IN the MI app. select device, select the gateway. select volume setting
Individual setting for alert,doorbell,radio and prompt volume
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I also second xiaomi sensors if you’re already invested in a gateway. They’re rock solid for me, batteries are working for a year now and they’re around 40% and the missus never complained about them cause they look nice.
Gateway is blocked from internet and it doubles as a neat notification system for various events (best one being a doorbell with a hacked xiaomi sensor and an outdoors switch), light sensor and night light.
Device limit for one gateway is 32 but you can easily get another one for expansion and coverage.
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Thanks everyone for the input. I’ve decided to stick with the Xiaomi for now. i’ve just ordered enough sensors to cover the downstairs windows/doors and a couple more PIR’s for the night time toilet light to go down either side of the bed.
I too have the gateway blocked from the internet but was really just after a sanity check over the RF option with the sensors being cheaper.
I may look at zigbee2mqtt in the future but at this time I only have Xiaomi zigbee so don’t really see the benefit.
Had a quick look and seems the xiaomi sensors are also quite cheap. Looked at gearbest and Ali express and contact sensors go for about 8USD which is not a lot more than 2 code rf, so makes sense.
So the xiaomi gateway doesn’t need the cloud at all?
How do you block it?
No all local access once it has been setup. You need to setup the gateway with the Mi app from a phone and add all the devices . Once setup. HA talks to the gateway via the local LAN. I have an Asus RT-AC66U router that can block internet traffic by internal IP address. I fixed the gateway address with a DHCP reservation and stopped it “phoning home” .
My intention was to replace the gateway with a USB zigbee stick , but it has never failed or given any issues what so ever, it has been the most reliable part of my home automation system.
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Thank you very much. The usb seems interesting but if the gateway works well no point on doing the extra work, plus I pressume I can add 2 or 3 gateways to improve coverage?
As opposed to using power plugs?
I live in the UK . small house so I have no issues with coverage from a single gateway 
I have light switches in all all rooms , door sensor on all outside doors and patio, leak,motion sensors, and temperature sensors (26 devices in all) . zigbee protocol is mesh network, I also have Ikea Tradfri smart lights bulbs which are also zigbee , so I suspect the large mesh is also helping coverage
@juan11perez By usb i guess you mean zigbee2mqtt? I think the idea behind that is if you have multiple different zigbee devices to create one zigbee network so you get better coverage and dont have multiple networks constantly interfering with each other.
@lonebaggie my understanding is you will have 2 separate zigbee networks one for Xiaomi and one for the Tradfri with a controller for each unless you’re using zigbee2mqtt making it one large network.
I’m in the UK too and used the Xiaomi switches in every room. I’ve now started replacing some (where i want colour/dimming options) with a combo of yeelight bulbs and bypassed the switch using Xiaomi wireless switches to control them doubled up as a blanking plate for switch.
Hi
I have around 40 odd Xiaomi zigbee devices split over 2 gateways (2 separate Zigbee networks).
I have 4 Xiaomi Zigbee sockets (these act as routers 2 on each zigbee gateway) and these are placed strategically around the house to assist the very far reach sensors.
The gateways have been restricted in reaching the internet and i use the built in device pairing service of HA to add any additional devices.
My setup is very stable and the battery life of the sensors so far is around 10 months and going strong.
I have tried the Zigbee2MQTT project but found the range of the CC2531 even with 4 additional CC2531 setup to act as routers very limited and would not cover anywhere near area of my house the 2 gateways could, the software itself works brilliantly and the project team very forthcoming with assistance.
The biggest issue with Zigbee is it overlapping frequency with WIfi which can cause interference but there are some posts on here about how to minimise this.
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I did the opposite I replaced the wireless switches with wired. A couple of HA failures with wireless switches in the living room did not help the WAF . To make matters worse while jabbing the failed switch multiple times , and explaining to me in anglo-saxon that nothing in the house was working , the switch started working again, turning the tradfri lights on and off multiple times and resetting them !!
I decided after that, wired switches were safer 
@dgomes
When you talk router, you mean these?
https://xiaomi-mi.com/sockets-and-sensors/xiaomi-mi-smart-socket-plug-2-zigbee-edition-white/
Are these compatible with cc2531? Thank you
Which switches did you use sorry?
I’m looking into fitting a sonoff (tasmota) into the ceiling pendants for my fixtures with multiple lights in (cheaper!) but was looking for a good option for controlling them.
