Zigbee Channel Change - Aqara door / window sensor

Hi guys,

Coordinator: SONOFF Universal Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle CC2652
Firmware : Z-Stack 20211217
Aqara door sensors : MCCGQ11LM
Sonoff plugs : S26R2ZBTPG

Aqara door sensor info

IEEE: 00:15:8d:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
Nwk: 0x9e4a
Device Type: EndDevice
LQI: Unknown
RSSI: Unknown
Last seen: 2024-02-16T20:05:10
Power source: Battery or Unknown
Quirk: zhaquirks.xiaomi.aqara.magnet_aq2.MagnetAQ2

EDIT : Using ZHA not Z2M

I was wondering if someone could help, when changing the channel from 15 to 25 the plugs seem to accept the change but not the battery operated door sensors.

Do I need to remove the door sensors and repair or is it because if the infamous channel 25 curse ? Or something entirely different that I need to do in order for me to change channel

Many thanks in advance

You have to repair your devices when changing channels.
Might also be a good idea to update your coordinator firmware, there have a been a few updates since 20211217 (latest is 20230507)

Thanks @Alain_Raymond

Well the tinkering all started when I thought about upgrading the stick firmware but everything is stable bar the channel saturation.

Iā€™m not sure how upgrading will help with changing channels ?

EDIT - Oh youā€™re saying that I have to repair if changing channels ? :grimacing:
Wow thatā€™s going to be a pain
No wonder you suggested upgrading the coordinator whilst Iā€™m at it

The thing is I had a read and there is a conflict with some people ā€˜claimingā€™ that battery operated end devices donā€™t need repairing

Hi,

Sorry for bumping this but Iā€™m still tentative about changing the channel

Iā€™ve noticed that thereā€™s an option in managing the zigbee device to bind to a router. Iā€™m not sure what that does but if the end device is binded and I change the Zigbee channel wouldnā€™t that change filter through to the end device too or am I completely off the track with my guess ?

Thanks

It completely depends on the end device. Theyā€™re SUPPOSED to change channels transparently. But letā€™s just say some vendors donā€™t handle it well.

Whenever Iā€™ve had to change channels most of my devices switched some. Didnā€™t and needed to be rejoined. You donā€™t hVe to remove them just run the join process again.

The only way youā€™re going to ultimately know is if you do it.

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Thatā€™s kind of the best case. I used to own zigbee devices from various brands and how they behave is often just luck. Some brands are known to have ā€œstickyā€ devices which will not change their route even if the signal is weak and stronger route(r)s are available. Not really something to build a resilient and stable infrastructure upon. In the end I sold all our zigbee devices and completely switched to wifi based esphome nodes. Since them everything is solid as a rock and no day long zigbee mesh rebuilds wasting my weekends are necessary anymore!

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Binding sets up a direct connection between the two devices that by-passes the rest of the network. I have a couple of battery-powered remotes bound to particular lights and they continue working even if HA is switched off. Itā€™s only really useful where the end device controls the router itā€™s bound to - itā€™s not going to make a channel change any easier, if thatā€™s what youā€™re thinking.

As @NathanCu says, end devices are supposed to change channels transparently, and Iā€™ve found that nearly all do - usually just a couple of contact sensors need to join again.

It doenā€™t happen immediately, though, allow an hour or so before you panic. :grin:

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Thank you all for your comments, youā€™ve given me a bit more confidence

As I donā€™t have that many Zigbee devices thereā€™s no need to fret

I changed Zigbee channel about a week ago. Everything has been fine since other than Aqara door sensors. The ones in the house were initially a bit temperamental, but seem to have stabilised on the new channel now. The ones in the garage will not even re-pair, no matter how many times I try. The garage ones previously routed via a Woolley/Sonoff smart plug, but despite that smart plug operating fine on the new channel, the Aqara door sensors will no longer talk to it. Whether itā€™s a problem with the routing on the Woolley/Sonoff smart plug, or whether itā€™s the Aqara door sensors, I do not yet know, I need to order another smart plug anyway, so Iā€™ll swap out the Woolley/Sonoff one with a frient one (great smart plugs) and see what happens.

  • Open up the device page for your Woolley plug.
  • Double check that itā€™s still connected and that updates are still coming through.
  • Click the 3 dots next to Reconfigure > Add devices via this device.
  • Put your Aqara door sensors in pairing mode.
  • Repeat if the above doesnā€™t work, but first delete your Aqara devices from ZHA.

One trick Iā€™ve had to do with a few of mine is to pull the battery out of them for about an hour. Then put the battery back in and hold the top button on them for 5 blinks of the light. Pairs right up after that. Like other Aqara gear, they seem to like to hold onto data internally. Removing the battery seems to solve it.

I found this to be true of pre-Zigbee 3.0 Aqara devices. Anything with 3.0 would eventually find its own route, even if it took a couple of hours/days to do so.

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None of my kit does (all 3.0 gear)ā€¦ Iā€™ve got 2 problem sensors that are either bad or just hate being part of the bigger family. I canā€™t tell you how many times theyā€™ve dropped off my test mesh when I do channel changes or even look at them the wrong way. They see the slightest issue and off they go into their own pocket universe. lol

Not sure what to tell you about this. Most (>50%) of my zigbee network on z2mqtt is running on Aqara devices. Iā€™ve never had a single issue on any of those. Worst case scenario is a re-pair, but I can honestly count on 1 hand how many times I had to do that for a specific device.

Yeah, thatā€™s why I think these few sensors are just duds. They just never want to bend to my will. lol Granted, 2-3 bad sensors out of over 20, Iā€™m not complaining at all.

Luck of the draw I guess.

Out of curiosity, what models are they, and do you have identical models which behave?

MCCGQ11LM. I think those are the 3.0 versions (Iā€™m not totally sure). I have 22 of them total. 18 (or 19?) of them that work just fine without a single issue. But 2-3 of them are just the most temperamental beasts Iā€™ve dealt withā€¦ sometimes theyā€™ll drop off the mesh and then magically pop back on like nothing happened about 6-7 hours later. Sometimes they wonā€™t report temperature or contact events for a couple of hours, but never both attributes at the same. Either theyā€™ll report temp, but no contact events or contact, but no temp events. I tried re-pairing them, battery changes, prayers to a higher power, prayers to a lower power, you name itā€¦

Iā€™m just going to order new ones, but man these ones have really challenged my sanity. :rofl:

Iā€™m running a couple of those with zero issues. Maybe those particular devices need an intimate date with a hammer? :wink:

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Oh trust meā€¦ if I had a wood chipper, theyā€™d already be shredded. lmao

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