Zigbee2mqtt device keeps disconnecting, how to keep alive?

Third party integrations
1

Hi, thanks in advance for reading. I have a few zigbee remotes, mostly tradfri, all working fine. Then I have this dimmer remote. Once setup it works great, but stops working after about 24 hours of inactivity.

I’m new to this so I’m still trying to learn, but what I’ve gathered is that it goes offline after the 25 hour default mark for pinging and keeping alive for battery powered devices.

Now when this happens I have no idea what to do to get it reconnect. The only thing that works is to delete the device and add it again, and configure it. So I have two questions…

  1. How do I wake it up after it goes offline like that without going through the hassle of re-adding it?

  2. How do I keep it from going offline? Should I set a specific timeout for it in the configuration, something just way longer than I would need?

I’ve been reading documentation and making experiments, but so far getting nowhere regarding the points above. Any and all help appreciated.

Running HA on Blue, zigbee2mqtt with a Conbee II.

Z2M config:

data_path: /config/zigbee2mqtt
external_converters:
  - /converters/aurora.js
devices: devices.yaml
groups: groups.yaml
homeassistant: true
permit_join: false
mqtt:
  base_topic: zigbee2mqtt
  user: mqtt_user
  password: ********
serial:
  port: >-
    /dev/serial/by-id/usb-dresden_elektronik_ingenieurtechnik_GmbH_ConBee_II_DE2447489-if00
  adapter: deconz
advanced:
  log_level: debug
  pan_id: 6754
  channel: 11
  network_key:
    - 1
    - 3
    - 5
    - 7
    - 9
    - 11
    - 13
    - 15
    - 0
    - 2
    - 4
    - 6
    - 8
    - 10
    - 12
    - 13
  availability_blocklist: []
  availability_passlist: []
device_options: {}
blocklist: []
passlist: []
queue: {}
frontend:
  port: 8099
experimental: {}
availability: false
socat:
  enabled: false
  master: pty,raw,echo=0,link=/tmp/ttyZ2M,mode=777
  slave: tcp-listen:8485,keepalive,nodelay,reuseaddr,keepidle=1,keepintvl=1,keepcnt=5
  options: '-d -d'
  log: false
2
  1. Make sure you have a repeater devices close to ANY battery device and that when joining the network the device is joined VIA the closest devices.
  2. Make sure your controllers firmware is up to date.
  3. Make sure your device firmware is up to date.
  4. I suggest enabling the availability tracking, I set my values a little more aggressive than the defaults, but this seems to cause zigbee2mqtt to ping the devices which seems to have stopped them dropping off the network. Don’t set it too aggressive for battery / passive devices.
availability:
  active:
    timeout: 15
  passive:
    timeout: 780
  1. Turn on last_seen:, I have it set to last_seen: ISO_8601_local , this will show the last time the device has checked in and can be used to tune the availability setting. At the very least with this enabled you might be able to narrow down in the logs where the device failed to report in.
  1. How do I wake it up after it goes offline like that without going through the hassle of re-adding it?

I have not found a reliable way, sometimes restarting zigbee2mqtt will cause it to show up again, but I had to re- pair my devices several times before I got it working… I have the Sonnoff 3.0 stick so my setup might be a bit different… A firmware update on my Sonnoff seemed to make the biggest difference.

Also if you missed this “I DID” make sue that permit_join: false is set in your config or every time you restart zibee2mqtt it will be in join mode… I find this an odd default.

3 Likes
3

Thanks for the response.

  1. All the devices are in my living room, no issue with distance or range.
  2. Going to have to check the conbee firmware.
  3. Blue is up to date.
    4+5, thank will try this!
4

Not talking about the Blue, I am talking about the Ikea devices… they have firmware and several known bugs. zibee2mqtt supports firmware updates for IKEA and a few other brands

5

Ahh gotcha!

6

Also word of warning, the firmware update process is SUPER hard on the battery of the remotes, don’t be surprised if there is a large drop if you do a firmware update on them. This is one of the reasons I like zigbee2mqtt ovs zha or the ikea hub as only zigbee2mqtt seems to let you do selective firmware update.

7

Hey guys, I am having a similar issue. I have an endpoint device that is battery powered it is a water valve for my garden. I have an automation that is supposed to turn it on for 3 minutes twice a day if it isn’t raining but the device after a day or so will become offline and then I have to manually pair it again. I don’t think this is a range issue as when it is paired for that initial couple of hours there is no lack of communication, I can turn the valve on and off with ease. However, after a couple of hours it becomes offline and there is nothing I can do to get it discovered again except for repairing manually. In the map it shows the device still but doesn’t have any lines connecting to it.

Will the passive timeout that you listed force the device to check in or does that just mark it as offline. I am trying to figure out a way to have the device check in every so often so to speak so that it doesn’t go offline.

Thanks in advance!

8

For some of my devices I just found they stayed online after enabling it, I think it causes some devices to report in / stay on the network better than without it.

9

Having the exact same problem with my SOMOFF water valve. Did you ever find a solution?

10

Unfortunately no, I was still having issues and I haven’t set it back up again yet. I plan on doing so though and continuing to test with it. I will definitely provide updates if I find something that works.