New user - GE/Quirky bulb as repeater

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1

I successfully migrated over to HE from Wink a few days ago. I had about 6 each of the old GE/Quirky dimmable bulbs and the Outlink wired outlets. The bulbs work fine and I developed some workarounds on the Outlinks to make them work predictably and well (another post has details).

I was a bit concerned about the reported issues with the GE bulbs and Outlinks as repeaters.

I took a look at the routing table text page on the HE and noticed that the GE bulbs were NEVER used as Zigbee repeaters (no “via” indications), but the Outlinks all were, as well as an old Osram lightify bulb and a few new Home Depot cheap tunable EcoSmart bulbs.

I had connected everything to Wink and noticed a few firmware updates on the log, so they should all be running the latest firmware.

I’m wondering if the latest firmware disabled repeater operation on the GE bulbs. I’ve noticed no Zigbee mesh issues, even with the Outlinks working as repeaters.

Just a few observations and conjectures.

Best,

Don

2

I only have two of the GE Link bulbs. I got the Wink 1 hub for free for the cost of the 2 bulbs when Wink was first released. I believe that I got the whole setup from Home Depot. Anyway, my bulbs do repeat. and I have removed them from HE. Now I'm going to fire up the old Wink and see if i can get the update. I haven't used Wink for years, but what the heck it can't hurt to try.

Update,

Wink worked. the Firmware updated in wink for these bulbs to 0.2b00 / 0.2b08. I'm not sure what it was previously and I did need to enable allow updates anytime. I can't find a firmware description for the firmware updates, the firmware updated almost immediately according to the activity log.
So, I'll Put my old Wink in the trash and play with the bulbs in HE and see if they repeat.

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3

I'd be very interested in your results and observations!

I can confirm that the latest GE Link bulb firmware is 0.2b00/0.2b08. This is the firmware on all of my GE Link bulbs. The firmware may be checked in the Wink app, even with the hub and bulbs offline.

I connected up a few NIB GE Outlinks a few days ago. They updated to 0.1b02/0.0b07, which IS repeating in HE, apparently without issues.

A Reddit post (6 months ago) said, ".... after screwing them in and connecting them up to Wink they got the version .2 firmware which fixed some issues and will make them easier to use with other Zigbee hubs in the future."

Not sure what the source of his info was, but "easier to use" might mean "disabled buggy repeater function". Mine definitely are NOT repeating. I saw another post somewhere stating that the latest GE Link bulb firmware did, in fact, disable repeater functionality.

However the updated Outlinks are acting as repeaters with the updated firmware. I have seen no ill effects from them, but I have a very modest Zigbee network, about 15 devices total.

Regards,

Don

Be

4

Unlikely, but all I can say is that I haven't seen anyone else mention this. Do they show up under "Neighbor Table"? If so, those are repeaters, even if you don't see any other devices routing through ("via") them. This would be really easy to verify with an Xbee, which directly reports the type of device (coordinator/hub, router/repeater, or end device), but I think the above is about as good as you can tell with Hubitat, assuming it even shows you the device in the first place.

I'm glad you're having good luck so far but would still recommend caution and replacement or segregation (separate hub, Hue Bridge, anything besides a network with "regular" Zigbee devices) if you start to notice issues. Good luck!

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5

I'll watch them and see how everything plays together. I recently added some new ZigBee stuff and it's finally starting to mesh (pardon the pun). I will say that the GE bulbs have the most tedious reset procedures out there. It was fun firing up the old Wink for a few minutes.

6

One of the things the GE bulbs did in Hubitat previously was to show up in the Route Table like this “status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Office Lamp, 3749] via [Office Lamp, 3749]” It was via itself. I don’t know if this is normal or not.

7

Well, I may be off-base then. All the Zigbee devices in the network show up in the Neighbor Table, including the GE Link bulbs. Of the following devices, Downstairs Hallway Light, Basement, Garage Light, Patio, Bonus Room, and Front Porch are GE Link bulbs...the old ones with green base and loop antenna in the clear dome. All have been 100% reliable over the past few days.

