Using the the ZHA integration “Visualizer,” I was able to confirm that three of my battery-powered devices (two Visonic door/temperature sensors and one CentraLite temp/humidity sensor) are currently connecting through lines-powered IKEA Tradfri and Ledvance smart plugs. So I guess I got lucky, so far. Good to know that some devices won’t do this. I’m not sure how you’d find out, short of trying them.
I’m a little concerned to hear the suggestion that the mesh won’t re-configure as devices are moved around. I certainly did a lot of that when I was setting up each device. At a very minimum, I thought that resetting them (like when changing batteries or unplugging) would cause them to re-discover other local nodes. Where would I go to learn more about this?
So, I paired Temp2 with the Zigbee Bridge and decided to see if the Sonoff S31 socket would start acting as a repeater, automatically, without me trying to pair it with the Temp2 sensor.
Its been about 9 hours and the S31 has not started automatically repeating the Temp2 sensor’s data back to the Zigbee Bridge.
How many hours does it take for a repeater/router to automatically start repeating signals?
I read a thread earlier today where the poster said he waits 24 hours for the network to change it’s routings!!
[Problem with ZHA network visualization]
This is also what I have read on the net and on this thread but as I explain here [Problem with ZHA network visualization ] my Xiaomi Aqara weather sensor reconfigured itself to connect to the closest router (a Philips Hue bulb) in less than 2 hours.
Well, I have a Xiaomi temp & humidity sensor that keeps connected to the coordinator, although there is a CC2530 and an Ikea bulb in the same room, and 1 Ikea plug about a meter away from it (and another 3 meters away from it), but though a dry wall. Never got it to change route.
I am new to ZigBee and I have been reading a lot on the ZigBee mesh networking. What you describe is interesting for several reasons.
First, it seems that one of the problem of ZigBee compared to Z-Wave is that up until recently each company was using its own slightly different implementation of the open ZigBee standard. This situation is improving with ZigBee 3.0 and the ZigBee alliance certification, but they are still a lot of different implementations on the market.
In your description it seems that routing the Xiaomi end devices through several type of Ikea routers is not working where in my case the Xiaomi devices are rerouted to a Philips light bulb router without problem (even though many articles reports that light bulbs are not working correctly as routers!). All this tends to indicate incompatibilities between different brands. I am pretty sure that if you use a Xiaomi Hub with Xiaomi plugs and Xiaomi weather sensors the routing will be performed correctly. Therefore, it seems more appropriate to say that a device A from X does not function properly with device B from Y (in your case Xiaomi weather devices do not operate correctly with Ikea devices).
Second, there is also another aspect to consider. I have done some experiment based on LQI information returned by zha-network-card. I have placed some ZED devices relatively far from a ZC coordinator and very close to a ZR router. In such situation, you would think that the ZED would reroute from the ZC to the ZR. However, it seems that the LQI reported by zha-network-card stays at 255 even for ZED devices relatively far from the ZC. In this configuration, even if the ZR is much closer to the ZED than the ZC, it is not used (rerouted) as the ‘network protocol layer’ considers that the communication is ‘good’ enough. However, if you move the ZED apart from the ZC, so that LQI drop below a certain point, then it is automatically rerouted from the ZC to the ZR. All this make sense, as devices have no idea how far they located are from other devices in the network. The only information they have is the quality of the transmission (LQI). This implies that if the quality of a parent-child link is good enough there is no reason to reroute it.
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.
@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.
When you press the recessed pairing button on the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge, the green LED turns on steady - indicating pairing is enabled.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
