I live near to an Ikea store. They stock everything so the convenience factor (as well as price) was a big reason for having quite a lot of their devices. But when compared with other suppliers, are they rubbish?
Specially, I have a few button devices (single function and multi-function). Almost all of them will just randomly stop working. Some much more than others (the single function) but they all do it from time to time. I need to remove the battery to reset the device, then its all good till the next time.
I have quite a few Ikea devices (motion detectors, wall plugs, light bulbs, etc) and all of them seem to be pretty good. But the buttons? Endless trouble. I have Aqara stuff too. No issues there.
I’m leaning towards dumping Ikea and moving in another direction.
I think they have a very good ratio regarding bang for bucks in general. I’m always impressed about the build quality they have with the plastic cases (like molded I think). Also they have a good customer service and bringing back broken stuff is no problem whatsoever.
I don’t have any button from ikea so I can’t tell.
Things you could fit in the category smart home I have probably only two devices from that Swedish outlet. A (sonos) based speaker and a air-quality (pm) meter device that actually needed to be “smart” by pushing a esp32 inside.
I am also not satisfied with Ikea devices, because of lights, they go on with half brigtness. I use adaptive lightning and this problem with brightness is a big no go! I also created an automation when light is on turn brightness to max, but this dont work always. I have a lot of Hue light, some cheap Muller tint, Yeelight and some wifi, and all working good.
I had also problems with buttons, they gone offline, but this good now.
Specially, I have a few button devices (single function and multi-function). Almost all of them will just randomly stop working.
I also had switches from IKEA integrated via ZHA. The big round one ran well and reliably. The small square switches broke the connection again and again and could not be paired in the end. Now I use Aqara-Opple switches, which have been working reliably for months without any problems.
Also the light bulbs from ikea are not so great. For one thing, mine didn’t have a nice light color. The cold white was too blue, the warm white too reddish. On the other hand, they could not be dimmed continuously. Now I use Müller Tint bulbs, which do not have these problems.
I was not very happy with the smart bulbs I have as they would not stay connected although IKEA was not the only brand with this issue.
I have one smart blind and functionally I have been completely happy with it. It has worked since setup without a single disconnect issue. Aesthetically its a bit to modern for our living room so I will be going with something else for those windows but I have no complaints otherwise.
I would say our IKEA remotes work 99% of the times.
The problem is that the 1% usually is a big issue.
When they don’t work it could be just a re-pair and it works again, sometimes it’s just impossible to get the working.
Such as one of out volume knobs. It just stopped working. Tried to re-pair, didn’t work.
Tried to change batteries and re-pair, didn’t work.
Tried many times more and eventually gave up on it.
Bought a new one and spent probably an hour trying to get the new one to work, and then I thought I could try with a new battery.
So I picked up the old one and as I picked it up I saw in the events log that it worked.
I’m not sure anything is wrong with the new one. Maybe it just has a bad mood and needs to gently wake up, so I’ll leave it for a while and try it again later.
But I believe that you should have one spare remote just in case.
I’ve also used their remotes and plugs, and rarely have issues with them except when the batteries get a bit low. But I’ve got an automation keeping an eye on that, so not a major issue. Indeed the plugs have been rock solid, certainly in comparison with the Hive plug I got for free from them and that quickly got relegated to a drawer along with its controller.
The only item of theirs that I’ve been disappointed with are the motion sensors, as they don’t always trigger when they should. If you remain in their field of vision they seem to turn off anyway, and can sometimes take a while to register motion in the first place.
But I think they’re more designed to work directly with bulbs, which I have none of and aren’t very interested in.
Edit to add - should also note that I’m not running with an Ikea hub, but a Deconz stick (Conbee II).
I have five TRADFRI smart plugs which I use with ZHA. They have been absolutely rock-solid for a couple of years now. More reliable than other smart plugs I use, especially WiFi devices.
That said, I’ve noticed on this forum that problems are much more likely with smart bulbs, especially dimmable or color-changing. It seems once you get beyond a simple on/off device, the manufacturer’s quirks start to get involved and reliability suffers. So far I’ve avoided that kind of device.
I should also add that if the problem devices are a bit remote from the Zigbee controller, just plug in a Zigbee smart plug half-way between them. It doesn’t even have to control anything (but come on, I’m sure you’ll find something you want to make “smart.”) Building a solid mesh goes a long way toward keeping Zigbee devices happy.
biggest problem I have experienced is with the ikea buttons - I have bulbs, zigbee boosters, plugs and tradfri remotes that have all been fine but the buttons can be a pain.
Whilst I have little in the way of empirical evidence anecdotally the devices they route through seem to be a factor.
I have a switch in the laundry that gave me no end of problems. when I had the switch routing through a non ikea device (the laundry light was an innr bulb) it was pretty unreliable. When I switched to an ikea bulb the issues almost disappeared. Its gone from not working 5 or 6 times a week to 1 or 2 times a month.
I checked my other ikea switches and reconnected the 2 that werent connected via ikea devices via ikea devices and they also now seem more stable (but were less used anyway so, you know… :))
anyway thats my input.
switches can be a pain, everything else is more consistent than anything else I’ve used (Innr sonoff etc)
edit: all my remotes and most of my lights are connected via ZHA and a sonoff usb stick (new one). I also have the hub running some lights that I haven’t migrated yet.
Running Ikea Tradfri here on Zigbee2mqtt without any issues.
I think one on-off switch is causing some minor issues occasionally, but probably because it is out off range, as it is the furthest unit. Trying to get my hands on repeater, bit hard to get
Slightly off topic, but aren’t all Zigbee devices a repeater? If yes, then why buy a repeater- just put a light or switch between the furthest node and the hub?
Not all. But I have plenty of Ikea wallplugs, which are repeaters (aka Routers). the main problem I have observed is that end-devices don’t necessary connect to the nearest router. In my example (from this post) there are several router-devices in the same room. But checking the Z2M map, connections are all over the place.
I’ve had good luck with sticking any old smart plug half-way between the controller and a device that’s near the end of its range.
That said, I’ve heard of devices from different manufacturers not working as well together for routing. Pick a brand and search this forum to be sure it hasn’t been reported as a problem. It could be I’ve just been lucky, or maybe it’s because I don’t use any advanced features like dimming or color-changing.
