Can I use one of my older Habitat Hubs, to expand my zigbee network

[rorybsimpson]

My house has a lot of brick walls inside, which makes transmission hard (I think) for zigbee devices.

I have added a few motion sensors (Hue) outside. They work fine inside the house, but to go outside with them, they cannot be reached.

I have the last generation Habitat hub. If I can figure out how to use both hubs, will this help expand he range?

Or is there another way of expanding the range to reach outside? The sensors are about 20-30 feet away from the home.

[amithalp]

@rorybsimpson

w to use both hubs, will this help expand he range?

Or is there another way of expanding the range to reach outside? The sensors are about 20-30 feet away from the home.

You can try one of the following:

1. change your zigbee power settings to higher value
2. place a zigbee repeater between your hub and the device in question (any main powered Zigbee device will do or a dedicated repeater like Ikea for example)
3. use your other hub and located it closer to this device and use hub mesh to connect the hubs.
   Good luck

[bobbyD]

@rorybsimpson

I have the last generation Habitat hub. If I can figure out how to use both hubs, will this help expand he range?

No, the Hubitat hubs can't act as repeaters.

@rorybsimpson

is there another way of expanding the range to reach outside?

Yes, by adding mains powered devices closer to the edge of your mesh. A smart outlet, or other mains powered devices would do it.

[rorybsimpson]

So by adding the extra Hubitat Hub C7 to my C8, this will not increase distance. But by adding a few more plugs, as I go out in the house may help?

[thebearmay]

While you can’t use the hub as a repeater you could position the second hub closer to external devices, exclude from the current hub, include to the second hub, and use HubMesh to make them available to the first hub.

[sburke781]

@thebearmay

HubMesh

That was going to be my question / suggestion.... One thing to bear in mind if you go down this route is the channel selection for the Zigbee networks and any other 2.4GHz network in close proximity.

[rorybsimpson]

Well I guess I will have to buy more plugs then. Wish the range was further. I tried upping the power on the zigbee portion of hubtitat to channel 12 power level 16. See if that will help.

[sburke781]

Have you compared the choice of 2.4GHz channels? i.e. comparing HE Zigbee, other Zigbee networks, Wi-Fi- network channels, etc?

I'm hoping you won't need to purchase new devices...

[rorybsimpson]

Sorry, I am so stupid at this stuff, still trying to learn after all this time. I do not understand what you are saying about 2.4ghz channels, other zigbee networks? I am just worried if I change something, I will loose all my other zigbee products that are working

[sburke781]

Not to worry, we all have start somewhere. And I am not entirely confortable in this space either,,,,
only repeating what others have said to me .

Basically your "standard" Wi-Fi and Zigbee networks operate on the same frequency, 2.4GHz, with many routers nowadays offering a 5GHz network as well. Think of your Wi-Fi frequency like changing the station (frequency) on the radio in your car. There is then a further breakdown of the communications at the 2.4GHz frequency into channels, typically 1 - 22 or so... With the 5GHz frequency including channels much larger. Thee are then channels that are best chosen together for adjacent networks (i.e. those that exist alongside each other in, say the same household), to avoid collisions in communications, but I might leave that for you to investigate further,,,

[jtmpush18]

The famous cross reference chart:

1. don't forget to make sure that your own wifi and your own zigbee channels are not conflicting with each other.
2. to determine your wifi channel (and your neighbours) use the app on SmartPhone called "wiFi Analyzer"
3. To determine all the zigbee channels that re being used , under zigbee details use "channel scan"

[coreystup]

@rorybsimpson

I tried upping the power on the zigbee portion of hubtitat to channel 12 power level 16.

Keep in mind that this will only make your hub talk louder. While this may help the sensors and devices on the edge of your mesh "hear" the hub, the device itself can't talk any louder back to the hub. Especially battery powered sensors, they are limited for battery life.

This asymmetrical communication will cause your devices to use more battery as they try to talk to the hub. If instead they would see a powered repeater closer, they'd be better off.

Use the default power setting for Zigbee (or even lower) for best results.

Also note that best practices are for a powered repeater device nearby for every 4 to 6 battery powered devices/sensors. @aaiyar always suggested that and it is a great rule of thumb.