Cannot pair several zigbee devices with new C8

🛎️ Get Help Devices
21

How many Zigbee devices do you have in total?
How many of them are mains-powered devices that act as repeaters?
Are other Zigbee devices pairing normally?

Considering how well the Third Reality devices and CMARS plugs have worked for me, I have difficulty understanding why they are not working for you, unless you have a shortage of repeaters.

It is best to have one repeater located fairly close to the hus (10-15 ft) and then others scattered elsewhere. Zigbee can sometimes reach 100 meters with an unobstructed line of sight. In a home environment with walls, HVAC ducts, water piping, electrical wiring, mirrors, appliances, you might be doing well to achieve a transmission distance of 30 ft. Fortunately, unlike Z-wave, there is no limit to the number of repeaters you can have in the Zigbee signal chain. In my home, I currently have 14 Zigbee smartplugs, all acting as repeating devices. I might not need that many, but I never have issues with devices dropping offline unless their battery dies. Having multiple repeaters also makes it easier pairing devices with the hub.

22

This is a new and untested C8 hub with new and untested zigbee devices. I have tried a total of 4 different zigbee devices; three from Third Reality and one from CMARS with an identical result from each. I am trying to pair these at a distance from the hub of 6 inches to 20 feet. I have a good deal of experience pairing zigbee devices at another location, and I have never seen a problem like this. In fact, I have previously found them to pair much easier than zwave. That is why I am convinced that I have some sort of zigbee radio problem in the new C8 hub.

23

Hey Guys, just so he can get some devices paired can't USER50554 rollback/load up a previous build? One before the new stack? If so all you have to do is go to settings Copy your Mac address from hub info then go to diagnostic tools then restore to previous version. I'm just not sure anything will be listed if so try the earliest version.

24

I'll have to second this, just got some new Zigbee temp sensors they'll start to initialize and time out.

they are Tuya Smart ZigBee Temperature and Humidity Sensor, which seem to have worked for others in the past just fine.

1 Like
25

I submitted a warranty claim because I don't know where else to go with this. Hubitat support has not contacted me even after being tagged on Friday. This is disappointing support.

26

@bobbyD

27

Based on the details provided this issue is likely related to the particular devices you are trying to pair. If you'd like us to take a look at your hub's engineering logs to make sure that you are not dealing with some sort of hardware malfunction, please send me a private message along with your hub's ID.

3 Likes
28

@user5054 - In case you haven't seen it before, you'll find your hub UID under Settings>Hub Details:
image

29

Which brand/device are they? Have you confirmed they are in the compatible devices list?

30

Third Reality Motion Sensor; 3RMS16BZ - Yes, on the compatible devices list
Third Reality Water Leak Sensor; 3RWS18BZ - Yes, on the compatible devices list
CMARS Mini Smart Socket; Model US-101 - No, not on the compatible devices list, but I have successfully used this product previously on a Hubitat C7.

1 Like
31

I am using a few of these on my production C8 hub (currently 80+ Zigbee devices in my mesh) so I know they work and they paired easy for me. Now figuring out why your hub behaves differently, that's another thing...

2 Likes
32

I have 2 c7s no real problems. Brought 2 c8’s but just registered them till I decided how I was going to rebuild my network. I’m all zwave but I have brought a shedload of Zigbee Sonoff to expand.
I used a few devices to test the c8’s all fine. Supported push button, sockets and temp sensor.
I have upgraded OS as they have come out and all hubs are on the latest revision. Zigbee still worked.
I decided tonight to do a few tests. I removed all devices from the c8’s. Then tried to add them.
The hub would say it had found the device and was initialising then timed out. This was across all hubs. c7 and c8. No zigbee devices would pair.
I reset an d restored with no luck.
I then rolled back one c8 to 2.3.4.148.
I have paired and re-paired zigbee device and they pair in seconds and work fine.
None of the other hubs will pair.

What is the difference between these two versions?
Note the problem is on both 7 and 8’s

Cheers

33

how is it a compatibility issue when my old c4 connects to it immediately? it's a c8 hub issue

34

I didn't say it was a compatibility issue, just wanted to identify the devices to improve the info for troubleshooting. If the devices aren't on the compatibility list then there is more likelihood that something that may have worked on a C4/5/7 might not work on a C8 - which has different Z-Wave and Zigbee versions and different Zigbee stack. The C8 is more than an incremental change from the previous hubs...

1 Like
35

I understand that, but if the c8 can't connect to the same devices as its predecessors then it's a lesser product in its current form.

36

All new Z-Wave & Zigbee, so not unsurprisingly, new issues which are definitely affecting some users, for whom it has been tough. And to make it really fun, most of it very difficult stuff to troubleshoot. I'm very glad I am not a paid employee of HE trying to figure this sh_t out. :slight_smile:

1 Like
38

I can confirm that rolling back to 2.3.4.148 seems to have fixed the "stuck on initializing" problem for me too.

Edit: I spoke too soon. Still stuck on the "Found a Zigbee device, initializing..." on 2.3.4.148

1 Like
39

Yeah I tried to pair every zigbee device I own today to the C8 which were all paired to it a week ago. None of them would pair. on reset zigbee radio power level 12 ch 20. Was worth a shot oh well. Same devices pair right up with HA

40

I am having the same problem trying to pair a new Third Reality motion sensor on my C-8. It is stuck on initializing.
I was able to pair a dozen or so zigbee devices before without any issues. This is the first device I try to pair after upgrading the C-8 to 2.3.5.121.
I suspect the latest version of the firmware broke something with zigbee pairing. I will try to revert my C-8 to a previous version and try to pair again when I find some time.

41

So 2 Sonoff sockets, 1 Sonoff temperature module and 1 Sonoff button all stable and working ok on c8 on 2.3.4.148.
Temp reporting every 0.5 deg change and simple rule to use button to trigger sockets. No problems and very responsive. Zigbee channel changed to 22 power 16. Zigbee radios active on all other hubs.
Removed them from working hub and tried again to pair with the other 3 hubs. 2xc7 1xc8 all at latest firmware level. All stuck initialising. No go. Tried twice.
Back to hub with 148 version, paired and working fine. I did have to change device for sockets manually but I assume that’s because it uses generic zigbee.
What did I do to get this c8 working?
Soft reset and radios. Rolled back the firmware. Restored a backup from cloud from I think from a 2.3.5.117 as didn’t have one from 148, from memory, don’t quote me in that, Deleted the devices it had restored as thy were a bit of a mess the started pairing the devices listed above. No problems.

When I get home tonight I’m going to run through the unpairing and pairing process again see if it works and if so then back level the second c8 hub see if that starts fixing it.
Hopefully the chaps will crack this soon as we have a long bank holiday weekend coming up and I had planed to move over the the new hubs. :pray: