I need some zigbee extending so see that the Trådfri bulbs are a good example. What do I need other than a bulb to get them into hubitat? Do I need the Trådfri dimmer (steering device??) or hub as well?
No, the bulbs can pair directly to Hubitat. In fact, that's the only way you can get them to work--there is no integration for the Trådfri Gateway. The "steering device" is also not supported. I always forget which product that refers to, but it's true in either case: the "hockey puck" dimmer pairs but has no driver and apparently doesn't send sensible enough data that staff thought a driver would even be a good idea, and the multi-button "remote" won't work at all due to using Zigbee payloads Hubitat doesn't support.
If you have a Hue Bridge, the bulbs will pair to that and be usable in Hubitat that way. I'd recommend that over pairing directly to the hub. Most smart bulbs are poor repeaters and will likely csuse problems with your non-bulb devices if you have any on your Zigbee network. You can find a lot of threads here discussing these issues (it's possible the Trådfri bulbs are actually OK but that would be unexpected). Also, Hubitat doesn't officially support some of these bulbs, though they'll probably working well enough with the generic drivers As an added bonus of using a Hue, at least the multi-button remote can also be paired to the Hue network and then directly linked to ones or more bulbs for direct manipulation, making it not totally useless.
My main goal is zigbee repeating for the hubitat zigbee mesh, so perhaps I should think again?
Don’t use bulbs for repeating. They drop packets. If the TRÅDFRI repeaters or outlets are available to you, those they are excellent for the price. Also compatible with Xiaomi Zigbee products if you decide to play with those
2 Likes
I'd recommend reading the docs for more tips than I'll remember to write, particularly the last section, "Tips for Designing Your Zigbee Mesh," which admonishes us against the problems of most Zigbee bulbs: How to Build a Solid Zigbee Mesh - Hubitat Documentation
1 Like
Unless you're located somewhere where the Tradfri repeaters or outlets are not available, like Australia, I second @SmartHomePrimer's advice.
2 Likes
If you can’t easily get TRÅDFRI repeaters or outlets, these are said by trusted sources to work as decent little Zigbee repeaters and they are compatible with Xiaomi also according to the sources. Disclaimer: I have no experience with them personally, but I trust the people that claim they work for that purpose.
List of Good Zigbee Repeaters?
[Edit] And I see now looking through the thread myself that you posted there before and you are in Australia, so those are the suggested option for you, otherwise importing TRÅDFRI outlets and repeaters is excruciating expensive. You’d be better to try and set up an XBee for that money. Especially if you live in one of those Australian concrete fortresses That block all signals I hear so much about 
Yeah, Australia. I could always get a UK TRÅDFRI repeater and adapter plug as they are 240v.
I ordered and received one of those from the thread you've linked to but it 'needs' an electrician so isn't ideal.
It does? Looks to me like it needs a power cord with two bare wires, a screwdriver and five minutes. 
1 Like
Oh, I thought it was in wall!
Could be if you had space I guess, but it does have to be. You don’t even need a load on it, since your just using it as a repeater. Just connect a cord to it. It’s pretty ugly so you’re going to have to hide it somewhere, unless you don’t have a wife, but it’s going to do the job.
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
