Problems "re-adding" Hue devies

Devices
1

I’ve been testing out Homey and Home Assistant during that past 6 months and decided to order a Homey.

Even though my devices (mainly Philips Hue, Tado, Govee and Aqara) were first added to a Homey Pro I borrowed, then a Home Assistant I setup myself, I have a lot of problems adding my Hue devices (not my Tado, Govee or Aqara) to the new Homey Pro I ordered.

I’ve been trough the typical routines of turning on/off devices several times and/or using a Dimmer remote to reset them and put them into pair-mode.

I had none of these problems in neither the first Homey Pro I borrowed or the Home Assistant setup.

Typical issues I experience:

  • Some devices need to be added several times before it succeeds - like 2, 3, sometimes even 5 times where suddenly they’re added
  • I have 3 exactly similar Hue bulbs - 2 of them added right way in first try - the 3rd one doesn’t add at all
  • Sometime I can add a device and it works just fine but then after a day or two, it stops reacting - I SEE the device but then I start getting time-outs when turning on/off, changing color etc.
  • I have 2 exactly similar motion sensors - one of them is only able to add using the “Philips Hue Without The Bridge”-app and the other one is only able to connect using Zigbee directly.

Note: I add the devices without a bridge either using “Philips Hue Without The Bridge”-app or directly using Zigbee. When I had the test-Homey Pro unit earlier on, I was able to consistantly add all devices in the first try using the “Philips Hue Without The Bridge”-app.

If someone has an idea about what is going on here and how to fix it, it would be very much appreciated.

2

Some thoughts:

  • I assume your question relates to Zigbee devices (as Aqara and Philips Hue typically are) and you have a combination of mains powered devices and battery powered devices;
  • When setting up you new Homey, did you start by pairing the mains powered devices first at different locations in your house, in order to enable them to create a Zigbee mesh network with sufficient coverage? And only added the battery powered devices (like Aqara sensors) afterwards?
  • Battery powered devices (and some mains powered devices) may enter sleep mode during pairing with Homey. Keep them awake by pressing the button on the device every few seconds during the pairing process.
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3

I did not add them in any order, so for sure I have added some battery driven devices in between the mains powered ones.

4

You could try to repair the devices. First the mains powered ones and then the battery powered ones. By repair I mean using the respective option in the Maintenance section in the device tile’s settings screen.

Another thought: could it be that the Zigbee channel used by your Homey overlaps with the WiFi channel of your WiFi? Check this topic for more info: [HOW TO] Plan and setup your Zigbee network .

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