Zigbee device has left the network

I have 2 Zigbee devices that spontaneously leave the network every few days. I can always “fix” this very quickly, but it’s very annoying.
These are lamps that are of course switched off (i.e. disconnected from the mains) for a while.

Thats the problem, you want to keep mains electricity connected to all smart devices, if they lose power the routes of your zigbee network change and this can result in problems. That said, even then it is not normal that devices leave the network. But can you elaborate on wich kind of homey, type of lights, firmware version of homey and so on, because now it’s more of a guessing game of course😬

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It is homey pro and these devices are near the Homey and there are no other device for relaying … the route is easy. The affected devices are lamps are of course switched off from time to time at the physical switch because you don’t want to do it with the app all the time.

Like i said in my first post, it’s really a no go to switch smart bulbs with a physical switch. If you want to achieve the same it is advised to replace the physical switch with a smart switch so that the bulbs are always powered.

If the bulbs are used in any path by end devices and you switch them off that will certainly give problems, despite how close the end devices may be to Homey. For sure if the devices are aqara brand, they tend to stick with the first connected router.

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These are not smart light bulbs, but complete lights. Of course, these are installed on normal lighting circuits and of course they have switches. The lamp normally always connects to the controller, but after a certain time the controller throws the lamps out, which it shouldn’t do.

It is also unreasonable to demand that you turn off the lamp using the app when you leave the room.

I think it’s still not clear what you call a zigbee light bulb, and a ‘dumb’ not smart light bulb?

Hmmm… Not-smart light bulbs don’t connect with anything…
What does “complete lights” mean?

But like the other respondents say, just make sure to never power off (or cut the power of) zigbee enabled smart devices, only turn them on/off by a smart wall switch / app and such.

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These are normal lamps, like any non smart lamp. And they will be installed in normal light circuits with switch. Whenever it is switched on, it finds the homey and is available within a couple of seconds. The only problem is, that Homey kicks it when its not on for a while. When there would be a setting to keep it up to 4 weeks without contact, all would be fine.

“What does “complete lights” mean?” - I think you already know, what i mean. These are normal ceiling lights. I never saw a light installation with permanent power to the ceiling, there is always a switch.

Just to clear something up, you call them normal lights BUT homey can see them and in the first post you call them zigbee devices. THESE HAVE TO HAVE POWER 24/7/365. I have my whole house full with these and I bypass the switch and have smart switches installed or a blanking cover over the switch. If you don’t do this they will work for some time if you’re lucky, but they fail eventually.

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From my point of view, this is a complete design fail. I have also some tuya lights which have absolutely no issue to be switched off for months. I will definitely not replace my switches which are all from the same series with some random smart switches … i think i will open a ticket at homey to clarify if there is really no option to tell Homey not to remove offline devices

What Tuya lights? Zigbee or WiFI? And you are in any way not clear on what brand of bulbs you have that give you a problem. So this whole discussion is based on assumptions.

And by the way, the device is called Homey, the company is named Athom.

@Michael_Fritzsche I can’t make cheese of it (a Dutch saying), sorry.
Good luck, I hope Athom support can explain.

Your choice of using Zigbee lights for your purpose is just ill-informed. Zigbee lights are not meant to be switched off physically, because they are part of a mesh network that has to remain active even when the light isn’t shining. If a device gets cut off from the network (i.e. switched off), at some point it makes sense to remove it from the network, otherwise the controller has to keep trying if it can reach the device, generating unnecessary radio traffic (with a protocol, like Zigbee, that doesn’t have a super high bandwidth anyway).

Consider the Zigbee network as a road network with a router that gets cut off from power as a road that has an obstruction in the middle of it, preventing cars to pass. Those cars need to make a u-turn, go back to the start of the road, and find an alternative route. At some point, it makes sense to just block the entrance (and exit) to the road (i.e. remove the router from the network) so cars can find a different route without first having to drive up to the obstruction and then turn back (all your Zigbee experts out there: yes, I know it doesn’t work like that exactly…).

Your TuYa devices are probably WiFi devices that are not part of a mesh, and them being off is not a problem for the rest of the devices.

In my case, also the lamps are not a problem if they are off. I do not have any other zigbee devices. The lamps are sold as smart replacements for regular ones, so it has to be expected, that they will be switched off. An option, to not remove them would help because they are not used as mesh repeater at all.

Not really, the seller should have explained to you how Zigbee works.

You’d have to ask Athom if they want to consider an option like that, but to be honest, I doubt they will.

Maybe invest in one more Zigbee device like a IKEA remote for 9,99 euro

Ok, i could keep these devices permanently powered. Now of course I still have to switch them. Therefore I would simply disconnect the light button (currently on a PLC) and add a ZigBee sender behind the switch, which transmits the switching pulse to the Homey. I have no N available, so I would need a battery -operated module for a switching that simply reports the press on to Homey. Unfortunately I was unable to find suitable devices. Everything I found also had switching contacts or needed a permanent power connection … but I only need a stupid button that transmits the touch signal.

I could buy any button, open and solder wires to the contacts, which then go to my buttons. But there has to be something …

The Sonoff SNZB-01P seems to be a good candidate for that. But im still wondering if there is a comparable device with wires to be connected to an existing button.

That’s what I did :man_shrugging:t3:

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The Aqara Mini Button works great for me. I simply opened the housing with my Dremel and soldered 2 wires to it. To make the device fits into a switch box, I cut off the corners diagonally. This is how I converted the two rooms to Zigbee lamps.

I will hang this button (see photo) on the contacts of an Eltako rela, that I can process the pressing of the doorbell. Nice toy :slight_smile:

btw. on AliExpress, you will have to pay half the price of Amazon :wink: