Hey folks,
I’m using Zha with the Sonoff Stick. It kinda works, however I have the problem (or benefit?!) of having a house that’s too big to cover all floors. I want to add a Zigbee repeater, so I bought this without knowing if it actually works. (and no, regular Zigbee devices are not repeating the signal as they are all battery powered)
The question is, will it work and what exactly do I have to do in Zha to make it work?
Thanks
Chriz
That is news to me. I have several Zigbee plugs and these are, by definition, not battery powered.
I would (and in fact I do) use these plugs as repeaters.
I think he means that the devices he has are all battery powered and hence not repeating.
@chriztian if this device supports ZHA you can just join it to the network, you don’t need to do anything else to get it to repeat.
Possible, but buying plugs is a cheaper and more useful option.
The same is true with Zwave and I have never understood why people would buy the more expensice repeaters rather than plug-ins which can also be used to control something.
I meant I only do have battery powered zigbee devices and those will not act as repeater. Sorry for the confusion.
A plug doesn’t make sense to me, I already own enough plugs and (long before) decided to go with Shelly’s, so that’s a given.
It would be nice to stick to my question. @fleskefjes seem to have answered it, so let’s hope he’s right 
To each their own… I have made choices that sometimes make no sense either.
This shows to be working with HA.
Be warned! Those devices look like they probably are rebranded variants or the original Tuya Zigbee USB Range Extender / USB Dongle Signal Repeater (Tuya SKU: “RP280” / Zigbee ID: “TS0207” and sold under several different brand names, like ex. LoraTap, Lonsonho, Smarsecur, etc.) as that specific device is infamously known to cause weird and intermittent Zigbee network stability issues because it does not forward all messages/communication from all devices not made by Tuya. So while that device will connect and initially seem to work as it should you can expect it to cause various problems with non-Tuya devices in Zigbee network, (at least unless you open it up and manually flash other firmware with a compatible JTAG debug probe). ZHA developer commented: “They black hole traffic from non-Tuya devices under certain circumstances.” and elaborated further that interoperability compatibility is awful as they do not route all messages as a Zigbee Router should. See see references:
I instead highly recommend that you read this other thread which includes tips on some specific repeater/extender products Zigbee Router that are well known to work great as dedicated stand-alone Zigbee Router devices :
I can personally recommend Sonoff ZBDongle-E (which works best of all as a dedicated Zigbee Router) and Sonoff ZBDongle-P (which works best of all as a dedicated Zigbee Coordinator adapter) as well as the IKEA Tradfri Signal Repeater (which works very well out-of-the-box as an all-in-one Zigbee Router).
Also check out these
That concept only works well for Zigbee once you already added many mains-powered Zigbee Router devices, but if you are starting and primarily want to add battery-powered then it is a good idea to begin by adding a few dedicated Zigbee Router device that serves no other purpose than repeating the signals and extending your network.
The benefit of having a dedicated Zigbee Router device that is always powered and connected is that no one in your home is likely to touch it, while someone is more likely to unplug, move or power-off non-dedicated products like a power plug. At least many come here reporting issues with other family members powering off Zigbee lightbulbs that are installed in ceiling-lights still connected to a dumb wall-switch.
It is also a philosophy about using a specialized product versus a jack-of-all-trades product where you could argue that a dedicated product that is only designed to serve a single purpose it usually better at that job than another product that was primarily designed to do something else.
Thw backbone of my nets are ZBDongle-P’s flashed with router firmware.
More expensive than a cheap Tuya device, but solid and reliable.
Since the OP’s question seems to have been answered, (thanks @Hedda ) I’ll add a different perspective on the (off-) topic of dedicated routers vs. smart plugs.
While there are good reason (above) to go the router route, I’ve found that, for me, having a few smart plugs gives me just a little more flexibility. I certainly agree that a switched light bulb is not in this category, and I wouldn’t rely on one to support the mesh.
But sprinkling a few unused smart plugs in strategic locations isn’t a bad thing. I sometimes find uses for mine. I might plug in an air freshener, or Christmas lights, or something like that I want to automate, temporarily. I’ve never had the problem of anyone unplugging them, but I suppose if that’s a problem in your house, you’d have to consider it. You could always create an automation to notify you when one goes unavailable.
My point is, there is no one “right” way. Do what works best for you!
Hi there
Reviving this old topic. Sorry for the dumb question, but In case I decide to go with Sonoff dongles as repeaters, do I only need to power them through an USB-A port (like a wall charger) or do I need to have them connected to an actual USB port in some computer?
As others outlined, I also use the SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus Gateway as my primary coordinator (attached to my HA server) then I use the same sonoff device re-flashed as a router to enhance my coverage in the house. I have found this architecture to be very reliable. I use a cheap powered usb hub to connect the sonoff usb dongle programmed as routers. something like " Belkin 4-Port USB Hub - Powered Desktop USB Docking Station". Also a great way to flash the sonoff as routers (or upgrade the firmware) is using this HA addon. - ZigStar TI CC2652P/P7 FW Flasher
You use any USB-charger just to power the Zigbee Router device (not a computer), see: