ZHA pairing broken

When today i tried to add new devices to ZHA, things were very odd. Devices are recognized shortly, but not installed correctly. Some i could switch once or twice (the ledvance plug) others simply exist in the device list and do not work. In the “pairing” dialog they keep on disappearing and appearing.

This happens for

  • Phillips Plug
  • Phillips Switch&Dimmer
  • LEDVance Plug

All old stuff keeps on moving.

  • installing current HomeAssistant
  • Restarting infrastructure
  • removing/re-pairing
    did not help.

Any Idea?

  • rotten stick
  • rotten database
  • rotten operator

Regards Michael

After updating the ZigStar Stick 4 to the newest firmware, problem seems to be fixed.

Interference is among one the most common root causes for that so be sure to read and follow best practices → https://community.home-assistant.io/t/guide-for-zigbee-interference-avoidance-and-network-range-coverage-optimization/515752/

Good advice - and I’ve helped people using USB coordinators even with USB extension cables which only worked in “black” USB2 ports, and failed utterly in “blue” USB3 ports (e.g. the RPi4 may generate more RF noise on the faster USB3 ports).

Low battery is possible, but as a last resort, factory reset the new device.

The general advice is always to pair a new Zigbee device where it is going to be used, so it uses Zigbee mesh routers to reduce battery drain. Sadly, I’ve experienced bad Zigbee devices seem only to pair when next to the coordinator, which can mean they drain batteries quickly talking directly ignoring closer routers (tested this all too many times recently).

Some bad Zigbee devices also seem to work, then refuse to connect after a battery replacement (factory reset), with others failing a RECONFIGURE scan as you describe.

For really stubborn IKEA Tradfri devices on ZHA + Yellow, my last, LAST resort is to turn HASS off completely for an hour (apparently there’s a Zigbee timeout of about 30mins?), and try again.

My understanding is this forces the restarted coordinator to recalculate the Zigbee mesh which I’m testing as a mitigation to bugs in IKEA Tradfri 5-button remotes (Yellow + ZHA + latest v24 firmware - but that’s for a different thread…).

Also read → https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/zha#best-practices-to-avoid-pairingconnection-difficulties