Zigbee is a wireless technology in Homey that popular brands like IKEA, Philips Hue, Xiaomi Aqara, and others use |to control devices. The Zigbee technology creates a mesh network in your home, relaying commands between devices. Make sure your Zigbee network is as stable as possible with the following tips.
Pair Zigbee routers first
Zigbee has three types of devices: Coordinators, Routers, and End Devices. Homey is the Coordinator. All other devices are either routers or end devices. Generally, Zigbee devices that are mains-powered, i.e., they are connected to your home’s electrical system, are routers. Battery-powered devices are end devices.
Homey Pro can handle up to 15 direct ‘children’. These are either routers or end devices that are connected directly to Homey.
This does not mean, however, that you can connect only 15 Zigbee devices to Homey Pro: devices can also be connected to Homey indirectly via routers that relay commands.
Therefore, we recommend starting by pairing several routers first. Ideally, strategically placed throughout the network's range. These routers will then allow more end devices to be paired to Homey.
If you have paired 15 end-devices to Homey first, all the Zigbee slots in Homey are filled. To extend your Zigbee network, first remove one or more end-devices, then add one or more routers, and finally start expanding.
Don’t build too big
With Homey, you can create a stable Zigbee network of 30-40 devices using Zigbee routers. You can add more Zigbee devices to keep extending your network.
However, we do not recommend creating these bigger Zigbee networks with Homey. Adding more devices will increase network stress and negatively impact communication, reliability, and speed.
The limits of what is workable depend a lot on your specific situation.
Suppose you notice Zigbee performance degrading after extending your network to more devices than the recommended limit. In that case, you are probably pushing the limits of the Zigbee network in your home.
Add several routers for a stable network
Zigbee routers can repeat/relay messages, thereby improving the overall stability of your Zigbee network. That is why we recommend placing at least one router for every five end devices in your Zigbee network.
There is no hard limit, and you can add more end devices to your network without adding more routers. Still, for the general stability and reliability of your Zigbee network, it is highly recommended.
