ZHA and two SLZB-06 routers - Help needed!

Configuration Zigbee
1

Hi everyone,

Yet another thread about ZHA and the SLZB-06, but please bear with me, I’ve spent at least 2 hours trying to find a solution and coming up empty.

Here’s the situation: I have a working ZHA setup with one SLZB-06 coordinator and a dozen or so Zigbee devices connected and functioning correctly. Thinking I could improve coverage, I bought a second SLZB-06 with the intention of using it as a router. Clearly, I was overly optimistic.

Here’s what I’ve tried:

  • Both SLZB-06 units are connected via PoE.
  • I accessed the web interface of the second SLZB-06, changed its name to become unique, changed mode to “Router,” and installed the appropriate firmware for being a router.
  • I restarted the second SLZB-06 and clicked “Reconnect router.”
  • Despite these steps, I can’t seem to get ZHA to recognize or add the second SLZB-06 as a router.

I’ve found countless threads discussing using two SLZB-06 devices with Z2MQTT, but I’m struggling to find any information regarding a setup with 2 devices AND ZHA.

How can I properly add the second SLZB-06 to my existing ZHA network as a router to extend its range? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I tried to add the router as new device in ZHA. But it does not work.

2

Even if you changed it to a router, you will still need to pair it to your existing zigbee network?

I havent tried it as I dont need it. But it seems as you need to configure the router, and then pair it to your zigbee network as any lightbulb…

3

I tried exactly that. I restarted it, clicked on “reconnect” and then went to ZHA, and clicked “add device”. But it does not show up :confused:
The waiting indicator turns and turns. Nothing :&

4

Ok, seems like the distance between both was too far away. Put them together and worked :slight_smile: Ahhhhhhhhhh

Last question: Are the devices always connected to the coordinator? I have devices that are closer to the new SLZB but in the visualisation they appear to be linked to the coordinator instead of the router (which would be closer) ?

5

Could you clarify what you want to do? Zigbee is not wi-fi - it doesn’t have a “range”. You can extend the boundaries of the mesh, but that would probably involve adding several routers.

When you try to add your SLZB-06, is it within the scope of the existing mesh?

6

Ah! You beat me to it. :grin:

End devices are mostly not connected to the coordinator, usually they will have a parent router. But connections change all the time and they will take a while to settle after adding a new router. It’s not a question of distance - they’ll select the best connection available.