Hey all,
So it seems like my Zigbee devices will sometimes miss a message or two. For example, I’ll have to send a “power off” signal to a device in a loop with a delay (x10) to make sure it gets the message. My network isn’t very large so far - just a few devices spaced out through the home.
Is this the sort of thing MQTT cures? I’d be able to send a single “off” signal and be guaranteed it will (eventually) deliver?
The short answer is no. It’s still Zigbee between your device and hub. Whatever MQTT method you’re using (eg. Zigbee2MQTT) just runs on the HA server. The problem is undoubtedly in the Zigbee part of the transmission, not in the MQTT part.
You would be better off buying something that can act as a Zigbee router/repeater, which includes most mains powered Zigbee devices (eg. smart light globe). Ikea has a cheap repeater that works well. You should also pair Zigbee devices in their final location as some don’t like to switch between routers.
Thank you for your advice. How helpful would it be to simply add more smart outlets throughout each room, to make the mesh more dense? I think I’ve got about one plug per room right now.
If you’re saying you’ve already got one mains-powered Zigbee device in every room, that should be more than enough for a good mesh.
I would maybe look into studying the 2.4Ghz Wifi interference and make sure your Zigbee channel is isolated. Also your HASS Zigbee dongle is on a USB extension cable and plugged into a USB 2 port, not USB 3.