This article only applies to Homey Pro (2016 — 2019)
Zigbee is one of the wireless technologies in Homey and is used by popular brands like IKEA, Philips Hue, Xiaomi Aqara, and others 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 it can be 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 only connect 15 Zigbee devices in total to Homey Pro: devices can also be connected to Homey indirectly, via routers that relay the commands.
Therefore, we recommend starting building your Zigbee network by pairing a number of routers first. Ideally strategically placed throughout the range of the network. These routers will then allow more end devices to be paired to Homey.
Note: In the case 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, add one or more routers, and then start expanding.
Don't build too big
Using Zigbee routers, you can create a stable Zigbee network of around 30-40 devices with Homey. It is possible to add more Zigbee devices and keep extending your network.
However, we do not recommend creating these bigger Zigbee networks with Homey. Adding more devices will put more stress on the network and might therefore negatively impact communication, reliability, and speed.
The limits of what is workable depend a lot on your specific situation.
If you notice Zigbee performance dropping after extending your network to a larger-than-recommended number of devices, you are probably pushing the limits of the Zigbee network in your home.
Add a number of routers for a stable network
Zigbee routers can repeat/relay messages and improve 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.
This is no hard limit, and it is possible to add more end-device to your network without adding more routers, but for the general stability and reliability of your Zigbee network, it is highly recommended.
