Please end my never-ending hub misery

[JDRoberts]

@RBoy

some greats links for ZigBee design.

I don’t know if it’s “great,“ but the following covers most of the basics for Zigbee. (The topic title is a clickable link.)

A Guide to Wireless Range & Repeaters

One more thought. While I understand the marketing reasons for the decision, the fact that SmartThings gives customers zero guidance on how to set up a network backbone does lead to a lot of frustration that shouldn’t have to exist. if people knew that .1) The hub should be located centrally in the home, both vertically and horizontally. Don’t put it in a garage or basement as those have concrete and pipes and metal objects which will reduce signal. If your Internet router is off in some inaccessible corner, you can use a Wi-Fi access point that has a ethernet port on the side and plug into that. Also, the hub should not be put in a cabinet. You just want to make it as easy as possible for signal to spread around your house. .2) you need one device that can repeat about every 40 feet…

That said, it’s important to understand the smartthings hub is a plastic box that includes multiple radios, each of which is used to create a separate network. There is one network for Zigbee. There is a different network for Z wave. And if you have one of the Wi-Fi mesh models, there is another network for Wi-Fi.

Getting good Wi-Fi coverage is a different issue than getting good Zigbee or zwave coverage.

That’s why knowing the brand and model numbers of the intended devices that will be added makes such a big difference in figuring out the optimal layout.