Strengthening my Zigbee network

[AntonH]

I’m experiencing some devices occasionally dropping out of our Zigbee network.
Therefore I’m looking to add some router devices to the network in order to boost the mesh signal strength.

I know that most mains powered zigbee lights act as routers, but in the locations I plan on adding routers I already have other lights. So adding that would be useless.
I was thinking about 2 devices specifically, but Googling hasn’t yielded much results yet:

• I was thinking about adding a smart plug to the washing machine, but there are 2 issues: It would need to be an EU plug with an earthing pin and support a 20A load.
  Does that exist?

• Next to my bed, I have a phone charger plugged in all the time: Is there be a Zigbee router with a simple usb port to use as a phone charger?

Some general inspiration is always welcom too:
What other devices are reliable as Zigbee routers, but are not lights?

Thanks for the help and ideas.

[Rodrick]

I have some THIRDREALITY Zigbee Smart Plug added just for the router feature. Nothing is plugged in, they do not below to any automation.

I do the same for Zwave, just have some smart plugs to extend the range and offer buffering.

One day I will plug something into them, but right now they are just there to stabilize the network.

I chose the Thirdreality because they do not cost a lot of money and they do the job.

[fleskefjes]

@AntonH

Next to my bed, I have a phone charger plugged in all the time: Is there be a Zigbee router with a simple usb port to use as a phone charger?

TRÅDFRI Signal repeater, Width: 47 mm

@AntonH

I was thinking about adding a smart plug to the washing machine, but there are 2 issues: It would need to be an EU plug with an earthing pin and support a 20A load.

I’ve not seen higher than 16A here (Norway). If you’re looking for a way to notify when washing is done you can use a vibration sensor.

[FriedCheese (Ryan)]

@AntonH

Zigbee router with a simple usb port to use as a phone charger

The Ikea Tradfri repeaters work well. There’s no power output rating on them though, so you may have issues with very slow phone charging.

I don’t know that there are any heavy duty ZigBee plugs.

Another alternative would be something like the Tuya repeaters. They’re USB dongles that are dedicated repeaters and can be placed wherever you have a powered USB port.

[jerrm]

By far the best router devices I have are Sonoff ZBDongle-P sticks flashed with router firmware.

Get a dual usb charger, plug the stick into one port and have the second free to charge devices.

I’m in the US, so can’t offer any plug suggestions.

[FloatingBoater (James Derrick)]

Do ikea TRÅDFRI smart plugs make good zigbee repeaters

Yes - I have several IKEA TRÅDFRI switches (UK 240V) and they work well for both control and to extend the Zigbee mesh. They are cheap, with the only issue being the lack of a hardware button for local control. I also have a few Sonoff Zigbee sensors on the same mesh. The TRÅDFRI battery remotes are a different matter, with only the 5-button working reliably with ZHA with updated firmware. The 1-button remotes are basically landfill for ZHA. If this helps, this post!