End devices slower when connected directly to Conbee II?

Configuration Zigbee
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Hey everyone, I’ve been having a weird issue for well over a year now with my Conbee II. If an end device is connected through one of my Ikea Tradfri outlets that act as routers, they respond lightning fast 99.9% of the time. However, regardless of what sensor it is (even buttons/remotes seem to be impacted sometimes), if the end device is connected directly to the Conbee II it will add anywhere from a 0.5s to 2s delay or sometimes not even respond. Replugging it has a 50/50 chance to fix the problem for a few hours or so, but it ends up ruining the rest of the Zigbee network and the speedup only lasts so long that I’ve avoided this workaround moving forward.

I’ve tried many different firmware versions over the last few years, and while the latest firmware seems to have helped, the issue still remains. I’ve also tried different installation methods, going from a VMware Home Assistant OS installation to bare metal HA OS (more on this in a second) to a Docker containerized installation which I’ve currently settled on as it’s the most stable. There was no luck hopping around from ZHA to DeConz to Z2M, changing Zigbee channels, or other common fixes for Zigbee lag either. The only thing that’s helped is having Zigbee routers, but as far as I can tell you can’t force a Zigbee path and I’d like to avoid purchasing more smart plugs I won’t use.

Unfortunately I have no systems available to run bare metal on, but during my time on bare metal HA OS I noticed that the problem had disappeared entirely for the day or two that I used it. I have no idea if it was placebo or because it was replugged, but end devices connected directly to the coordinator and not through a router stayed faster the entire time. If it wasn’t placebo, I’m wondering if the Conbee II is running extra software when plugged into a recognizable Windows or Linux machine? My current

Sorry if a lot of this sounds garbled, I’m finding it hard to condense my findings. The TL;DR is that for whatever reason, Zigbee end devices connected directly to the Conbee II instead of a router are very slow, except when I was testing a generic x86-x64 install that I can’t move back to at this time. If anyone has any info that could help resolve this issue on my Docker installation I’d really appreciate it, thanks a bunch in advance!

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A lot of testing and changing. Have you been through HAOS install?

It sounds like the only parameter you have not tried, is changing the coordinator? You do not mention the end devices, however maybe they do not comply with the conbee 2?

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Whoops, my bad! Forgot to mention I’ve tested this with both Iris iL06 contact/il07 motion sensors and Samsung Multipurpose/Motion sensors. I’m currently using ZHA, but these also worked in their ‘laggy’ state on DeConz and they were listed as supported as well.

As for HAOS install, do you mean the install process or having just used it in general?

I wanted to try fixing the issue on my Conbee II before buying anything else because I don’t have any spare coordinators, but if all else fails I’ll likely purchase and use the Sonoff 3.0 dongles from now on.

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I’m mentioning HAOS, as it will go on a Pi, X86 or any other HW, however no other things running on the box. You mention you have more positive dynamics using dedicated HW. The lag could be in the connection between HA and the USB dongle. Might be something else interfering with the USB access.

One other thing, your zigbee mesh. Pretty sure you have tried a lot, however the simple stuff like long usb extender cable and ensure there is not Wi-Fi interference, have you looked into this?

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Bare metal x86 seemed to solve the issue, just didn’t test it long enough to verify it wouldn’t start lagging again. It was running on the same machine that’s currently running the Docker container without issues though, so it’s definitely an OS interference thing.

Yes, I’ve tried many different extension cables I have, both 3-6ft passive USB 2.0 cables and a 16.4ft active USB 3.0 cable with no difference. As for Wi-FI interference, I already made sure it’s on a non-conflicting channel using a Wi-Fi analyzer app on my phone. It’s currently on channel 20 I believe?

Thanks for all your help, I’ll likely just buy a new coordinator since it’s the cheaper option. Really annoyed with the Conbee II though since it’s clearly capable of being very fast when it wants to be.