Hi - I have a Homey Pro 2023 and I am in the process of setting up a backbone zigbee mesh using several IKEA Trådfri Control outlets (E1603). My intent is to get Zigbee mesh coverage across several buildings on a farm. I have no problem connecting them when they are in “direct reach” of the Homey Pro unit. That is, I can get the Zigbee mesh from the main building to locations in the other buildings facing the main building. However, I cannot make them connect properly in a “tiered connection” (via another Trådfri Control unit). I need this for extending the network into those buildings. If the trådfri unit gets out of reach of the Homey Pro unit, they appear as end devices and not as coordinators. Am I missing something here?
For the record, I have tried two approaches.
i) Do initial link up in reach of the Homey Pro unit and then move it to a location where it is a) close to another linked up Trådfri Control Outlet (coordinator) and b) further away from the Homey Pro unit than the Trådfri Control Outlet.
ii) Do the initial link at a location where it is a) close to another linked up Trådfri Control Outlet (coordinator) and b) further away from the Homey Pro unit than the Trådfri Control Outlet.
I have monitored the network using the Developer Tools and in both cases, the 2nd Trådfri Control Outlet cannot maintain/obtain coordinator status when it is not in direct contact with the Homey Pro unit.
“Coordinator” has a special meaning in Zigbee, and there can be only one (Homey in this case). Other devices are either “routers” or “end devices”.
Your issue is that routers are turning into end devices, apparently, which is very strange and sounds like a bug (although I don’t know if it’s with the devices or with Homey).
Judging by your second approach, you are able to pair the units with the network, so that’s a good thing.
You should be aware of a few things with Zigbee networks:
- being closer to device A than device B during pairing does not mean that the new device will pair through device A. So “close to” or “further away” is relatively meaningless, it depends on other factors (interference, transmit/receive power, etc) how a device finds its way onto a network.
- it takes some time for Zigbee networks to settle
- in Dutch, the saying goes: “één router is géén router”. Translated that means “one router is no router”. A Zigbee network should have a good backbone consisting of several routers. There should be overlap. Even for a small network, I would start with at least 5 routers.
So what I would suggest: start adding routers to your network in “layers” or “circles”, each new router at about the same distance from either Homey or the previous circle. Then let the network settle for a few hours. Then add another layer/circle. Always try to add new devices from the location they will be used (not always possible because sometimes devices want to be paired right next to the coordinator).
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Hi - Thanks, that was very useful. And yes, I mixed the terminology. I meant routers, not coordinators. I will try to add the routers in layers then.
