Zigbee Hub choice for UK

Devices
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Hi
This might have been answered elsewhere but seems to be a lot of conflicting info so apologies if it has been answered. I got a bit carried away with the Smart Home bug and realised I was up to 18 Zigbee devices (all end points) and while they are connected, a few things failed to work after adding one more so understand I need a few hubs (ideally one for each 5 I believe) but struggling to find a definitive list of compatible hubs i.e. just basic hubs that do not need to be plugged into a NUC or PI etc. I do have a spare Aqara E1 but couldn’t see how this is supported. Looking at forum seems Xiaomi is preferred but only the Chinese version. Any good recommendations for a basic hub available in UK?

I was a little surprised Homey Pro has a limit of 15 direct when some hubs state they can support 128+ devices - is there any reason for this limit?
Thanks
Darrell,.

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You shouldn’t be looking for “hubs”, but for “Zigbee routers”. Most Zigbee devices that are permanently powered (light bulbs, smart plugs, etc) will act as a Zigbee router and will improve your Zigbee network.

Assuming we’re talking about the “old” (pre-2023) Homey’s: those have a limit of about 15 to 20 directly connected devices, but that doesn’t mean the network is limited to that amount. Some people have more than 50 Zigbee devices in their Homey network.

That’s why routers are important: end devices that are connected to a router will not be connected directly to Homey, and most routers support 5 to 10 devices connected to them, which is how you can create a larger network.

The 15-device limit is due to the outdated Zigbee controller on the old Homey’s (and also the Homey Bridge). The new Homey Pro’s have a more modern controller that should support more directly connected devices.

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Thanks Robert and my bad, I meant Router not Hub. So, reading what you said and the reference to the older Homey, it sounds like 18/19 devices on new Homey Pro should be fine even if all endpoints? (the web article seem to refer to 15 limit on Homey Pro).

It seems they are all connected when I go into Homey Developer Tools and examine Zigbee but I have noticed in last couple of days a few blinds not responding when everything else has - seems to be after I added last couple of devices.

I seem to be struggling to find suitable devices in UK to act as routers. I’m using Fibaro for Smart Plugs and a lot of Aqara stuff but doesn’t seem to be any UK smart plugs from Aqara and Fibaro are ZWave. Other stuff I use is Tado, Hue, Yale, Gardena, Blink Camera, Bosch Appliances, Dyson, Harmony, Meross, Ring and Tempest but seems none of these are going to help, most are ZWave or via their own Hub.

I guess I need to try over a few days and see if 19 is actually an issue but would be nice to have the capability to add more.
Thanks
Darrell.

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AFAIK the document that mentions that 15-device limit (this one) explicitly states it only applies to the 2016-2019 Homey Pro’s.

18/19 end devices should be fine, but only if they are close enough to Homey.

There are still plenty of issues with the Zigbee implementation on the new Homey, where devices stop responding after some time.

IKEA, Innr, Osram, LIDL, Hue (not through the hub but directly connected to Homey), to name a few brands.

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Thanks Robert, useful info an yes I did indeed miss the bit that states only applies to Homey 2016-2019 (doing too many things at same time!!).

Having had a quick look it might be related to the Homey Pro update at 4am this morning as flows were not showing in web interface and a few things not working, mostly sorted after a reboot except my Aqara E1 Roller Shade Controllers, they seem to not want to reconnect even after removing and trying to add as new - which is odd as they have been perfect for months - keeps giving a missing capability error!!

I’ll have a look at the devices you’ve mentioned as sounds like good practice to add a router or two anyway.
Cheers
Darrell