Ogiewon, didn't really clear it up. Maybe I don't understand the repeaters concept. All of my bulbs and sensors are within 20 feet of my hub so I am not sure not sure why they would need the signal repeated. Once of the sensors is actually closer than the lights it controls.
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Did you read the following?
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Build_a_Solid_Zigbee_Mesh
will read it now
If I am reading it right, maybe I should completely start over. Hard reset. Add the motion sensors first so they only pair up with the hub, then add the bulbs. And wait a day before setting up any of the automation. Does that sound right? If that doesn't work then I either need to trash the GE bulbs or get a second hub to put the bulbs on.
I’ve already explained what recommend earlier in the thread. Buy some known good Zigbee repeaters, pair them first to the hub and be sure they are spread throughout the house. Then add some inexpensive Sengled Zigbee bulbs to replace the very problematic GE Link bulbs. Those bulbs are nothing but trouble these days.
Zigbee devices will automatically change their routes through the mesh based on what they perceive to be the best route. Those GE bulbs will always end up creating issues.
Search the forum for many threads exactly like this one over the years.
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problem is HE has the weakest radio signal I've ever seen, compared with Iris, ST, Lightify & Securifi.
Hubitat definitely has the best platform and capabilities, minus the radios. We compensate by adding repeaters, which provide the end devices more than a single path back to the hub, should 1 path be compromised by other signals or building materials. And bulbs can cause issues, especially if they are ZLL and not ZHA. Even if they are ZHA, depending on the guts they can drop zigbee messages. Also be aware of the dreaded "zigbee network offline" issue, that I am plagued with currently.
Ogiewon, I guess that's what confused me about the ikea outlets/repeaters. I thought you meant to use them where I had my lights, not as something to act as a half way point between my motion sensors and hub to improve their radio signal. I guess I never consider the short distances I'm using would be a problem for the radio. 20 feet...maybe 25... and 2 walls is the furthest anything is from the hub.
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It's all very confusing. Especially compared to wink. I hadn't touched my wink setup in several years and wouldn't have switched except for the new fees and the obvious signs that it was going bankrupt and would be completely gone soon. I probably should have gone the smartthings route for simplicity but wanted the local control so even if they started charging for cloud based I could let my automation still run until the hub got fried.
I'm not even sure what to search for half the time on the forums and get topics that don't really fit what I need when I do search. I'm do keep coming up with either ditching the GE bulbs or getting a Hue Bridge. I'm kind of leaning towards the hue bridge because I can get one on eBay for $20 or on Amazon for $80 with 4 hue bulbs. The sengled bulbs are twice as much as the other bulbs from what I can find.
I'm in the USA, I got the hue hub, only to find it only pairs with Hue devices. Now unless something changed within the last 15 months. Do your homework before going Hue, the Hue bulbs are insanely expensive. I do not know if the GE bulbs will pair with Hue. The folks in the EU or UK or whatever it's called this week, have options to pair more non-Hue devices to the hub somehow.
Sengled bulbs are about $10 a piece... Unless you're looking at color bulbs... The GE Link bulbs were $15 a piece when they were sold...
https://www.amazon.com/Sengled-E11-G13W-Equivalent-Assistant-SmartThings/dp/B01N7I4X94
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Thanks. My searches were 24+ I was either seeing the colored bulbs or higher wattage I guess.
You'll be much happier replacing the bulbs I see people fighting with them all the time on the forums.
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Since ogiewon showed me I was wrong on the price, that is probably the best choice. Won't have to mess with another hub/bridge. Quite a bit more complicated than I was expecting.
My next step after that will be to get a better handle on the repeater/mesh concept. I obviously an clueless on it.
Here's a good quick animation on wireless propagation and reflections in a house.
Mesh just simply implies a cluster of devices working together to get a signal back to the hub. If one of the devices along its path back to the hub disappears by being turned off (powered down) it gets sad and no longer has a pathway back to the hub.
Hub <> Device 1 <> Device 2 <> Device 3 <> Device 4 = 
Hub <> Device 1 <> Device 2 <> Device 3 Light switch turned off <> Device 4 = Device 4 
Clusters of groups can intermingle their routes back to the hub so it can get pretty confusing trying to figure out how everything is routing back. The hub will try to resend commands several times or may have a rule trying to fire and attempting several times adding additional load for all the failed routes. This is why it's better to have routing devices powered up all the time and things like light bulbs that can be turned off at the switch to be non-routing devices.
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That's great. My hub would be in the very center of that house and all of the lights and sensors are closer than the outside walls except maybe one motion sensor.
Ordered the sengled bulbs and a couple ikea outlets. Bulbs should be here first so I will try them without the outlet repeaters and then with to see if there's a difference. Will let you know how it works. Thank you everyone. I obviously have a lot to learn.
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Just be aware that the hub is limited to 32 end-node devices, like the Sengled bulbs, motion detectors, leak detectors, and contact sensors. When always-on repeater devices are added to the network, this limit is mitigated as each repeater can typically handle ~6 additional end devices. Having the repeaters will greatly improve the health and reliability of your Zigbee mesh network.
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Should be a while before I get to that number. But what would I need to do if I got to that point?
Ummmm....
Adding repeaters essentially removes the 32 Zigbee end device limit from your hub. Each repeater can handle ~6 additional end devices, and the repeaters do not count against the hub's 32 end-device limit, since they are not end-devices. That is why I would always install a few repeaters - for signal strength improvements, and to increase the maximum number of devices.
so 32 repeaters would mean I could have 192 end devices? no way that will ever happen
