this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2025
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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:

  1. Use a USB extender instead of connecting the Conbee III directly to my NAS.
  2. 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?

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I've got a fairly extensive Zigbee network (32 devices) - using a CC2652 USB stick hooked up to an rpi with socat connecting that to my HA VM. I have probably a dozen wired devices (in-wall switches, plug-in outlets, etc.) scattered between the two floors and even the wired devices occasionally fall off the mesh, while most of them (and about 50% of the wireless devices) are pretty robustly connected. I've found no real link between LQI/RSSI and a device's stablity, nor have I found any real link between manufacturer and stability. Sonoff, Aqara, ewelink, lumi. It's frustrating, because some of the devices that fail to stay connected are within 3 meters of either the hub or a wired device and report great signal strength. I just don't feel that Zigbee is all that awesome for a robust low power network.

When I'm at the house next I might try moving the entire network to a different channel, as tedious as that is going to be.