Sonoff SNZB-03P presence sensor ... slow response time

Configuration Zigbee
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1

Hello all,

A little system background …

I have HAOS installed on my Dell Optiplex 7050. My 40-odd devices are mostly ZigBee ZHA with a few wifi ones. My system has worked pretty flawlessly for about three years.

I recently decided to investigate ZigBee2MQTT by setting up a second ZigBee network with a second ZigBee coordinator. The first device I have added to that network is a Sonoff SNZB-03P presence sensor.

I built a simple automation, using the SNXB-03P to trigger a light when presence is detected. The automation works … but the response time is maybe 8-12 seconds before the light comes on. Too long to be useful.

Any ideas on improving this response time?

Thanks in advance,
Karl

2

You probably just need to add routers. You really can’t expect much from just a single end device and a coordinator. That’s not how Zigbee is meant to used. You may also need to adjust the channels of each Zigbee mesh and/or your WiFi to reduce them interfering with one another (as well as any neighbors, etc).

Unless you really need features from both integrations, you’re probably better off just having a single mesh. And if that’s the case, then you will need to either add new routers, or split your existing routers between the two networks.

3

You can test that, put the sensor close to the coordinator (couple of meters).

That should be close enough that you won’t have range or interference issues.
See if the behavior is the same.

I am running:

  • Multiple SNZB-03P sensors
  • Dockerized Zigbee2MQTT + Dockerized HA
  • Connect ZBT-2 coordinator

Response times are sub 1/2 second (probably better than that).

Make sure your firmware on your coordinator is up to date - out of the box the ZBT-2 was a bit sluggish - updating the firmware improved things.

4

Thanks for the reply Didgeridrew.

I set up a second ZigBee network because I wanted to experiment with devices that were better exposed in ZigBee2MQTT than in ZHA. A second independent network would allow me to do that without risking my existing ZHA network during my learning curve.

How would I verify and set the channels used by each of the two mesh networks? In doing so, will my existing ZHA devices adapt to the new channels, or will repairing be required?

Thanks,
Karl

5

Thanks for the suggestion (dtrott) to move the sensor closer to the coordinator and see if the response time improves. If it improves, I’ll add additional router(s) as needed to bridge the distance and build out a new mesh (per Didgeridrew suggestion).

Karl

6

Hey David (dtrott),

I moved my presence sensor within a couple meters of my ZigBee2MQTT coordinator and tested the automation again. The response time remains about 8-10 secs … too long to be useful in my application.

My setup uses the Sonoff SNZB-03P presence sensor set up in ZigBee2MQTT via a dedicated Nabu Casa Connect ZBT-2 dongle. The automation is triggered by presence detection and the action turns on a nearby light plugged into a Sonoff S31 Lite ZigBee smartplug set up in ZHA.

This automation uses both a ZHA and a ZigBee2MQTT network, so the first thing that comes to mind is the delay is caused by Home Assistant working with two networks in this automation?

Your thoughts?

Karl

7

Only if you have both coordinators/networks running on the same frequency/channel.

If they are both on reasonably clear bands there shouldn’t be an issue.
I also ran 2 coordinators (ZHA + Z2M) for a few days while I did the conversion ZHA → Z2M. I still have stuff on Z2M and WIFI and there isn’t an issue with that.

If you haven’t patched the firmware on the ZBT-2 connect I would strongly recommend doing that - before patching my responses were probably closer to 1 second than 0.5 second.