Question about zigbee mesh pattern and power

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Hi - Not sure I'm asking this in the right place, so feel free to move. I was reading the thread about the zigbee power setting on the C8, which I don't have. Currently, most of my zigbee devices are on a C5. I have a C7 for z-wave and smaller zigbee network for aqara devices (the two zigbee networks are on different channels - one on 20, one on 25)
On the C5 I have about 75 zigbee devices, with quite a few repeaters (almost all plugs). I've noticed on the mesh graph that more than half of the connections are straight to the hub, rather than via mesh. In another thread, someone mentioned lowering the power setting on the C8, to encourage zigbee connections via mesh rather than a hub/spoke pattern. Does that mean that it's better if devices are making more use of the mesh, ie that is not ideal to have so many direct connections to the hub?
For the most part, my network seems to be working quite well, with a couple exceptions: a couple devices that frequently fall off and need to be power cycled to reconnect (in particular a Centralite plug which connects direct to the hub), and an occasional issue with zigbee network going offline that I asked about in another thread.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Michael

Here's how the network looks at the moment:

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image1486×760 142 KB

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Typically, you can not force a Zigbee device to use a particular router (repeater). The Zigbee mesh is dynamic and very often what you think would be the best route is not the choice that the end device make.. There is a very simple reason for this - there are a lot of interferences and signal distortions due to the radio signal reflections, so the line of sight is not always the best route.

The only exception that I am aware of are the old series of Aqara battery-powered sensors. They use to ‘stick’ to a particular repeater and don’t change it dynamically. So your concept for using a dedicated HE hub for Aqara devices is a good approach.

Which model exactly is your Centralite plug? There are at least 3 different series.

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It's the smartplug mini - 4 series - I believe it's a 4200. I'm using the generic zigbee outlet driver. Wasn't sure if there was a better choice.

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Thanks. Yes - that network has only Aqara/Xiaomi battery powered devices (sensors, remote switches) and for repeaters, I'm using only Ikea Tradfri outlets and Tuya USB repeaters. I read that both of those play well with the Aqara devices. So far, that approach seems to be working well. I had an Aqara device outright die, but the network seems pretty stable.

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