sorry, I meant more, do we know which devices are incompatible repeaters with xiaomi stuff?
All my window sensors, and one of the temp sensors are fine is the odd part...
Adding an XBee to the mix might be a good idea. They keep much better signal than the one built into HE
DOH. Yes, there is a list around here somewhere. It is definitely not 100% complete, though, as last I checked the ikea tradfri outlet and repeater were not on it.
Not sure I know what you mean. How would that tie in (or would it just act as a repeater)? I mean, at that point, I should just buy stuff better than the Xiaomi stuff. I bought it all because it was super cheap for what it did...
It would act as a repeater.
I'll try waking them up and see what they do. will then look into Xbee option, or perhaps one of the Ikea repeaters (since they seem like they work well for this).
I updated it after your last mention:
Well, I and a bunch of people have laid out all the facts as we know it, so that users can make an educated decision as to whether they want to try to use Xiaomi / Aqara devices. There are concessions you'd have to make if you do decide to use them (e.g., only use "compatible" repeaters such as the Xbee or IKEA Outlet, etc., or get a second Hubitat hub to isolate all Xiaomi / Aqara devices).
As for the budget / economics argument, it mostly boils down to numbers of scale. If you save X per device across 40+ devices, having to buy a second hub may make more sense than buying the same number of more expensive devices.
I will be no part of any argument of that sort, however, because it really depends on each user's situation, budget, tolerance, patience, technical abilities, etc.
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That's what I get for not checking first! Thanks!!!
Of course. and generally, I've been happy with the Xiaomi stuff. Hubitat so far has worked quite well with the contact sensors. Heck, I've had more issues addressing weak Zwave mesh with Hubitat than my Zigbee mesh.
It's just these two devices that are being butts.
Mind you, I wouldn't mind a Xbee anyway since I've wondered about how my mesh is laid out. I just kinda want go limp through until I can let my wallet recover. =)
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These were the parts I recently got from DigiKey. It’s working superb so far and it’s great to see what zigbee device is connected to which repeater:
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and what do you leave it plugged into? I guess I'm confused. Once it's programmed, it's just a Zigbee/Xbee repeater, right? It's not on your wifi network...
Other question is maybe I'm pairing my Xiaomi stuff wrong. I hold the button until it flashes (which is resetting it, and I believe generates a new Zigbee ID), then once Hubitat sees it and does the "initializing" wait, I hit the button again and it populates the found device with the proper info. Should I then finish the Add and go back and hit the button again to have it talk to the hub again? I know with the contact sensors they don't fully "join" until do open and close the contact...
and wrt to the Xbee stuff... I guess, do you have to somehow tell the Xiaomi stuff to talk to the Xbee module specifically, or it just reliably retransmits?
Basically you have it plugged straight int the mains. When you want to see zigbee network details you plug it into your pc/mac
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That makes sense. =)
Do you have any mains-powered (plugged into the wall) ZigBee devices?
If yes, then they are probably ZigBee repeaters, which are devices that act similar to a WiFi extender, but for a ZigBee network.
Unfortunately, a majority of ZigBee repeaters do not allow Xiaomi / Aqara devices to remain connected. Only a small number of ZigBee repeaters are considered as "compatible" with Xiaomi / Aqara devices. There is a lot of detailed and helpful information in this thread (make sure to read all of the first post in the least):
I realize that I should make a clear warning to users in my opening post of this thread that there are "incompatible" ZigBee repeaters, and very strongly recommend them to read about that in the other thread I started on pairing Xiaomi / Aqara devices and keeping them connected.
I am going to make edits to my opening post here, and probably rename that other thread. My apologies for any confusion.
Yes, I would have bought an XBee module anyhow even if I didn't have a single Xiaomi / Aqara device, just because of the ability to easily look at the ZigBee network routing map and signal strength.
But yes, I can totally understand your "pain" budget-wise. I would not have bothered with Home Automation if not for Sengled bulbs and Xiaomi / Aqara sensors and buttons.
The XBee ZigBee module is a USB "developer" board, and with firmware that can be flashed and then custom settings sent so that it can be paired to your ZigBee network as another device - but all it does is act as a repeater (for any ZigBee devices, not just Xiaomi / Aqara.)
If it's connected to computer, then you just fire up the company's XCTU software and turn on active ZigBee network map scanning to see how all the devices are connected - either directly too the hub or via a repeater (including the Xbee itself).
There's lots more information about the Xbee on the other big Xiaomi thread we keep mentioning and especially the Everything Xbee thread here.
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With regards to pairing devices to Xiaomi, you just need to pair near the XBee - generally they are the strongest signal in your home but by pairing next to it it just makes sure. The costs in my pic above are because I went for Pro version (which according to specs had a range of a couple of miles!) but the non pro still has decent signal strength but is only around £12 instead of £21
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Thanks! Yeah, those other threads are a ton to digest.
I'll keep fiddling with the Aqara stuff to see if I can get it online, then plan on an Xbee board next month. It's like $60 from Digikey by the time you factor shipping. =/ I'm not 100% positive I need the high powered module.
But anyway, huge thanks. it's great to have these threads. =)
Yeah, that makes sense. I might not get the pro... tough call. I don't need to blast over everything else, or interfere with wifi.
That is one other thing I haven't done (changing zigbee channel) mainly because it scares me.
Looks like I'm already on Channel 20, which is slightly in my wifi channel, but not a huge deal.
