For sure. Not standing on a Xiaomi soapbox, but some do want to experiment down the road. Definitely a YMMV scenario. Just want to be sure we're stating the facts so he doesn't regret a purchase we recommended.
The Xiaomi devices are amazingly small, inexpensive, nice looking, long battery life, and yes believe it or not they are rock solid with their proprietary Zigbee when joined to their gateway. Not so much when joined with any other gateway.
That's a bit of a misstatement. Not intentional I'm sure, but to be clear it's that they don't route trough all Zigbee repeaters and non-Xiaomi gateways may struggle to keep them joined. They are not going to effect other Zigbee end devices in any way.
Just a quick question. Do you use the Hubduino driver to communicate with Hubitat?
I did something similar for my alarmsystem using Mysensors. I am guessing you use an optocoupler to read the 12v signal in the Nodemcu?
Excellent Zigbee repeaters. The Iris version is going for silly prices on Amazon these days - $65 and up. You can find it on eBay on and off for closer to the low $20s. The Centralite version (Centralite 3200 on Amazon) can be got for about $30 including shipping. Both Iris and Centralite branded models look like this:
Another repeating Zigbee plug I like is the Centralite Smart Plug Mini that you can get for about $18 on Amazon. Does 15 amps, and has a smaller, better form-factor than the larger 3200 versions.
It will take a day or so before everything begins to re-route through them, or if you shut the hub down for 20 min or so, it should re-route through them after boot. But if you just have a few Zigbee devices, it's just a simple and faster to just pair them again.
With Zigbee, when you don't delete a device's driver from the hub and join it again, the hub will show "Previously joined devices [device name] and will reconnect the device without disruption of any rules they are used in.
[Edit] To be clear. If you put the repeaters in place afterward, join them and then re-join the Zigbee end devices in-place. That will be the fastest when you just have a few Zigbee end devices. The routing will change a bit over time. That's just how Zigbee rolls.
Any preference between these 2:
Centralite Smart Plug Mini
TRÅDFRI Wireless control outlet
I can have either of them prior to the arrival of my Zigbee devices. If price was not the determining factor, which is better/more powerful/more reliable?
Why is it no one suggests the options that replace the socket for zigbee repeaters. GE makes a zigbee plug that will replace the installed socket and you wouldn't even know it was a smart device other then a zigbee logo on the outlet?
Or, he could put his Zigbee devices into panic mode to have them re-route.
Shut down and turn off hub for about 20 minutes, power back up, and Zigbee devices should re-route when the hub comes back online. Any reason you didn't suggest that? I've done that in the past, seemed to work well for me.
Zigbee in-wall outlets won't require any different config than any other Zigbee device. They are "fixed" so once you install it you can't easily move it around if you want to. I like that I can change location/position of my Zigbee plugs if I want/need to.
I don't know how well available Zigbee outlets repeat. Never had one.
I don't doubt that it is nice to move repeaters around, but sevearl of these for repeaters if scattered around a house could provide good blanket coverage as well if it is simply for repeating. Now if you want a plug to to use for certain automations then something movable is also nice.
Sorry i shouldn't have said repeaters, but more specifically the outlet. I my point was that for a repeater it should be about building the mesh out and a outlet that just looks like a outlet doesn't scream i am a smart plug mess with me or stick out so someone can bump it may be a good option from the standpoint of being a repeater.
Well I just pulled the trigger and ordered 2 of the GE/Jasco 43102 in-wall receptacles. I really like the idea of not having something hanging on the wall just to act as a repeater. Plus they are claimimg a range of approx 150 feet. We shall see how they do.
Keep in mind these are always open air specs, ideally tested using an anechoic chamber. No obstruction, reflection or absorption from nearby objects like you will have in your home.
Reading that sentence just made me laugh...almost sounds made up.
