TBH, i just set it to a stupid amount aka the highest number it accepted
I have no issues, but I notice my buttons prefer connecting to the ikea range extender instead of the sonoff coordinator.
Not that it’s overly helpful here, but since I moved my Ikea Shortcut and On/Off Dimmer buttons to a Aeotec/SmartThings V3 hub with Edge drivers (was previously in z2m with a CC2652P coordinator), I’ve not encountered the rapid battery drain issue.
Same problem here, it seems that the sonoff zigbee dongle is killing the batteries with both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT.
Any updates or solution?
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Sonoff dongle and ZHA: I was hoping a simple firmware update to the Sonoff dongle would help (20220219) but the Ikea on/off button still drained in 2-3 days. I really don’t want to venture into deconz or z2mqtt unless it is a verified solution.
I use ZHA and it’s fine…with a Conbee2 ZigBee stick. I’ve said it many times on here, the issue is the Sonoff dongle.
It’s not the Sonoff dongle. I have a HUSBZB-1 and have the same problem.
I have the HUSBZB-1 using ZHA and was also running into this problem until I upgraded the firmware on Tradfri devices and replaced their batteries.
I went from replacing the battery every week to going 3 months so far on the same battery for multiple Tradfris.
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What versions did you upgrade them to? I upgraded my wireless switches and shortcut buttons a couple months ago with no luck, also with the HUSBZB
@mtrista / @Sousanator / @sparkydave / @Niels_Kloster / @LoryTurro / @ur7x / @jeeftor / @ajithprabhakar / @anshul10s
(Apologies in advance for the huge @ mention list, but hear me out… trying to help here…)
To get to the bottom, I guess saying “no problem here” or “same problem here” does not go far. I propose we all collect data and compare notes… Maybe we try this format…?
- I have “the IKEA remote control battery drain” problem (Y/N):
- My zigbee dongle (or hub or bridge) is:
- Firmware version of the zigbee dongle:
- HA controller stack (zha / z2m / conbee):
- The version of the controller stack:
- Name / model # of the IKEA Tradfri device:
- Firmware version of the IKEA Tradfri device:
- Other things to note (observations, battery drain rate, etc.):
The hope is that, by doing so, we can find the smoking gun. This would only help developers to address the issue if we contribute. And data from “problem solved” and “same problem here” cases are equally helpful.
Maybe someone somewhere else is collecting the data already? If so, let me know, I can help report what we have got here over to other place(s).
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I would advice this was set up as a survey monkey or google form or something so that it’s collected without doing manual work.
Thought about that also, but let’s all stay here. It would not be a huge list / huge ask so should be manageable here.
You don’t actually have to lose everything if you do a backup you can restore the network.
- I have “the IKEA remote control battery drain” problem (Y/N): N
- My zigbee dongle (or hub or bridge) is: ConBee II
- Firmware version of the zigbee dongle: See screenshot below
- HA controller stack (zha / z2m / conbee): ZHA
- The version of the controller stack: 2022.3.3
- Name / model # of the IKEA Tradfri device: SYMFONISK Sound Controller (among others)
- Firmware version of the IKEA Tradfri device: 0x21024631
- Other things to note (observations, battery drain rate, etc.): Working fine. 6-7 months battery time with heavy usage
I have no clue what part is the firmware of the ConBee but this is what I see.
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- I have “the IKEA remote control battery drain” problem (Y/N): Originally Yes, reset remote, No
- My zigbee dongle (or hub or bridge) is: Sonoff v3
- Firmware version of the zigbee dongle: Texas Instruments CC1352/CC2652, Z-Stack 3.30+ (build 20210708)
- HA controller stack (zha / z2m / conbee): ZHA
- The version of the controller stack: 2022.5.3
- Name / model # of the IKEA Tradfri device: IKEA of Sweden TRADFRI remote control
- Firmware version of the IKEA Tradfri device: 0x23014631
- Other things to note (observations, battery drain rate, etc.):
- Originally, the IKEA 5-button remote only lasted 1-2 weeks before dropping off the network with a dead battery. The remote was about 1m from the Sonoff v3 USB radio with only 3x devices in total. Replacing the battery required full re-inclusion / re-configure device several times.
- About a month ago, the battery stopped being a problem.
I added several Sonoff TH01 temp sensors, and a IKEA of Sweden TRADFRI control outlet located centrally to act as a mains powered router (originally to reduce external temp sensor battery drain).
Things seem to work now - making the mesh more complex and adding mains powered devices seems to have changed the behavior.
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- I have “the IKEA remote control battery drain” problem: No, Not any more.
- My zigbee dongle (or hub or bridge) is: Sonoff zigbee 3.0 usb dongle plus
- Firmware version of the zigbee dongle: Z-Stack_3.x.0 20220219 (current one)
- HA controller stack (zha / z2m / conbee): Z2M
- The version of the controller stack: 1.25:1-1 (current)
- Name / model # of the IKEA Tradfri device: E1757 (roller blind) E1766 (up down button)
- Firmware version of the IKEA Tradfri device: Current 2.3.088, 2.3.079 (updated via Sonoff and Z2M )
- Other things to note (observations, battery drain rate, etc.): Batter life back to “normal” on both buttons and blinds. Also working well with Aqara buttons. Currently supporting 9 blinds, 9 IKEA buttons, 9 IKEA repeaters and 2 Aqara buttons
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Interesting, I could not get the Conbee II to work on ZHA… nor did I have any success with the HUSBZB stick (also on ZHA)… both drained batteries within a day or two… But when I tried the Sonoff updated with the latest stable firmware and switched to Z2M suddenly everything started to work. Every now and then one of my 9 roller blinds will not get the HA automation “close” command… but now that I have good buttons no big deal.
I’m guessing that certain devices and firmwares (dongle and buttons) work together and others don’t.
It also looks like the environment of your house also plays here (size, interference sources, repeaters, etc.) These all used to work great in SmartThings… SmartThings did a firmware update and then any button that used a repeater would die… If the button was in the room with the SmartThings Hub it would last a little longer. The Blinds were a joke and were dead within a month… they are supposed to last 6 months.
Update on my previous post, like others I have switched to the Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 dongle on latest firmware with Zigbee2Mqtt and I no longer have the battery drain issue. All of my other devices switched over very easily.
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@bl8demast3r - Could you help document what you have, so that to help future users coming to this thread understand what a good / working baseline would be…?
- I have “the IKEA remote control battery drain” problem (Y/N): No
- My zigbee dongle (or hub or bridge) is: Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 dongle plus
- Firmware version of the zigbee dongle:
- HA controller stack (zha / z2m / conbee): Zigbee2Mqtt
- The version of the controller stack:
- Name / model # of the IKEA Tradfri device:
- Firmware version of the IKEA Tradfri device:
- Other things to note (observations, battery drain rate, etc.):
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After seeing other positive comments around the Sonoff ZigBee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus stick, it’s worth mentioning that my original Zigbee experiments with HASS used the Sonoff Zigbee ZBridge which has history. The HASS documentation says not recommended however there is a bit more detail behind this comment.
Certainly, my experience with the ZBridge and no mains-powered Zigbee devices was poor - lots of replacement batteries (1-2 weeks life for the IKEA 5-button remote), and lots of re-configuration of devices.
Adding a mains-powered IKEA switch to the mesh to act as a router/ repeater happened first, but perhaps replacing the ZBridge with a Sonoff ZigBee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus made the crucial difference to IKEA Tradfri battery life.
Basically, if you have a Sonoff ZBridge, my recommendation is to hit it with a hammer! 
