Zigbee repeater best job cheapest price

Mine are. No discernible differences from the original "L" model.

Are you sure? Mine say 210-L2 and they were $9.50.

20181015_150509

And you can see the z wave sticker...definitely a z-wave repeater.

Yes, I am sure. You lucked out and were given the newer model, probably due to Lowes inventory systems not being kept up to date. My Lowes refused to give out the newer revision and simply cancelled my orders. I have 3 Lowes stores close by and was able to score about 4 outlets, 3 Motion, and 3 Water sensors for the clearance prices. Right next to these were the newer '-L2' models on the shelf at regular retail prices.

You mean I had some good luck for a change?!? Somebody call Guinness. This is one for the record books! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Lowes.com shows these out of stock, L1 and L2, everywhere.

This thread should be archived.

Yup, pretty old info, almost 2 years.

Nowadays if you're looking for a repeater, top two choices seem to be Xbee or IKEA TrĂĄdfri Repeater using @markus's drivers.

Actually you can still get some of these from the source below. They work well and have a built in Z-Wave repeater as well, although some people experience issues with that specific feature.

I have mostly SmartThings (2018) outlet plugs; not cheap, but they work very well, and repeat for a lot of devices.

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Lowe’s shut down the Iris platform in March 2019 so the devices aren’t manufactured anymore.

I don’t believe we have an archive category here. Staff can close individual threads, but there’s no auto-closure after a sufficient period of time passes without a reply (that would make some sense though).

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Perhaps, this and other threads about "Best Zigbee Repeaters" could be sticky threaded together so that searches don't produce 2 year old responses that no longer work.

Searching for "Best Zigbee Repeater" produces discouraging results...

Iris = Discontinued

Peanut = Recommended by some, not by others. So, currently? Im guessing not good. I have 3 peanut outlets connected and adopted to my HE and they have not been problems so far.

Smart Things V3 outlet = Expensive, and, do they "still" work well as repeaters? And, what are the odds Smart Things going to cancel these anytime soon?

XBEE = Build it and program it yourself. Ehh. I would rather have a pre-made outlet, bulb, or other wired powered zigbee repeater.

Second HE Hub? = Since they finally started shipping the new one, I have one I havent tried in a redundant hub fashion yet.

Ikea Tradfri Signal Repeater? = At least this is currently still orderable on Ikea.

Sengled plugs or bulbs? = Not reliable enough for me, they lock up/freeze and need power cycling too often.

If the XBee's in router mode are worth it, I dont mind building them for now until something better comes along.

Iris Discontinued - but as mentioned maybe still on Ebay.. I own a bunch and they seem to work fine. There are potential issues with the Z-Wave repeater part of plugs. Hit or miss if firmware is outdated and no way to update.

Peanuts - not recommended due to the devices changing routes frequently which can slow/cause erratic behavior in devices routing through them - like you mentioned not everyone experiences issues but you can see the behavior on the "getChildAndRouteInfo" page. Note: even the updated firmware does not correct this.

Smart Things V3 outlet - I like their stuff but don't own this device.

XBEE - hear it works great! Have the stuff to make a repeater / sniffer but havent yet. Seems like a fun project.

Second Hub? - I have 3 in production but maybe will reduce to 2. I've got them split out by location: upstairs, main and control. "Control" being my internet/cloud services only hub. Some people have them split out by type i.e. Zigbee & Z-Wave. Some benefits of splitting your hubs are a reduction in resource usage for individual hubs, potential speed increases and better resiliency.

Ikea Tradfri Repeater - have owned a couple, seem decent. Work really well with Xiaomi stuff I am told.

Sengled plugs or bulbs - dunno about plugs but bulbs do not repeat and are therefore great to use in your system if you like bulbs (I prefer smart switches mostly). Other zigbee bulbs do repeat and can cause mesh issues when turned off/on..

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You can't use a second HE hub as a repeater (they can only be coordinators--you could certainly start two networks if you want, but it's probably not the best option unless you have a good reason to) and neither Sengled bulbs nor plugs repeat. Aside from that, I think you've mentioned most of the popular options. Part of "best" is a matter of subjectivity: do you prefer a small form factor or versatile power options? If so, the Ikea TrĂĄdfri USB repeater may be good for you. If you want something DIY that many devices find attractive and can also use versatile power, an Xbee is a good choice (but you do have to follow lots of directions). If you want something that many devices seem to like according to lots of posters here (me included) and don't mind a smart plug form factor (you don't have to use the plug), then the 2018 SmartThings outlet (Hubitat calls it v5, but it's a bit confusing how to really count these generations) is a good choice, just not usually cheap.

