I have a combination of Sengled and Cree bulbs, and for the most part they work just fine, However, I have one sconce where none of them seem to work reliably after a few days. My meshed network is pretty healthy and this bulb is line-of-site to my HE, so I don't think signal strength is the issue. Might be something funky about the sconce itself, I suppose... it does not appear to be controlled by a wall switch anywhere or I would just replace that. Anyone have any suggestions for a super-reliable bulb? I don't have a Hue hub and would prefer not to deal with that, so Phillips is probably out.
Out of curiosity, how many crees do you have?
I always caution against loading HA stuff onto the home wifi network, but a TP-Link bulb would probably be more reliable since a wifi signal is much stronger/longer range. I have had 5 TP-Link bulbs (color and color temp) for over 2 years with no issues yet. @djgutheinz has a very solid community app for TP-Link devices. Or you could just add a Samsung outlet plug somewhere between the hub and device (closer to the hub) to try to fix the issue. I believe that Cree is along the same lines as GE Link bulbs as far as repeating goes, which is worse than terrible. Long term, eliminating the Cree will likely be key to retaining your sanity if you start adding more zigbee devices.
Also, you can not use distance from the hub as a measure of how likely the bulb is getting a reliable signal. It all depends on what routers near it promise to be good and treat its signal nicely. Take a look at the zigbee table http://Hub IP Address/hub/zigbee/getChildAndRouteInfo
Yes it's the zigbee routing report I'm using to judge the strength of my zigbee network. Right now the errant bulb has dropped off completely. I double-checked and it's actually a GE zigbee bulb - I must have replaced it in an effort to resolve the issue.
If eliminating the Cree is the best bet, what do folks use as a replacement?
24 Crees... mostly in desk lamps
Sengled Zigbee bulbs work best for most users. I replaced all my Cree and GE Link bulbs with Sengled and everything just works now.
If you're open to Z-Wave, Inovelli!
Otherwise, Sengled.
Make sure you've got a repeater or two in your network, as Sengleds don't repeat, and you'll hit the 32-direct-devices Zigbee limit quickly.
I'm curious - have you evaluated this using an Xbee3? Or is it based on having a large number of Cree light bulbs?
April's worst nightmare
I've had good luck with my 5 Cree bulbs and gledopto controller since I moved them to a Hue bridge and used the HE Hue integration. I was able to buy a gen 1 hue bridge on eBay for $9 shipped and the Cree bulbs have been solid.
A very good point. I would go with a gen 2 Hue bridge though since they have EOLd the gen 1. Certainly much more cost effective than replacing 24 bulbs.
Either bridge would work. Since I didn't plan on connecting the hue bridge to the web I opted for really cheap and put the money towards my new dome water shut-off valve. The bride gets cranky when I overspend my allowance.
Yes I have a bunch of SmartThings plugs scattered throughout the house.
It's based on habitat.local/hub/zigbee/getChildAndRouteInfo, which I know is not conclusive. However, all of my zigbee devices seem to work just fine with the exception of this one sconce. I'm going to replace the bulb with a zwave bulb and see what happens.
Thanks yes that was a good read. If I were having more widespread issues I might try the channel change or the mesh rebuild ideas... and maybe I will at some point. I might opt for the Phillips Hue solution. I wanted to avoid a third hub (Lutron & HE) but hey what the heck... the more the merrier.
Ordered. Along with a few Hue bulbs. Will be here tomorrow.
It is an inexpensive, yet effective, solution. Control remains local, which is excellent. And putting the Crees on a mesh by themselves will keep them stable and ensure that any zigbee sensors on your Hubitat will route through your Samsung SmartThings outlets - which are really good zigbee repeaters.
Except for the Hue bulbs Although I keep adding more of them myself as I slowly replace Sylvania A19s that die from overheating.
I also have 3 more smartThings outlets on the way. I have a couple now but one or two more won't hurt.