Right, there’s no way i would “meshing” around, with additional “router-capable” devices for this purpose ( it’s just another point of failure ! )
Draw an ethernet-cable, put op a Ethernet-Switch in the garage ( or a Router with WIFI and Ethernet ports, as a WIRED AP ( To your main Router ) , this way you have LAN/WIFI in the garage( For all purposes you find usefull )
To this Switch/Router, you connect a i.e IKEA Coordinater ( Or optional choice )
Ikea runs Default on Zigbee Channeo 10, where as most others uses Channel 15
Depending upon how much/often you use the Garage, this would be a stable choice ( For both WIFI/Ethernet and Zighbee )
And if you uses a IP-Router as AP, you on the same WIFI/and ethernet Network ( You just add another Zigbee Network on another Channel, and another Integration )
IKEA is not the one you’ll have problems with ( Drawback, limited device assortment ( but eventually they “catch up” , on the other hand, with same WIFI-Network, you can use optional wifi devices to communicate with )
One drawback of using IKEA or Hue coordinators is the limited support for devices. If you have them laying around unused sure, but if there is a need for a purchase there are better options (like the network based ones).
Yes, i did mentioned that, and btw IKEA is a Wired Coordinator( Network based )
It’s All simple, but an easy plug and play solution (depended upon which devices you have/need there, in a Garage ) …, not depended upon all the constant issues, people tends to get with ZHA and Zigbee-to-MQTT, beside all the configurations needed for these
To clarify: I have changed my strategy to just try and reach over the gap. And I think its worth a shot with a larger antennae PoE-unit on my sheltered balcony (2 meters from my wifi-router as power source), and a bulb or something in the garage.
So can I get a SLZB-06M for example, load it with router firmware, plug it in a random ethernet connection for power, and just add it to my zha-network in HA?
B is also an option, but not very elegant. Will also occupy a second power outlet. That is router slzb-06 placed on outside balcony reaching another router slzb-06 in garage opening:
C would work. That is a cable going from HA/LAN via PoE injector to coordinator slzb-06 in garage. But this is more practically demanding, which I can’t see happening in my life right now:
Distance ranges up to 100 m line of sight open air. It SHOULD be ok. (assuming you don’t have a lot of other interference.). That said I on purpose cut my max range by about 1/4 to ensure goo’s coverage. So 25-33m would be the farthest I’d go usually.
If you might consider ZWave then LR (long range) support has just been included in Home Assistant. It has impressive theoretical distance coverage well over 1 mile in best conditions apparently. Bear in mind that LR does not use a mesh so the nodes are single hop and not repeaters.
I do not use LR myself so no experience here. It’s usefulness will depend on what devices are needed in your garage.
I ended up doing the ethernet wallplug (tp-link homeplug) + slzb06 coordinator with a separate zigbee2mqtt network.
Which seems to work pretty seemlessly, despite circuit breakers and distance in between.
Only concern is that the equipment is not rated for outdoor use, and my garage is pretty damp during winter. So the long term stability remains to be seen.
Might upgrade to ethernet wire at some point in the distant future.
Get some conduit, pre pull a couple of cat6 cables through and start digging I did it the first day after we moved, in pouring rain, but glad I did!
On a side note my garage also gets very damp (I’ve seen 95%) and it hasn’t affected anything on the equipment I run there (server, switches, storage), but I don’t have the homelink plugs.
I did it the first day after we moved, in pouring rain, but glad I did!