Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus interference

[eight]

Hi, I just got the Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus, plugged it into my Raspberry pi HA server. It discovered the dongle immediately and I set it up successfully. But it does not seem to discover zigbee devices. I’ve got a couple of Aqara door sensors, but they don’t show-up in the integration.
I’ve read about zigbee dongles and interference when plugging into Rpis, but this one got this relatively big antenna, so I thought interference is not an issue on Sonoff dongles. I’m now wondering if it’s the interference or something else, like a faulty device. I don’t have a cable to test it out yet, but the ones that use the dongle, do you use it with an extension cable or not? If yes, how long?

[francisp (Francis)]

@eight

do you use it with an extension cable

Advisable.

@eight

But it does not seem to discover zigbee devices.

Did you put them in pairing mode ?

[eight]

Yes, put them into pairing mode. Tried standing next to the dongle too.

[FriedCheese (Ryan)]

Maybe think about an externally powered USB hub too. Power draw could be at play depending on what else you have connected.

[Stiltjack]

@eight

I’ve got a couple of Aqara door sensors, but they don’t show-up in the integration.

Is that all?

The coordinator can connect directly with sensors, but that’s not how Zigbee is designed to work. You’re letting yourself in for a lifetime of pain. You need lots of mains-powered routers to create a proper mesh.

I also have have a Sonoff dongle and it works extremely well. Interference most definitely is an issue with all dongles. Mine is on the end of a 2m cable, and powered through a USB hub as @FriedCheese suggests. The hub needs to be USB 2 - USB 3 actually creates interference. For the same reason, your dongle should be connected to a USB 2 port on the Pi, not the blue USB 3 one.

@eight

I’m now wondering if it’s the interference or something else, like a faulty device.

It happens… but it’s very low down on the troubleshooting list

Lots of good advice here:

Zigbee networks: how to guide for avoiding interference + optimizing using Zigbee Router devices (repeaters/extenders) to get best possible range and coverage

Who is this guide for? I have tried to make this guide to be a comprehensive collection of the most basic yet essential tips with a set of actions and best practice steps that should be applicable to all types of Zigbee setups, regardless of what type of Zigbee adapter/gateway/hub/bridge/devices that you are using, however, it has been written with a point-of-view in mind of Zigbee solutions that use a Zigbee Coordinator adapter locally via USB dongle/stick or remotely using a serial server ove…

[patrick.g (Patrick)]

Often I see interference being blamed for lots of ZigBee related issues. Not always the case as I have experienced myself.

Unfortunately I can not tell why your devices are not pairing.

[Hedda]

@patrick.g

Often I see interference being blamed for lots of ZigBee related issues.

Yes indeed but we are not gaslighting, I promise it can be a real serious problem and that is very common root cause for issues for espwcially Zigbee, Thread, and Bluetooth Low Power (BLE) IoT devices on the 2.4GHz freqency, but worse for the Zigbee Coordinator since it is a single point of failure.

Zigbee networks: how to guide for avoiding interference + optimizing using Zigbee Router devices (repeaters/extenders) to get best possible range and coverage

Who is this guide for? I have tried to make this guide to be a comprehensive collection of the most basic yet essential tips with a set of actions and best practice steps that should be applicable to all types of Zigbee setups, regardless of what type of Zigbee adapter/gateway/hub/bridge/devices that you are using, however, it has been written with a point-of-view in mind of Zigbee solutions that use a Zigbee Coordinator adapter locally via USB dongle/stick or remotely using a serial server ove…