I'm on my 3rd c8 and it has stopped recognizing some of my Zigbee devices. I can easily add these devices to my old c5 and to a Smart Things hub but the c8 just won't find them. CS has replaced my c8 a number of times so I guess that's an option, but I'd like to stop going through those motions.
I'm trying to move all of my Zigbee devices over to the c5 but I'm struggling with what to do on the c8. Do I disable the devices as I move them? Do I delete all the Zigbee devices and re-pair them to my old c5? What do I do with all of the broken rules and broken dashboards. Is there a best way to do this?
I would suspect something else or a combination of somethings else in your local environment is causing the issue. Zigbee looses when competing with WiFi. My Zigbee is on CH 26 and it works well here.
That said...
Make virtual devices to replace the physical devices you intend to remove. There is a utility to swap them in all the rules they are part of thus perserving the rule. Then it is safe to exclude the physical devices and move on. Run the replace process again when you are ready only this time the newly included devices for the virtual ones.
Another way is to export your rules to your pc. Then when importing them you have the option of changing the physical devices they use. (I use this to copy rules but for different devices.
Another way might be to use the hubitat cloud back up and restore to migrate to the C5.
I think you could mark them disabled and re-pair them to the C5. Then you would need to share them back to the C8 via Hub Mesh.
From there, I am not sure if you can use "Swap Devices" with Hub Mesh devices? That would be the easiest way to move all the rules and dashboards to the new meshed devices.
Once rules and app are moved over to the new meshed device you would delete the old devices from the hub devices list.
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Ive tried a bunch of channels. Works fine with those channels on the c5, not on the c8. I must be jinxed.
Do you know where I find the utility to swap them?
Thanks
I encourage you to carefully examine why you cannot add zigbee devices to your C8.
In my personal opinion,establishing a viable zigbee mesh requires patience and careful planning.
- selecting a channel that doesn't conflict with neighbours (and with your own wifi).
- selecting a power level that takes into account repeaters (very different for the c7 versus the c8)
- placement of the c8 in relationship to repeaters (mesh) (very different from the c7)
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I’m open to suggestions. I tried the devices right next to the hub as well as 30’ away. I’ve tried multiple channels at a few different strengths.
What info can I provide to help determine?
Thanks
I totally agree with all of your points, but I also think there are some (older, typically) devices that just don't play well with the 8-series's ZB chip/radio...
When I moved from my C7 to C8, I was having all sorts of ZB issues -- which was odd, since my ZB setup on my C7 was super solid and bullet-proof.
Tweaking the channel and radio power were indeed 2 key steps for me, but the 3rd key thing was getting rid of the 2 Halo smoke detecctors I had...
As soon as I took those offline, my ZB mesh improved immediately and noticeably. Those Halos were older ZHA1.2 devices and maybe they had some kind of non-standard ZB implementation ( 
), but they were 100% rock solid repeaters and performers on my C7 (and ST hub before that).
So I do remain convined that certain devices (again, likely older ones) do have the capability to make ZB a real mess on the 8-series hubs, whereas those same devices are perfectly fine on older hardware.
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I do not disagree whatsoever, that Zigbee 3.0 is not 100% compatible with the previous approach of Zigbee 1.2 (or however it's called).
One point that I didn't make in my previous note, that I should have included:
4. the use of "rock solid" Zigbee repeaters. (This is a difficult thing to find in practise. For example, I personally have had success with simple Tuya USB Zigbee adapters. However, I know of a number of individuals who have stated that these in particular are terrible! ) In summary, the right repeaters, and their placement, and the right number of repeaters is a crucial factor.
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Totes agree! For me, success on the 8-series hubs meant I needed to have all ZB3.0 (mains-powered) repeaters. Fortunately for me, I recall those 2 Halo smokes were the only 1.2 repeaters I had remaining in my mesh at that time, so it wasn't too painful.
But I realize asking some folks to move to all-3.0 could be a big lift. In that case, hub-meshing with an older hub can be a good compromise solution.
ETA -- I'll confess that I stick to reputable brand names too... Even when advertised to be "ZB3.0", Tuya is too wild-west for my tastes, and I lump Aqara and Sonoff in that camp too. I admit I'm tolerating a Linptech mmW sensor right now, but I'm itchy to dump it as soon as a better alternative comes along.
I use Sonoff motion sensors on my C8 Pro with no issue. The 03 and the 03P (newer model but vastly different). I currently have 8 deployed throughout my house. I do use many Moe's contact sensors and a couple button pushers. I even have a couple of Aqara water leak sensors though the remainder of my Aqara devices run off the M2 hub and come to HE over Matter.
I say that to point out all my repeaters are Third Reality Smart Plugs, Linptech MMWave (which I know you don't like but I have had nothing but good experience once I got the setting fine tuned which was a bit frustrating) and some Innr and Third Reality bulbs. They are all zigbee 3.0 repeaters and all work extremely well. My mesh to this point has had zero issues. Knock on wood is extremely stable.
I agree with staying away from the wild West of most Tuya off brand items (that is what I use HA for) but with some of the other bigger brands (that are tuya) good solid repeaters can make all the difference.
