I purchased a two pack of Zigbee outlets from Amazon. The packaging has no name but claims it works with all the popular hubs (obviously from China)
I paired it with my hub, selected generic outlet and everything appears to function properly. I was able to turn it off and on without issue.
I left it plugged in the outlet and noticed it was in pairing mode the next morning, the little blue light was rapidly blinking.
I'm going to try the 2nd Zigbee outlet to see if it will do the same.
Ideas, suggestions?
I have about 20 of those, and they (mostly) work just great with the "Generic Zigbee Outlet" driver. The manufacturer is listed as "eWeLink", model as "SA-003-Zigbee". They also make great repeaters, which is how I'm using most of them.
The "mostly" is that they occasionally lock up, hard - light's still on, but the outlet doesn't respond to Zigbee commands or even to pressing the button manually. I watchdog them, and when one hasn't messaged the Hub in too long, unplugging it and plugging it back in almost always cures the problem.
Over the course of buying 20, I had one DOA, and another one which continually fell off the grid (like yours just did). Circular filed both of 'em and moved on.
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As @jwjr says these units have many names, but a while back I modded a driver for them - they ID themselves often as CMARS, eWeLink, INNR, Seedan, and others. They have worked flawlessly for me for nearly 3 yrs now.
That said, I have had 2 I think - out of the box, simply bad. At the price I paid I tossed em in the garbage and moved on. I'd say the failure rate is maybe 3.5% for me. They can be a bit noisey - the audible click is surprisingly loud, but honestly they are my go to device for building my network - I just stick one every 10-15 feet and call it a day! my 2cents.
I want to remove 1 Star from these units however - you can't put 2 into a basic wall outlet! they are about 1/4" too tall! I tried once to move onto the 3rd Reality units thinking I could put 2 units into a outlet but then the chattiness issue became a problem. Recently, there is tests and comments from reputable community users that it has improved with firmware upgrades - but thats' a different thread.
- I've had to use a "liberator" a couple of times to fit two together.
EDIT to add: just had one of these lock up on me - no communication with the Hub for just over a day. No response to commands or button press. Unplugged, replugged immediately, all good. (I keep track, though - if that one does it again, it'll be swapped out.)
What's a good replacement for these Zigbee outlets? I'm getting kind of burnt out on this Chinese outlets, yes they are inexpensive BUT it seems a hit or miss on reliability.
Thanks for the replies folks! Great forum!
Check the ‘Data’ section and see if they are
_TZ3000_okaz9tjs
According to @kkossev, this model is problematic with HE.
Yeah, I learned early in my smart-home days that cheap stuff will almost certainly burn you sooner or later (the whole "Buy quality, cry once. Buy cheap, cry twice." kinda thing).
The Sengled NB-7 is a solid power-reporting plug, and I've had a bunch of Innr 224 plugs (non power-reporting) running smoothly for several years now, but I have heard of other folks having issues with them on C8s. Mine have all been fine on my C8 though.
Stick with known brands, and research folks' experience with specific devices here in the community.
FWIW, if you're willing to replace the receptacles, there are several good options.
I've recently started installing Legrand Zigbee 3 receptacles, both the 15A and 20A versions, and have a number of the GE/Jasco Zigbee receptacles as well. I like both, and they are both rock solid. I don't really use power monitoring, but the Jasco has a model that does it, and a model that doesn't. The Legrands both do, but I think there is a scaling problem with power reporting.
Note, neither are cheap.
S.
The problem I have with replacing the entire outlet is space in the electrical box. Actually, no electrical box. The wires are stabbed in on the backside with a plastic cover that snaps in.
My wife and I both live in a 40 foot diesel coach! As you can see above the outlets used in RV's are not the standard outlets.
When we are on the road we are not connected to the Internet like a sticks and bricks home, thus the reason I went with hubitat.
I have tried sonoff, thirdreality, and sengled and by that I mean that I have had over 20 of each of them.
I have tossed most of the sonoff ones. Thirdreality are pretty good. Sengled are awesome.
But only come in stock every so often.
Sengled Smart Plug Works with Alexa Google Home, SmartThings, Homekit, Amazon Smart Plug Energy Monitoring, Smart Outlet Remote Control, 15A Zigbee Smart Socket, Hub Required, UL ETL FCC Listed, 4 PK https://a.co/d/2DDWcY7
Ouch, that sucks.
I wonder if they could be replaced. It looks like the "back" is separated to become a mount. Interesting.
Is this universal in coaches? I haven't looked to closely at the electrical in SuperCs and big 5th wheels.
S.
Scott
Yes, these types of receptacles are used In all RV's as well as park models typically placed on seasonal lots.
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Found the following review of these outlets on Amazon;
Zigbee2MQTT Works but with dev mode
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2023
These are eWeLink CK-BL702-MSW-01(7010) - If you are planning on buying these to use with Zigbee2MQTT and Home Assistant, They will work, but you have to use the Dev mode of Z2M. In HA its called Zigbee2MQTT Edge in the addon store. - google how to switch to dev branch of Z2M
Anything to be concerned about?
I have run about 10 ThirdReality non monitoring plugs around the house for over a year without any problems.
