So I just migrated from a C7 to a C8-Pro because I really want Z-Wave LR support. All of my Z-Wave stuff works fine after the migration. As far as Zigbee goes, I can see my devices reporting on the Zigbee details page, but I'm unable to control them. I don't have many Zigbee devices (13), so I figured I would try re-pairing them. I can't get any of them to be detected during the Zigbee pairing process (they don't even start initializing).
I'm using Zigbee channel 20 and power level 8 (I didn't change these after the migration).
My wifi APs are on channels 1 and 11, so they should not be interfering.
My C7 was turned off before the migration and has never been powered back on.
When I click on "View device graph" the devices slowly start populating. It looks like they all connect directly to the hub according to that graph.
I saw a lot of similar issues dating back over a year, and here's what I tried so far based on other threads:
Tried swapping antennas
Tried powering off the C8 for a few minutes and powering it back on.
Tried rebuilding the network
Tried rebooting the radio
Tried pairing a Zigbee device that was literally touching the C8-Pro
Anything else I should try? If it was a hardware issue I would imagine I wouldn't be receiving the messages from the existing devices, but I'm really at a loss here.
For whatever reason, quite a few folks have had issues with ch 20 on the 8/8Pro, and ch 25 is a popular choice to switch to (inlcuding me - I switched from 15 to 25, since my Hue's on 20). I'd give 25 a whirl.
Thanks for the recommendation, it's worth a shot. I just switched it to channel 25. I guess it will take some time for devices to rediscover the hub - I'll update here to say if it resolves anything. Did they ever say what the issue with channel 20 is? I don't have any other Zigbee hubs and I live in the middle of nowhere so there is definitely no interference from neighbors.
shouldnt be using that channel (and that would be my guess that could be your issue as with the new antenna it is stronger.)
also how close is the hub to a wifi router broadcasting 2.4ghz.. since it is stronger and now everything tries to go direct instead of through a repeater that could also be an issue.
Thanks for the reply. Hub is no where near any wifi access points or any client devices that use wifi (it's on top of a server rack where everything is connected via ethernet and the nearest access point is probably 30 ft away on another floor). Also, I used the same channels on my C7 and never had any issues, so I don't think it's interference related. Another important note is that I'm not even able to include Zigbee devices when they are inches from the C8.
Distance to the ap doesn't really have anything to do with it. Set your wifi ap to 6 or below. Also now that you've switched to 25 for zigbee, not all devices may follow. You may have to factory reset and re pair some. Don't fear though, they will slot back into their old place.
I have multiple APs, so putting them all on channel 6 or below isn't a real long term option for me. I moved them temporarily, but I'm still not able to pair any Zigbee devices (the timer counts down and nothing ever shows up). Also, it's been over 12 hours since I changed the Zigbee channel to 25 and Hubitat hasn't received any messages from the existing devices. Before the channel change it was receiving messages but was unable to send anything.
I have 5 ap's in my place and I simply did 6 5 4 3 2 on each one and that was fine. Now that you've changed the channel, shut down and unplug power for 1/2 hour. This should throw most of your zigbee devices into panic mode then power up again and wait an hour or so for things to settle
Also, just a question. Is the C8[-Pro] really that sensitive to wifi interference? I had a C5 and a C7 with some Zigbee devices all the way in my shed (probably 100 ft away through a bunch of walls) and never had a single issue.
I understand that - I'm asking why it's only an issue with the C8. Even zigbee channel 20 is only on the extreme edge of 20 mhz Wifi channels 6 and 11, so it should not interfere much (if at all).
The new ZB chip that's in the 8/8Pro is undeniably more finicky than the chip in 7 and below.
When I moved up from my C7, it took me a lot of trial-&-error testing to finally get a zigbee power/channel setup that worked well on my 8/8P. I had to ditch a few older ZHA1.2 mains-powered devices (replaced with newer ZB3.0 devices instead) as part of that process too.
The newer chip definitely prefers ZB3.0 devices, at least for (mains-powered) repeaters.
For me, power =4, ch = 25, and all repeaters = ZB3.0 (plenty of them scattered around for a strong mesh) was the key. I still have some ZHA1.2 battery devices, but they are doing fine.
Thanks guys. Good news - I turned the hub off for about an hour and although no devices have reconnected (yet) I was able to re-pair something manually - it discovered it immediately. I'm going to go around and manually try re-pairing everything now.