Do you have a photo of your install?
I’m still playing with the idea of RF or Xiaomi, if I can fix my whole switch debacle by going Xiaomi then I am all for it!
Also it seems Xiaomi is the better option for temp/humidity…
How long is delivery to the UK from sites like Gearbest/Ali?
I’ve seen people commenting that it takes a month or two but those people seem to be based in the USA, was wondering what it was like for us in the UK?
IN the UK you will need the no neutral version of switches as you will have no neutral wire in wall socket (normally) . These come in single and double switches . Check carefully before ordering as they also have switches with neutral wire as well.
https://uk.gearbest.com/alarm-systems/pp_610096.html?wid=1433363
There is also a wireless version which looks identical but does not connect to the mains supply but uses a button battery
https://uk.gearbest.com/alarm-systems/pp_610095.html?wid=1433363
Delivery is a lottery. I have had a number of orders with Gearbest some have taken 2 weeks other 2 months. I tried to speed up delivery and used a known carrier . Delivery was quicker but they charged me VAT on delivery.
Xiaomi switches only support on and off. no dimming. Combining smart switches and smart bulbs is difficult as when you remove power with the switch the smart bulbs are off so they lose connection with the hub or wifi.
One option is to replace the wired switch and bypass the switch making a permanent on . Use the wireless switch as blanking plate and control the smart bulbs directly from HA . See above not a fan of this solution as it will fail, also leaving the circuit permanently on feels unsafe. Also there is a tiny lag when pressing the switch , a bit like when lip sync is slightly out on Netflix , you notice its not physical.
I use smart switches with smart bulbs , if HA or in my case the Xiaomi hub or Tradfri hub fail , the switch is still physical and will turn power off and on regardless the state of any home automation . The bulbs will turn off and on
The problem is when the power is turned off and on on smart bulbs they will not react to any commands from HA until they re-sync . This is a real issue , I have sensors which determine if the light bulbs are in sync and will delay commends to change the state of the lights until they are ready. see
Hope that helps
@Coedy
I use both the ones @lonebaggie listed for the wireless one i have drilled out 2 holes on the back plate so it fits the standard 1 gang UK switch to cover the original wires so my smart bulbs stay on all the time and not be accidently switched off
However… if your only after on/off control with sonoff’s why not just wire your existing light switch up to GPIO 14? i’ve done that with a couple and it works really well.
For delivery what @lonebaggiesaid. I’ve only ever had one item not turn up though Ali Express and got a full refund with no issue.
Personally I use these:
but many other use the OSRAM Smart+ plug (on/off)
Thanks for the links, I’m having a read through this link as a possible way of having my Tradfri’s play nice with my Nursery “Eyesaver” automation (if after 7pm and before 8am when I turn the light on at the switch = lowest brightness and warm white)
Because at the moment it can take 10+ seconds to change to the new state (sometimes never) after I turn the light on.
I always though it was just the Tradfris being lazy, It looks to be that I didn’t take into account the fact it needs to resync after having the power turned back on at the switch! 
That makes sense! Would be great for the nursery and other rooms where I have smart bulbs fitted. I’d just need to hope that home assistant doesnt crash (again…) as currently I always have the option of flicking the dumb switch on and off to force the bulb on. If I blank it off with the wireless switch I loose that option…
Yeah I got my wires crossed. That was my actual plan for my dumb bulbs fixtures, I got excited and threw them into the equation for the whole wireless switch thing…
Good to know that while delivery is hit and miss time wise it’s a manageable delay 
The Sonoff firing off GPIO14 thing, would you trust this in a bathroom?
I thought it would be a good idea seeing as your then taking live mains voltage out of the picture for damp/wet hands on a lightswitch but I am concerned about the sonoff and humidity levels in the roof void above a bathroom…
The Tradfri lights will remember the last setting they were on before power was cut. So you will need to activate your automation when the bulb is discovered “on” by HA with your preferred light settings when power is restored. That way they will always work consistently
Edit: just remembered ordered a couple of xiaomi door sensors from ebay about £10 pounds each , delivery from UK ? for next week ? more expensive will let you know if arrive OK
I have my automations (through the editor, not via Yaml) set as a state change from ‘unavailable’ to ‘on’ OR from ‘off’ to ‘on’ and I get that delay.
So if I take off the “from” part and just have it watch for the “on” command that should speed things up slightly I’m guessing?