When I first got the C-8 I ran into several problems with device resets and rejoins; I experienced issues which at that time involved an inability to rejoin a device that had been previously joined and reset... it would not rejoin again without first deleting it from the database (or unless it was rejoined through a router); as I recall, that was prior to version 2.3.5.110, and that particular problem was indeed fixed by firmware.
With each subsequent release through .121, all the existing device resets and rejoins I have done were for devices that already existed in my C-8's database. Until today I have not repeated the exercise of joining a device for which no current device instance exists
What I am noticing now (for the first time in several releases having run into issues joining devices) is almost the exact opposite of the pre-.110 scenario.
This appears almost as if there is something database related which is interfering with the completion of a successful join; but now it seems to happen with devices for which no current entry exists in the database.
I don't fully understand what's going on and can't generalize the behavior of my setup (which consists of very few devices) to what someone would see in a typical installation.
But I can see how it would slip under the radar for someone who's only attempt to replicate the problem involves rejoining an existing device...
So, I am one of the unlucky who has been struck by C-8 ZigBee issues after migrating from C-7. The migration SEEMED to go extremely well, but then cracks started to show on the ZigBee side (I've had no trouble with Z-Wave).
Long story short, on 121, I was still seeing issues with various devices including Hue Outdoor Motions, a Tuya 4 in 1, and a couple of my Sengled contact sensors (Of course these all worked without issue on the C-7). I finally started removing any device that had signs of failure from Hubitat, resetting them, powering them down (no idea if that made any difference), and then pairing them back in fresh. I used virtual devices and Swap Apps Device to save a huge amount of work. I also dropped ZigBee Power to 8. I've been watching for a few days and so far they have all continued to work. They DID work fine for a few days in the past, so I am reluctant to declare victory, and I still feel like the system seems fragile, but I'm hoping things at least hang in there while stability improves with further firmware tweaks.
I always factory reset them. The outdoor ones sometimes take multiple hard resets to join another coordinator. They do pair up nicely if you're just adding them back to the original coordinator.
I had some Zigbee problems initially with the C8 hub, but all my devices have been working fine after the first couple of updates with the exception of an Aqara leak sensor. Because Aqara is non-standard, it just does not want to play nice.
I do have a variety of devices including older HA 1.2 and newer 3.0 certified devices. I think the key to my success might be that I have 13 smartplugs scattered around my home. All of the devices are Zigebee 3.0 certified. I used to have some older Smartthings and Centralite 1.2 smartplugs, but all of these have been retired. When pairing Zigbee devices, I do not even have to be near the Hubitat C8, I just get several feet away from one of my repeaters and pairing goes seamlessly. Thus, I wonder if some of the issues people are having are due to having older repeating devices, especially devices known to be marginal repeaters like Zigbee bulbs.
So, I've had a little more success with my C-8, and my experience is a little in line with what you've said. First, I set the Zigbee radio power to 4 and let the network sit all night. In the morning, I tried paring in situ (not close to hub and closer to repeater). I almost gasped when I finally got the "name your device" screen for the first time in days. I also tried power 0, and to my surprise this does not disable the radio and my Zibee mesh is still working.
I wonder if the lower power meant my device was going through the repeater rather than talking directly to the hub. I've got 7 of these Enbrighten outlets that say they are Zigbee 3.0 certified (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0842BDN9R). And they all show up as neighbors under my Zigbee route table.
So all my devices are connected. Having said that, some are still dropping off and becoming unresponsive. I'm thinking about putting even more repeaters in to see if I just have some dead spots.
Now the question is; does everything still work and stay connected? I have had mine set to 20 for a month now, after trying the same experiment, and have not had any problems with devices staying connected.
But why has this broke on the c7’s as well.
I can’t back level the two I have as they are working on my current setup and if I screw these up I’ll be in a right pickle
I can’t go back to the the Mac and Indigo as it doesn’t support zigbee and I have made a sizeable investment in Hubitat and zigbee.
I have more than fingers crossed the Hubitat techno stars will crack it.
What devices are you having trouble with on your C-7? I haven’t seen any zigbee pairing issues on my C-5 (same zigbee radio as C-7), but I only briefly paired a couple devices to it prior to .121 that I couldn’t get to join my C-8.
If you have migrated a C-7 to C-8, you have to reset the zigbee radio on the C-7 and change the channel before attempting to use it again. I know that the ability to migrate the devices involves giving the old hub’s zigbee PAN ID to the new hub so your devices don’t know that you have pulled the old switcheroo on them. My C-5 showed the same PAN ID as my C-8 prior to the reset.
No migration at all. I brought the c8’s to rebuild from scratch as the c7’s are all Zwave but not really well distributed.
I was going to exclude all zwave and then set them back up on new c8’ and add in about 30 zigbee devices that I brought brand new. All Sonoff.
Mainly as zwave prices in England have gone silly
I had the c8’s for a few weeks just ticking over with a couple of devices in each and was using them to play with a few apps and drivers. Then I started to get issues.
As I say it’s the same I the c7’s now if something is on and working it’s fine but the second I remove it, reset it and try to add it I get the initialising msg and it fails. But occasionally it does work and it responded in a few seconds.
Thanks for the pointer though. Handy tips always welcome.
There is an update in beta currently that will hopefully address the initializing issue for the C-8 at least. If you can hang tight for a couple days, it may fix some of your problems.
My favorite new feature is dimming up/down via the group device. I have wanted this feature since 2019 when I bought my first C-5 and it’s finally here. A big thanks going out to whoever made this happen.
turns out the zigbee group messaging component for this was already included in the groups app, but for whatever reason we never updated the group driver...
Well I’m happy to report it is working marvelously with a group of 6 Sylvania rgbw recessed lights, another group of 4, a group of 3, and 3 groups of 2. Beautifully synchronized and no issues thankfully since I recklessly changed all of my rules about 30 minutes after .123 was released yesterday. Which is apparently how I role during beta.
