5 minutes of adding it to the ZB network, it started acting like a repeater to the Sonoff temperature sensors I had around the house.
I just added a 2nd TRADFRI repeater today.
Hour to hour, I’m watching the Zigbee network reroute itself. Temperature sensors are changing which device they are paired with.

That’s great news @mrneutron . Now the question is why mine won’t pair. So all you do is to Add a new device in the eWeLink App and then set the repeater to pairing and they find themselves? Do you set the repeater really close to the Bridge to pair? I have mine like 2 cm away and it still doesn’t pair…

You left out a step that I always do with the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge, which is to use a thin paperclip to press the recessed pairing button.

  1. When you press the recessed pairing button on the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge, the green LED turns on steady - indicating pairing is enabled.
  2. I go to the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge in the Devices page of Home Assistant and click the ADD DEVICES VIA THIS DEVICE link. (this would be like the Add a Device button in your app)
    NOTE, this is the 2nd stage of the pairing process for the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge.
    ZB Bridge add devices via this device
  3. I quickly go to the IKEA TRADFRI with a thin paperclip and press and hold it’s recessed pairing button for about 5 seconds. When I release it, the LED on the TRADFRI blinks - indicating it’s in pairing mode.
  4. within about 10 seconds, I see the TRADFRI get discovered by Home Assistant. I give it a name and it’s paired with the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge.
    ZB device pairing Interview Started

When I have paired the IKEA TRADFRI repeaters they have been in a different room, 15-20 feet from the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge, so the 2 units clearly don’t have to be right next to each other.

I’ve never done this. Never had a problem.

EDIT: I’m on Tasmota firmware

I’ve never done this. Never had a problem.

EDIT: I’m on Tasmota firmware

I’ve also got Tasmota firmware in the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge.

Really? That would be great if I didn’t have to press the recessed pairing button on the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge!
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that recessed button needed to be pressed, which is why I’ve been pressing it.
I can tell you that pressing the recessed pairing button doesn’t impede the process. :slightly_smiling_face:

Bottom line: It appears that there’s something I’m doing in my pairing process (which works) that @naboovalley isn’t doing…need to figure out what that is.

They’re using the eWeLink app. You’re not.

True, I’m not using the eWeLink app…using Home Assistant.
And, since @naboovalley didn’t say he was pressing that TRADFRI pairing button during the process, that may be it.

That pairing button is necessary, the bridge pairing button isn’t

They seem to be setting it in pairing mode. Who knows, anyway, it will not pair if they’re trying to pair with the eWeLink app.

So, you’re guessing that the eWeLink app is the problem?

Correct. Once you flash Tasmota on the bridge, the eWeLink app is useless.

Thanks for the awesome explanation @mrneutron. Like @tteck says I’m using the eWeLink App which is probably the issue here. So then the question is - do I need to flash in Tasmota in order to get the “Add devices from device” option for my Bridge? Because I can’t seem to find that on my Bridge device screen in HA (sorry if that’s a stupid question…).

If you use the ewelink app, you are probably using a sonoff integration, and are mostly limited to Sonoff devices. If you flash it with Tasmota, you can use ZHA or Zigbee2Tasmota, and use a wider range of devices.

Thanks @francisp. So I’ll have to flash the bridge, then get them to pair. I’ll do that and report back - just need to get some extra gear first after reading the flashing guide :slight_smile: