Basically you have it plugged straight int the mains. When you want to see zigbee network details you plug it into your pc/mac
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That makes sense. =)
Do you have any mains-powered (plugged into the wall) ZigBee devices?
If yes, then they are probably ZigBee repeaters, which are devices that act similar to a WiFi extender, but for a ZigBee network.
Unfortunately, a majority of ZigBee repeaters do not allow Xiaomi / Aqara devices to remain connected. Only a small number of ZigBee repeaters are considered as "compatible" with Xiaomi / Aqara devices. There is a lot of detailed and helpful information in this thread (make sure to read all of the first post in the least):
I realize that I should make a clear warning to users in my opening post of this thread that there are "incompatible" ZigBee repeaters, and very strongly recommend them to read about that in the other thread I started on pairing Xiaomi / Aqara devices and keeping them connected.
I am going to make edits to my opening post here, and probably rename that other thread. My apologies for any confusion.
Yes, I would have bought an XBee module anyhow even if I didn't have a single Xiaomi / Aqara device, just because of the ability to easily look at the ZigBee network routing map and signal strength.
But yes, I can totally understand your "pain" budget-wise. I would not have bothered with Home Automation if not for Sengled bulbs and Xiaomi / Aqara sensors and buttons.
The XBee ZigBee module is a USB "developer" board, and with firmware that can be flashed and then custom settings sent so that it can be paired to your ZigBee network as another device - but all it does is act as a repeater (for any ZigBee devices, not just Xiaomi / Aqara.)
If it's connected to computer, then you just fire up the company's XCTU software and turn on active ZigBee network map scanning to see how all the devices are connected - either directly too the hub or via a repeater (including the Xbee itself).
There's lots more information about the Xbee on the other big Xiaomi thread we keep mentioning and especially the Everything Xbee thread here.
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With regards to pairing devices to Xiaomi, you just need to pair near the XBee - generally they are the strongest signal in your home but by pairing next to it it just makes sure. The costs in my pic above are because I went for Pro version (which according to specs had a range of a couple of miles!) but the non pro still has decent signal strength but is only around £12 instead of £21
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Thanks! Yeah, those other threads are a ton to digest.
I'll keep fiddling with the Aqara stuff to see if I can get it online, then plan on an Xbee board next month. It's like $60 from Digikey by the time you factor shipping. =/ I'm not 100% positive I need the high powered module.
But anyway, huge thanks. it's great to have these threads. =)
Yeah, that makes sense. I might not get the pro... tough call. I don't need to blast over everything else, or interfere with wifi.
That is one other thing I haven't done (changing zigbee channel) mainly because it scares me.
Looks like I'm already on Channel 20, which is slightly in my wifi channel, but not a huge deal.
I got a couple non-Pro series 2 modules as well as the USB host development boards on eBay, and all of that cost me less than $50 (in the US) including shipping. I checked the seller's return policy first, of course, before making that kind of "leap", but generally I don't limit myself purely to normal American retail channels (as evidenced by all the ship-on-the-"slow boat from China" Xiaomi / Aqara devices I now own).
A lot of that is us repeating ourselves when questions are asked (absolutely no offense meant.) It's kinda just what happens on these forums with all the wonderful people ready to help out.
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Tell me about the slow boat... I ordered 5 more Aqara temp/humidity sensors off banggood 5 weeks ago... Still haven't received them. 
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The Trådfri outlets are great. If you just add a couple of those you don’t have to deal with XBee if you don’t want to. I had sensors that were quite close to the hub drop, but after adding just two Trådfri, they just stick. They have not dropped at all.
I have a small house so keep that in mind that your number may need to be bigger. They’re not as powerful as an XBee. The one that is in the bathroom is where the temperature sensor is and it is within 3 feet.
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I'm in a 1400 sq ft house, so not exactly big.
Good info though. =)
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I’m about 1200
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I can confirm Tradfri outlets work great, I'm in a 1200 sqft house and with just one I have good coverage in all my house indoors, including the hub as a repeater, hub is near back the house and outlet near front. I have about 12 Xiaomi sensors total.
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One more week needed lol
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so, okay. I still don't quite understand one piece. If I just add a Tradfri outlet somewhere, will they just magically fix Xiaomi issues be relaying their messages? I assume the issue currently is some incompatible devices hear the Xiaomi devices, and just don't relay the message (because it's malformed or something)?
No. There are two issues at play. First, you can't really control Zigbee routing. So, if you have "incompatible" repeaters anywhere in your network, it's possible the Xiaomi devices will pick those and eventually fail. The safest option is to use only devices known to play well with Xiaomi (I replaced most of my Zigbee pocket sockets with Z-Wave ones for this reason--not without its problems either, especially if you like to move things or take them offline). The second issue might help a bit with the first: in my experience, Xiaomi devices don't change routes once they find one they like. This means you might be able to work around this by unplugging "Xiaomi-unfriendly" repeaters while you pair the Xiaomi devices to help them connect either directly to the hub or through a known-good path, and then you're less likely to experience trouble later when the other repeaters are added back (but some people have said they do see Xiaomi devices change routes, so it's possible--not sure if it depends on what Xiaomi devices you have because mine definitely appear to prefer completely falling off the network if their repeater is gone rather than trying an alternate route).
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good info. also, annoying. =P
I have several things on the incompatible list. so it would be far cheaper to just buy non-Xiaomi options if that's the issue. =/
Gonna look at one of the Tradfi devices....
I had this exact thinking, but at the end, I used a second hub only for Xiaomi and Tradfri, no regrets, those sensors are so nice, small, good looking and inexpensive that now I have all my doors covered plus one inside the safe monitoring the door, one humidity sensor in the attic, they work great. I have cube, motion, contact and humidity sensors.
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A fresh experience: first build a trustable zigbee backhaul (i got 3 tradfi repeater + HE no other exotic devices or hidden repeaters) THEN pair the most difficult devices in a plain environment. I had no problem at all to pair Xiaomi Temperature and vibration. I'm looking forward to test motion sensors (on the road from china...)
I only have problems with Alexa (I have Italian version) but that is an other story...
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so, in that case. Since everything is already paired... I should be able to just add some tradfi devices, then unplug other stuff, and the Xiaomi stuff should rejoin with those tradfi's and continue to work when I re-attach the incompatible stuff?
The hub is a coordinator though. It will never repeat the signal. It's a star topology from the hub to every device attached to it.