I'm not inclined to recommend Peanuts due to the problem some have noticed with them. I think the Zigbee side of Iris is fine, but some people have had problems with the Z-Wave side (it sounds nice because it's a combination Z-Wave and Zigbee repeater) and I don't think there's any way to update the firmware on them anymore even if that's what would fix the problem. But for Zigbee, either that or the identical-looking SmartThings Outlet (2016 and v2, which their support document confusingly lists separately but says are identical) would work--or the Centralite that both of these really are (maybe the 2016 just added some ST branding? I used to have the "v2" that made no attempt and was just Centralite).

Maybe more than you wanted to know, but I guess there's no easy answer or "best" for everyone. :slight_smile:

The Plugs do not repeat either. I have not had issues with the bulbs or the plugs.both work reliability for me. The Plugs are great for seasonal purposes. Then you don't have to worry about them messing with your mesh when you move them around.

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Now I am really depressed....

I have Smart Things motion and magnetic/tilt sensors, battery powered, not repeaters.

I have Sengled plugs that lock up and freeze too often anyhow... They arent repeaters anyway. Neither are the bulbs.

I got Peanut outlets because my motion sensor in the garage and tilt sensors on both doors, were losing battery and contact because they were panicking, since my Sengled outlets were not in fact repeating, the whole time I thought they were.

Then I find out that Peanut outlets are bad for a few reasons. For me they resolved my Smart Things Motion and Door tilt sensor problems, but would not resolve the issues I had getting new Zigbee switches, RGB Genies, to get added to the Hubitat, nor why my Sengled bulbs (non repeating) were losing contact in groups when changing colors in pairs..

So now, I seek, the current, best option for me, and my mom's house (who has worse problems with any radio technology in her 50's built Faraday cage of a house), to get my Zigbee goodies to speak with each other reliably.

Any chance the Centralite Smart Plug Minis or Lamp Modules work well?

In my experience, the Samsung outlets are worth the price because you will need fewer of them and even my picky Hue and Lightify button controllers work perfectly with them as repeaters. I have 76 zigbee Devices on my second hub; 66 of which don’t repeat. Four Samsung plugs do the majority of the repeating, with 2 Sylvania plugs and 4 GE Zigbee in-wall dimmers repeating for a small number of devices. It’s rare that a device drops off or misses a communication.

Although it's not the least expensive option, Xbees do offer some additional advantages.
Not only will they give you the best repeating ability, they'll also enable you to diagnose your Zigbee mesh.
Check out this thread for a great assembly guide (works out to under $40/ea).

Just putting my hand up to vote for the TrĂĄdfri Repeater. I find them to have very decent range, they really do bring stability to my Xiaomi Aqara D1 kit and they've worked without issue with every Zigbee device I've ever tried, including all my AlertMe / Iris V1 kit.

They're ÂŁ8 in the UK (shock, price has gone up by ÂŁ1!) and you get the 5V 1A charger included, plus they pass the power through for charging stuff. They only use 3 mA themselves. You can't go wrong.

In common with other lamps, sadly I have had issues with the TrĂĄdfri lamps as repeaters, so I can't recommend those even if they're permanently powered on.

GE/Jasco has a new line of zigbee in wall switches and receptacles. Have you considered those since they also repeat. I changed many of my older non-plus zwave switches with these and have a great zigbee mesh.

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Of course, the ultimate would be to have a dual hubitat's configuration that can complete a zwave and/or zigbee network (in standby mode) and provide fail over redundancy (auto healing and re-establishing both wireless networks) and configuration syncing....

The next best thing would be the in-wall switches/outlets that also live and repeat on both zigbee and zwave.

Lastly for the poor people like me, single z-wave and zigbee units that have no other purpose other than to be the best. I would pay $99 for one of those in a hard place to cover. I know z-wave's lower frequency means it meshes better with tough radio conditions... Still, one of Hubitat's main draw to me is the development and co-existence of both technologies.

Of course with WIFI5/6 in full mega swing due to indoor home office growth, there are a ton of consumer dual band WIFI repeaters out there.

We just need to fight for the smarthome segment as we are consumers too. LOL.

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I'm going to try to use some of these in my house (US) to hopefully clear up some problems. I'd prefer ones with a plug built in. Any newer recommendations from the group before going with teh Tradfri?