I know there is a million threads on this, but with how quickly devices change from V1 to V2 to V3 and with updates to Hubitat, I wanted to be sure
Amazon has a 4 Pack of THIRDREALITY Zigbee smart outlets, that are listed as being repeaters.
Can anyone vouch for these before I purchase? I don't actually need any smart plugs but I just need more Zigbee range. my only Zigbee devices are all battery powered, and some of my leak sensors are not staying connected (One hasn't check in since 2021...)
Does anyone know of something that isn't even a device, but simply JUST a repeater? I would love to buy 3 small devices that plug in, and just have them repeat signals, and that's all!
These are the best repeaters that I have come across. And I've tested at least a dozen on my zigbee2mqtt mesh. They are small and inconspicuous - they need a 5V USB power supply (I use in-wall outlets with USB). Also, you'll find them for a much better price on AliExpress.
Here's an example of how well they function from my zigbee2mqtt network. That's a single repeater supporting 10 devices. I have several repeaters on that mesh with the same performance. And I've had zero devices drop off my zigbee2mqtt mesh since I started using these repeaters about a year and a half ago. The repeaters I've had "fail" sporadically (taking out a segment of the mesh) include Ikea Trädfri Plugs and Trädfi USB repeaters.
Other devices that are work well as repeaters in this mesh (albeit with a smaller number of devices) include Innr outlets, eWeLink outlets, and @iharyadi's environmental sensors.
Another device that works exceptionally well, but requires a little bit of work to setup is the Sonoff USB Zigbee dongle that has to be flashed with a different firmware to work as a repeater.
Every environment is unique. On @aaiyar advice, I bought 4 of these. Now while I'm not using zigbee2mqtt, and they're connected direct to HE I am seeing some slightly quirky behavior. My zigbee mesh seems responsive, but I've noticed that 6 times over the last year, these repeaters appear to have dropped off, and were automatically reconnected via a 3rd party driver's special functionality. While I'm not aware of any issues caused by this, it's generally not desirable in terms of zigbee and repeaters. I have 2 other ones that have changed 16 bit addresses occasionally and not sure why. The other thing to keep in mind is, Tuya changes firmware, like the seasons change. While I don't have evidence of this for the repeater, it's common in most of Tuya's other devices, so what works today, could be affected by this.
I see Amazon's price is $27.00, I think I paid 9-10/each. For 10 bucks I'd say give it a shot.
@aaiyar which coordinator are you using with zig2mqtt? The sonoff or Conbee?
Yup. FWIW, the instructions that come with this device are in Chinese (at least all the ones I have had instructions in Chinese). In the event you don't speak Chinese, here's how you reset and re-pair them.
Yes I can vouch. They are also excellent plugs ( Been the price leader for awhile now). Though lately I've been thinking that the same factory probably makes all of the plugs that are this shape. I Iove third Reality products, you are definately safe buying them. Try out their other sensors, they use AAA batteries which rocks.
Innr 224 is also a very solid ZB repeater plug. Can be paired to work as a Hue repeater specifically or just plain ZB. I have a bunch scattered around as the main backbone of my ZB mesh.
I should mention that I'd avoid the Innr 234 model (power-reporting version) -- unfortunately, it's not reliable. And I just noticed it's not listed anymore on Amazon -- I wonder if Innr finally realized they have some QC issues with it.
That board looks to be another 2652 chipset, like the sonoff. What channel do you have the zig2mqtt on?
And I wouldn't say they're not working, but rather just some occasional odd behavior, and then continue to be in my setup, which seems okay. I still have pairing issues from my concurrent channel swap, but otherwise working okay.
I don't believe any of my issues are due to the Tuya repeaters.
)
