I recently setup my ZigBee network in Home Assistant, using a Conbee III with deConz on my Synology NAS.
I purchased a few Aqara Temperature sensors and a couple of Mini Switches.
I was able to get them to pair just fine, but they won’t remain online for more than a couple days. They then drop off and I can’t even reconnect them easily. I need to try to pair them again like 10 times before they come back online.
At this point I don’t know if the problem is my network, the Conbee III, deConz, or the Aqara devices.
I don’t know much about ZigBee, but a couple things that I tried so far were:
- Use a USB extender instead of connecting the Conbee III directly to my NAS.
- Bring the devices as close a possible to the gateway. I don’t have a big home, so I don’t think distance is a factor here, but still, I put of the sensors right next to the gateway, and it would still drop after a while.
Do you have any hints on things to try to get this fixed, or at least identify the problem?
I had a similar problem with Aqara leak sensors. I solved it by installing a smart switch very close to it, about 30cm in my case. For shitty sensors, it’s important to have strong signal close to them and set them up at the location of usage so they connect through that strong node.
Don’t try fiddling with the receiver much, instead treat your network as a mesh, which it is. Ensure there’s a good path of nodes between the receiver and the edges of the network. I did this initially by sprinkling IKEA smart switches around. I have at least one in every room. The same is valid for Z-Wave.
This is in addition to fixing your channels as suggested by others.