Zigbee issues troubleshooting help

Configuration Zigbee
1

I am new to home assistant coming from smartthings. I have around 20 zigbee lights and around 20 other battery devices connected to my zigbee network.

Below is my home assistant configuration:

  • Home Assistant as VM on proxmox.
  • Sonoff Zigbee Dongle E directly connected to a USB port (no extension used)
  • Using ZHA
  • Ethernet connection, no onboard wifi.

I have successfully connected all my devices, but couple of my Osram tunable white MR16 spotlights (12V) don’t seem to be responding most of the time. I tried removing and re-adding them multiple times. Some times it takes ages for them to join back. But they still stop responding after some time.

What I have noticed is that if I leave these 2 bulbs hanging out of the ceiling, they seem to be responding fine. When I push them back into the sockets, they stop responding. The other 8 MR16 bulbs I have work fine all the time.

I even tried swapping the bulb positions. Only bulbs in these 2 specific locations exhibit this behaviour. As these are a cluster of bulbs, I don’t think zigbee signal should be an issue.

I haven’t faced this issue with smartthings I have used for 7 years. Is there anything I can do to resolve this problem? What could be causing this behaviour.

Following are the logs when I have this failure.

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/websocket_api/commands.py", line 227, in handle_call_service
    await hass.services.async_call(
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/core.py", line 1969, in async_call
    response_data = await coro
                    ^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/core.py", line 2006, in _execute_service
    return await target(service_call)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/helpers/entity_component.py", line 235, in handle_service
    return await service.entity_service_call(
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/helpers/service.py", line 870, in entity_service_call
    response_data = await _handle_entity_call(
                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/helpers/service.py", line 942, in _handle_entity_call
    result = await task
             ^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/light/__init__.py", line 591, in async_handle_light_off_service
    await light.async_turn_off(**filter_turn_off_params(light, params))
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/zha/light.py", line 471, in async_turn_off
    result = await self._on_off_cluster_handler.off()
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/zha/core/cluster_handlers/__init__.py", line 83, in wrapper
    with wrap_zigpy_exceptions():
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/contextlib.py", line 155, in __exit__
    self.gen.throw(typ, value, traceback)
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/zha/core/cluster_handlers/__init__.py", line 75, in wrap_zigpy_exceptions
    raise HomeAssistantError(message) from exc
homeassistant.exceptions.HomeAssistantError: Failed to send request: Failed to deliver message: <EmberStatus.DELIVERY_FAILED: 102>
2

Try with an extention cable. Without you can get a lot of interference.

3

I thought the extension cable was to avoid WiFi interference. I don’t have an onboard WiFi on this machine. Do I still need an extension?

4

If you have time - “some things” should be taken into consideration when using zigbee :exploding_head:

5

Do you have usb3 ports (connected or otherwise) nearby? I’ve seen those mess with wireless mouse/keyboard before…

6

There are 2 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports on the back next to each other. Only 1 device connected which is the zigbee dongle. But strange that it only impacts 2 specific bulb locations.

I was planning to order a usb 3.0 hub with 1.2m cable. But if there’s interference from other ports, then I may have to consider a extension cable instead.

7

Thanks very much for the info. I will read through it any see what I can adapt to my situation.

8

Use one of the USB 2.0 ports or get a powered USB 2.0 hub.

Do not use a USB 3.x/4.x port on computer or USB 3.x/4.x hub.

Zigbee networks: how to guide for avoiding interference and optimize for getting better range + coverage

1 Like
9

Thank you. Will move the port to use USB 2.0.

I was going through the article you have published and saw you mentioned EMI. As these are 12V bulbs and use a transformer, I tried pushing the transformer as far as I can from the bulb and now see one of the 2 bulbs is working fine.

The problem for me here may be the EMI from the transformer. I tried the same with the second bulb, but it still behaves very erratic. Do you know if there is a way to shield these transformers?

The following on amazon says it’s zero interference. Should I give this a try?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LED-Driver-Transformer-240V-Interference/dp/B00BMBKHC2

10

Start with buying an extension cable. If that does not help explore other options. For reference my adapter is connected to my server in a garage 10-15 meters from my house and all my zigbee devices work as expected.

11

I dug up an old usb 2.0 extension and plugged the cable to a usb 2.0 port instead of 3.0. The dongle is now about 4ft away from the PC. Still same issue. I can rule out the USB 3.0 interference.

One of the 2 bulbs which worked fine after moving the transformer away for a while now stopped responding again.

12

This is most likely part of your issue.

While most bulbs are repeaters. Osram bulbs do NOT act as repeaters. (a decision by thier engineering team) So you have fewer than you expect and very likely need more to reach that area. If they’re can lights you’re impacting the signal just enough when you slide them into the can that the signal dies.

13

You sir are absolutely right. I now placed an Ikea zigbee plug close to the light that doesn’t work and when I reset the light and paired again, it works. I have a total of 5 osram bulbs in this room. Rest are lifx and other wifi bulbs. Now I will reconfigure my network to place my ikea bulbs to be closer to the osram ones to give better coverage. I will report back how this goes :).

Strangely if I look at the zigbee network visualisation, I see a lot of lines passing through the osram bulbs which made me feel that they are acting as repeaters. In the following picture, you can see 3 osram bulbs and couple of ikea devices.

image
image1920×1067 183 KB

14

Thanks very much for the valuable feedback on my setup. I am now able to learn more about the zigbee setup and resolve my issues. All lights in my house are now responding correctly.

I had to move some lifx bulbs out of the bedrooms and replace with ikea bulbs so I have enough repeaters for the 12 osram bulbs I have.

I have found some useful info about bulbs acting as repeaters in the below link. Apparantly osram do act as repeaters, but stop repeating due to a firmware issue.

1 Like
15

Excellent! Don’t forget to mark the solution above for others to find later. Glad you’re running.