Aqara Zigbee Door Sensors losing connection

[bphillips921 (Brad Phillips)]

I have 3 Aqara door sensors that communicate with HA via a Nortex Zigbee USB stick. 2 out of the 3 door sensors are going “unavailable” frequently and for long periods, one of them for more than a week now. The sensor that has been unavailable for more than a week is only 20 feet from the HA server with no walls in between.

Has anyone else had these problems and know how to fix it?

[ardysusilo (Ardy)]

1. Have you used extension cable?
2. Have you configured the Zigbee channel so it does not get interfered by WiFi signal?
3. If you see it on the map, does the Aqara connect to the coordinator directly or via a repeater? Sometimes Aqara is quite stubborn - finding a way to just connect directly to the coordinator.

[bphillips921 (Brad Phillips)]

I have tried an extension cable with no luck.

I have not tried to change the zigbee channel, how do I do that? I have a Unifi system with 8 APs, so WiFi interference could be a thing.

The Aqara connects directly. I don’t have any repeaters

[ardysusilo (Ardy)]

Extension cable is a must if you are using USB 3.0. The interference could cause the problem.

To change the channel, unfortunately you will have to repair everything. Here’s how I do it-

Changing the zigbee channel

I don’t think it’s possible for you to change zigbee channel without repairing the devices (from what I’ve read on the forum). Have you successfully change the zigbee channel? You may want to try this easy way- (suggestion by puddly from discord Disable/delete the integration sudo bellows -d socket://IP:8888 backup > backup.txt (if you are using ZBBridge/other IP based coordinator) OR sudo bellows -d /dev/ttyUSBX backup > backup.txt (if you are running USB based coordinator) Open backup.tx…

Note: I also have 7 Unifi UAP AC LR installed on my home. From my personal experience, changing the Zigbee channel definitely improved the reliability (no more false negative).

My WiFi is set at either channel 1 or 6. While my Zigbee coordinator is set at channel 25.

[liviumac]

Are you sure they are truly unavailable?

I have some Xiaomi contact sensors and yes, from time to time I see them as unavailable in HA, especially after restart.

However, the moment there is a state change (i.e. I open the door), they appear correctly. So either they are in fact connected even though they are displayed as unavalaible or they connect immediately after a state change.

[Stephenn]

@ardysusilo

To change the channel, unfortunately you will have to repair everything

That sux! I use a Hubitat hub and can change the channel on it and all the connected devices will do same. It usually causes some slight issues for following 24 hours as devices switch but that’s it. I wonder what’s different that allows the channel change without re-pairing.