Hi
I have just installed hubitat and am very pleased with it - using the rule machine and maker api.
However, all my current devices are in the same room as the hubitat itself.
If I want to use a device (window sensor) in a different room which may not be in wi-fi range of the hubitat, will it still connect - I have a router set up as an access point hard wired to my main router in that room using different SIDs?
Any advice appreciated!
Zigbee and WiFi,, although they may share the 2.4gHz spectrum, are not the same and cannot augment each other (although they can interfere). Several factors that affect the range of zigbee device, easiest thing to do may be to take the sensor to the location you want to use it and move the magnet away and back to the sensor to see if it records the activity.
(Basically the same response if it is a Z-Wave sensor disregarding the spectrum.)
Hi, welcome 
As stated below, the Hubitat does not wireless receive WiFi signals. All WiFi signals are through your router. It is possible for the Hubitat Hub to communicate with WiFi signals (again through your router) however this is very uncommon.
The Hubitat radios communicate wirelessly with Z-Wave devices and Zigbee devices. A contact sensor will easily communicate with the Hub when in the next room. I have Zigbee devices in my garage with the Hubitat hub located 2 rooms away.
My best recommendation is to simply try it before the actual installation.
At some point you will exceed the capability of a device to communicate with the hub due to distance. In these cases you can put a device (that is always powered, like a wall switch) between the hub and the distant device. The signal can now go from the hub to the switch to you device further away. These devices are called "repeaters". Repeaters must be the same technology as the distant device.
i.e. For a zigbee device the repeater must be a Zigbee repeater
and for a ZWave device the repeater must be a ZWave repeater.
Not all devices that are powered by the mains are repeaters or sometimes poor repeaters so if you find you need a repeater post and ask folks for a recommendation.
Hope this helps.
John
Thanks!
Thanks!
So is my understanding correct - the Hubitat doesn't use the normal wi-fi to communicate, ie Zigbee and Z-Wave use chanels other than the normal wi-fi, so to extend the range, I would need to connect a repeater - would this be connected to the router?
in terms of a repeater, that does not connect to your router at all. the hub will send out a signal, and devices can report back to it. if you have a repeater, the repeater will then send out a signal from it's position to help increase the range of your overall network (think mesh network)
if you have your hub placed in a central part of your home, you might be able to reach the edges. the best thing would be to take the device near the area you'll be installing it and see if your hub can find it. if it can, then cool, no need for anything else. if it can't, then you'll need to set up a repeater for your specific protocol (zigbee/z-wave) in between the hub and the device
You should read up on zigbee and z-wave. They’re wireless communication protocols like WiFi, but they’re unrelated to WiFi. Here’s a decent article:
No. For now you should forget the WiFi. It does nothing for your system. As a matter of fact if you turned the WiFi off the Hubitat Hub would work exactly the same.
See below on the basics of the repeater function. (sorry for the fast crude drawing)
Thanks!
Ironically, I have subsequently read that Innr Zigbee plugs act as a range extender and I already have a bunch of them - so presumably if I plug one in where your 'repeater' sits in your final diagram, that would push the range out?
Learning!
It should in theory....
Yes....
However I've read some Zigbee repeaters are better than others. I am not familiar with Innr products so I can't say for sure. The issues appears to be some manufactures do not 100% comply with the Zigbee spec. I say this so if they don't seem to do what you thing they should, you might ask here if anyone has any experience with Innr devices. There is a compatibility list for Hubitat, you should probably start there.
I had trouble with some Zigbee motion sensors that were far from the hub. I plugged these in spaced between the hub and the sensors - starting closest to the hub so the Zigbee network could extend step by step. I then reset and discovered the motion sensors back into the extended network from their intended location. Problem solved!
I plugged these in spaced between the hub and the sensors - starting closest to the hub so the Zigbee network could extend step by step. I then reset and discovered the motion sensors back into the extended network from their intended location. Problem solved!
This might be useful for you when you're setting things up:
http://hubitat.local/hub/zigbee/getChildAndRouteInfo
This will show the path that your sensors take to reach the hub. You might have to check it right after a change in state, as entries seem to go stale and disappear after a while.
Thanks!
