Smartthings Buttons = Very bad first impression of Smartthings

[JDRoberts]

I’m sure that’s very frustrating. The buttons are zigbee end devices. They can’t contribute to the mesh because they don’t repeat messages for other devices.

The smartthings lightbulbs are Zigbee, so they can act as repeaters, but only when they are on power, as @prjct92eh2 mentioned.

If The bulbs are not available as repeaters, it may just be that your buttons are having a hard time reaching the hub. It might also explain why pairing was difficult.

Start by reading post 11 in the following FAQ. After that, go up to the top of the thread and read through it and that will give you a good idea of how the SmartThings mesh architecture works. (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…