STILL Wonky ZigBee again! 2.3.3.140 C7

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 1:34am

I just don't get it! This has been happening more often:

Totally unresponsive ZigBee network. Out of the blue. Channel 26 to reduce WiFi overlapping. One mains powdered device a bunch of battery devices and a handful of Sengled bulbs. Fiddling with powering down, power cut, and cycling ZigBee in settings seems to fix it but not reliably (sometimes doesn't change it)

I'm not really sure what I'm looking at in the ZigBee logs but when I get activity back I do notice most devices say -88 behind them (or something close to that). I also get several sequential entries for several devices which seems odd. Maybe this is just the network settling?

I just wish I could get this under control. I hate my ZigBee network just seems either 100% or completely out. Zwave on the other hand is 1000% solid with minor minor differences in response times but never totally crashes like this. I know that's apples to oranges but I think I get my point across.

bobbyD · September 29, 2022, 1:40am

Do you get Zigbee offline notification? If you do, plase send me your hub id again, we are investigating the Zigbee offline incidents.

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 1:45am

I don't! Wish I did honestly but I don't. Makes it further perplexing.

I literally stood in front of my main hub on laptop and yelled "I wish you knew you weren't working instead of me finding out the hard way!"

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 1:48am

Would be happy to throw my id at you if it will be useful in some way. I love when I can definitely point my finger and say THAT'S the problem. If I can help with that in anyway I will.

bobbyD · September 29, 2022, 1:50am

What is your ratio of repeaters / non-repeaters, including Sengled bulbs?

bobbyD · September 29, 2022, 1:52am

We can take a look to see if we can spot something in your engineering logs, but based on the details you shared, it might just be a case of severe interference, or some bad players in your mesh.

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 1:58am

4 SmartThings buttons
6 SmartThings contacts
1 SmartThings outlet
3 Sengled Element Color Plus bulbs
1 Sengled LED bulb
1 Sengled Element Classic bulb

aaiyar · September 29, 2022, 2:00am

You need more repeaters. You have one repeater for 15 end devices.

My experience is that a ratio of 1:4-6 works really well.

bobbyD · September 29, 2022, 2:01am

One repeater supporting that many end devices is not enough. I wouldn't do more than 6 non-repeaters / repeater.

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 2:02am

I was beginning to wonder if that was the case. Same as Zwave where mains power (not bulbs) are repeaters?

aaiyar · September 29, 2022, 2:03am

Yes.

Most zigbee bulbs are also repeaters. Sengled bulbs are not - by design.

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 2:04am

I went with Sengled though since I heard they play the nicest.

bobbyD · September 29, 2022, 2:04am

@markbellkosel84 .... That doesn't mean you should add bulb repeating devices, as then you might run into other troubles.

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 2:09am

So it looks like I need to add 2 properly placed repeaters and cross my fingers

aaiyar · September 29, 2022, 2:11am

If I can make a suggestion, these are terrific repeaters. Small, very reliable, and support 7-10 devices easily.

I would recommend adding two of them. They’re about $15 on AliExpress.

Tuya Mini ZigBee 3.0 Signal Booster Signal Repeater.

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 2:14am

I'm confused about the USB form factor. Does it plug into a wall block like one for a phone charger?

aaiyar · September 29, 2022, 2:17am

Yup. Or the back of a TV (as long as the USB port is always powered).

Here’s the AliExpress link:

https://m.aliexpress.us/item/3256804277232493.html

markbellkosel84 · September 29, 2022, 2:22am

I was actually thinking about replacing a couple of my Kasa plugs with one of these.... thoughts on which? Not sure what the difference is between the two Sonoff models.