C8 Zigbee mesh is a hot mess

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#1

I migrated from a C7 to C8 and the migration process seemingly went without a hitch at least on the surface. Then the problem started with zigbee devices constantly losing connection. The connection diagram shows multiple connections for all these devices but no data is being received. Power-cycling the hub or the devices do nothing and I'm forced to remove then re-pair the devices. Then a day or to later the connection is lost again, rinse and repeat. I'm spending so much time on trying to keep the mesh up. Changing to a full-wave antenna doesn't help either.

Now I'm regretting moving from C7 to C8 and am considering going back to C7.

Edit: Most devices dropping off the mesh are Hue motion sensors (which people have reported), but also includes other types of zigbee devices such as contact sensors, thermometers, and shades.

1 Like
#2

I would create a warranty case by visiting below page, if you didn't already:

2 Likes
#3

The warranty page asks for amazon order # which I suppose is for hub replacement. Would it be quicker to simply do the replacement through amazon since I'm still within the return period?

#4

We would rather investigate if your problem is hardware or software related. If it's software, then a replacement will not resolve the problem. Plus, Amazon is known to put returns back in inventory, so if your hub needs a replacement, your hub may become the "gift" that keeps on giving...

7 Likes
#6

It's good to know that you are actively promoting warranty releases, but does that mean that you have found manufacturing defects in the C8?

I bought one myself when it was released, but due to the issues it is still in my drawer. The WAF would not accept any issues, so I have been waiting to deploy until all things are cleared. But, if you are able to point to a batch of serial numbers that may be defective I could be more sure of no issues.

I do use hue motion sensors, but have recently replaced my xiaomi gear.

2 Likes
#7

glad to see C8 is still a hot mess.
Mine will stay in the cupboard a bit longer then.
I bought the C8 as an upgrade from my C7 when the C8 first came out.
as you say - the upgrade seemed to go well.
however a few weeks in, the the odd device would drop off and not repair.
any new device I tried to add was not recognised to the extend I blamed the new device and sent it back.
then I saw a post about the C8 zigbee mess.
I went back to the C7 and hey presto everything was working and I could even add new devices again.
so I'm also still waiting for the C8 to get a fix.

#8

A small minority of people have zigbee issues. It seems more as those without issues aren't complaining, I have 60+ zigbee devices and the only time I had an issue with the radio, it was caused by a lan device overloading the hub. (The zigbee radio shutdown to recover)

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#9

No, doesn't mean that, at all. As a relatively new hub we are closely monitoring major incidents. As with past hubs, C8's defect rate is extremely low.

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#10

typo ??? ...... 60+ zigbee devices ???

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#11

Lol fixed. Thanx for catching that.

3 Likes
#12

LOL

GIF by Tokkingheads

Just a joke! Don't kill me~

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#13

Good to hear. I've also read that some have had issues with noisy PoE corrupting z-wave, not that I am going to use a PoE but the reliability of the power in my area is not good, so I might look into some filtering up front of the power supply.

Most likely I will just leave the C8 until I see no more issues. I simply am not allowed to fail with this upgrade :wink:

1 Like
#14

Then you should be fine :slight_smile: The PoE problem is not specific to C8. The other models would be affected too.

#15

I got the replacement hub today. Migrated settings over to the new hub, and all but 4 devices which lost connection came back (knock on wood). The 4 devices depended on a set of INNR SP-224 plugs to extend the range, which became unresponsive. I have 6 plugs purchased in 2021 and 6 in 2023. All 6 old plugs went offline and refuse to pair. I think there may be some HW/FW change, as the Amazon listing are now for SP-224-2 instead of SP-224. I have no idea why the original C8 connected with those switches but the replacement hub won't.

Edit: change switches -> plugs

#16

Do you mean Innr SP224 smart plugs?......Amazon.com

If so, there have been some firmware upgrades......Innr SP224 and SP234 - Zigbee OTA Firmware Upgrades

To update the firmware, on the device page for the SP224 there should be a button that is labeled "Update Firmware"....click this button and watch the logs to see what happens.

2 Likes
#17

I haven’t had a single zigbee or z-wave device fail since shortly after my migration from a C-5 to the C-8 (back when it was first released) when one Iris V-2 motion sensor dropped. I have over 100 zigbee devices and around 40 z-wave. I am using 3 Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 dongles, 3 Samsung Zigbee 3.0 plugs, and ~5 GE in-wall dimmers for repeating. The only issue I still have is the Zigbee radio rebooting, but that is only happening about once or twice a week since the .152 update and hasn’t caused any obvious issues.

#18

That's not good.

#19

I say the same, turning off the zigbee radio is not a good thing, I have already changed 2 c8 hubs for that problem.

At what power do you have the zigbee radio?

#20

Power is at 20, but like I said, having no issues. Zigbee and Z-wave have been more reliable than they ever have, so I have not been actively looking for the cause of the reboots. I’m leaning towards it being a LAN device/integration like @rlithgow1 mentioned, but have been too busy with other things to worry about it.
Another observation is that my battery devices are lasting longer since migrating to the C-8. I haven’t had to change a battery in months. With over 70 battery devices, that’s quite a feat.

#21

I went over with one of the hubs that eventually turned off and corrected by lowering the power. Lower it to 16 or 12

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