Hello everyone,
I’m new to Homey and just starting to add my first Zigbee devices to my Homey Pro 2023. I have a two-story house, with the Homey Pro located on the ground floor.
To extend Wi-Fi coverage at home, I have a TP-Link mesh Wi-Fi + powerline system. Unfortunately, this system doesn’t allow me to choose the Wi-Fi channel; it automatically selects the least congested one, and I have no control over this choice. Similarly, there’s no control over which Zigbee channel Homey Pro chooses to build its Zigbee network. It’s also impossible to see the device routing or signal strength in any way (a questionable choice by Athom, to say the least), other than by resetting the network and re-pairing all devices each time.
Currently, my mesh Wi-Fi network operates on channel 9 while the Zigbee network is on channel 15, which shouldn’t have significant band overlap.
My plan is to primarily control the lights and roller shutters in the house using Zigbee modules hidden inside standard electrical boxes, while keeping the physical switches. Later, I’ll add motion sensors, door, and window sensors with battery-powered devices. In a third phase, I’ll start with automations.
The devices I’m using are all Tuya, and all are recognized by the experimental version of the Tuya Zigbee app. Following the guide in the app’s dedicated thread, I managed to add the roller shutter devices, which weren’t initially recognized, simply by adding the model and manufacturer in the designated fields.
As expected by the rules for building a good Zigbee mesh network, I started pairing devices, beginning with those that act as signal routers (roller shutters and some lights) and are closer to the Homey Pro, gradually moving further away.
On the ground floor, there were almost no problems, even though I have no way of checking whether devices paired directly with Homey or with one of the routers.
On the first floor, I’m encountering some difficulties: some of these devices were added to the network more easily than others, some are genuinely hard to add, or, even if added, once closed inside the electrical boxes, they aren’t detected and don’t receive commands. Currently, my Zigbee network has more than 20 devices, ALL ROUTERS, yet some of them, even when no more than 3 meters away from 2 or 3 other routers, cannot be stably added to the network.
I understand that being enclosed within wall boxes might attenuate the signal, but is the signal already so low at only 2 or 3 meters away?
I’m considering adding a Zigbee extender to the network, a model also compatible with the Tuya app, to see if the situation improves. The idea is for it to bridge the gap between the ground floor and the first floor, which is the longest distance the signal needs to cover.
Does anyone have a solution or suggestion?
Thank you very much to anyone willing to help me.