Parent child parameters
EzspGetParentChildParametersResponse [childCount=0, parentEui64=0000000000000000, parentNodeId=65535]

Child Data

Neighbor Table Entry
[Dee’s Light, 1202], LQI:254, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Don’s Light, 1FA5], LQI:231, age:3, inCost:5, outCost:0
[Basement, 2FC8], LQI:242, age:4, inCost:5, outCost:7
[TV Backlight, 400C], LQI:194, age:3, inCost:7, outCost:0
[Garage Light, 4B84], LQI:250, age:3, inCost:3, outCost:7
[Family Room, 8594], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:7
[Den, 8EB7], LQI:251, age:3, inCost:3, outCost:3
[Bonus Room, 91F3], LQI:250, age:3, inCost:3, outCost:3
[Downstairs Hallway, 9492], LQI:248, age:3, inCost:3, outCost:3
[Warning Light, AA3C], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Patio, ADC4], LQI:249, age:0, inCost:3, outCost:7
[Front Porch, DC67], LQI:243, age:3, inCost:5, outCost:7
[Guest Bedroom, E6E2], LQI:254, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:3
[Front Room, F846], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1

Route Table Entry
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [TV Backlight, 400C] via [Dee’s Light, 1202]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Patio, ADC4] via [Patio, ADC4]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement, 2FC8] via [Front Room, F846]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Front Porch, DC67] via [Warning Light, AA3C]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Don’s Light, 1FA5] via [Warning Light, AA3C]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Dee’s Light, 1202] via [Dee’s Light, 1202]
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused

8

Both of my updated GE-Link Bulbs (the old ones) show up in the Neighbor Table so it looks like they are still repeaters. In the Route Table, nothing is routing through them except one of the bulbs is routing through itself. I haven’t noticed any issues, but with ZigBee it takes a week or so for everything to sort out. If I notice any issues with them or any other ZigBee devices, they’ll go back in the box next to my Wemo bulbs. I don’t know why I don’t just throw stuff away.

9

I am seeing exactly what you are. The GE Link Bulbs are all in the Neighbor list which, as I understand it, are only AC powered devices with routing capability.

I believe the Route Table Entry section shows only the "last hop" route between the HE and a device that has used a router. None of my GE Links haver showed up as a "via" device, except to itself, which probably indicates it just talked directly to the HE. The GE Link bulbs show a good LQI quality indicator, yet never get used as routers.

The Outlinks with the updated firmware are used a LOT in the Route Table Entry, and appear to be functioning perfectly. All six appear to be used as active routers in my mesh.

I still wonder if the updated GE Link firmware somehow disabled routing, despite being detected as routers by the hub.

I noticed my two newly-purchased EcoSmart $5.00 tunable bulbs from Home Depot seem to be active repeaters and doing OK. Good news. I picked up 6 for $5.00 each. Nice little bulb.

I'll monitor and report back as well, but I'm happy with how the mesh is functioning at the moment.

In the following Route Table Entry, "Warning Light" and "Front Room" are Outlinks and "Dee's Light" is one of the new EcoSmart bulbs.

"Bonus Room" is a GE Link bulb, shown routing to itself, which likely means it's not actually acting as a router, but direct connecting to the HE.

Parent child parameters
EzspGetParentChildParametersResponse [childCount=0, parentEui64=0000000000000000, parentNodeId=65535]

Child Data

Neighbor Table Entry
[Dee’s Light, 1202], LQI:255, age:4, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Don’s Light, 1FA5], LQI:207, age:4, inCost:5, outCost:0
[Basement, 2FC8], LQI:248, age:4, inCost:3, outCost:7
[TV Backlight, 400C], LQI:121, age:3, inCost:7, outCost:7
[Garage Light, 4B84], LQI:252, age:3, inCost:3, outCost:3
[Family Room, 8594], LQI:255, age:4, inCost:1, outCost:7
[Den, 8EB7], LQI:252, age:4, inCost:3, outCost:3
[Bonus Room, 91F3], LQI:251, age:4, inCost:3, outCost:3
[Downstairs Hallway, 9492], LQI:242, age:3, inCost:5, outCost:3
[Warning Light, AA3C], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Patio, ADC4], LQI:246, age:3, inCost:5, outCost:7
[Front Porch, DC67], LQI:242, age:3, inCost:5, outCost:7
[Guest Bedroom, E6E2], LQI:253, age:4, inCost:3, outCost:3
[Front Room, F846], LQI:255, age:4, inCost:1, outCost:1

Route Table Entry
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Downstairs Hallway, 9492] via [Warning Light, AA3C]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Patio, ADC4] via [Warning Light, AA3C]
status:Unused
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement, 2FC8] via [Front Room, F846]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Dee’s Light, 1202] via [Dee’s Light, 1202]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Bonus Room, 91F3] via [Bonus Room, 91F3]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Don’s Light, 1FA5] via [Dee’s Light, 1202]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Front Porch, DC67] via [Front Room, F846]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [TV Backlight, 400C] via [Dee’s Light, 1202]
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused
status:Unused

10

A non-routing device would show up as an EMBER _END_DEVICE in Child devices. Battery devices would show as EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE.

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11

Yep!

I saw routing through one of the GE Outlinks for the first time tonight.

Don

12

Both of mine were routing through themselves. Then today, I had a sensor that’s never given any problems drop offline. So they’re no longer in my system. It was worth a try.

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