I just did a channel scan which showed something that wasn't there the other day. For the first "something else" is showing up on Ch 25 where one of my HE hubs resides.
Are those PAN IDs anything like MAC Addr ranges that actually correlate to manufacturer assignments ?
And if this happens to be a neighbor with some new gizmo or Utility Meter...does Zigbee operate like WiFi where there is some channel traffic cooperation between devices ...or am I to expect a new level of potential device dysfunction in my future.
The channel scan on the hub is not the best.
If you want to know use a cell phone and get a wifi scanner app.
this seems to work better ., to figure out whats what
What I have observed is that channel scan retains info from prior HE Zigbee networks, so when your 16bit PAN ID changes(due to hub overload or unknowns) I observe the scan capturing the prior PAN ID. I think it could also be another zigbee repeater that maybe is stuck on your last PAN ID.
I keep track of my PAN ID's as when they change it usually spells trouble, as many devices reconnect but not all do.
PS a cellphone WiFi scan app will not pickup Zigbee networks
As a matter of fact, here is my C7 hub scan showing a previous PAN ID(notice the 64bit addresses match)
Existing outlet/repeater unplugged & relocated lower in the hot garage,
Ikea repeater put back into service that was unplugged in the hot garage,
and the addition of a new outlet/repeater in the hot attic.
And a few hours of a lot of devices that dropped off the map.
THANK you very much for that snippet of knowledge/observation!
P.S. So PAN IDs are assigned is the answer to the other part of my query. Shoulda known that by now.
So the hub has its own PAN ID, that ideally should be stable. Also every Zigbee device gets a 16bit PAN ID, which ideally should be stable. I have had devices which frequently left/rejoined the network and were constantly changing their ID's, causing Zigbee problems. I have also devices that have not changed their PAN ID's in quite some time.
Whenever I pair a new device I make the PAN ID part of the description to see how "stable" the device will be, barring any crashes/changes of the hub's Zigbee network
