When I first started setting up my home automation, I decided on Zigbee, and I very much dove in head-first. I set up dozens of Zigbee devices, and some worked a lot better than others. I have a fairly stable Zigbee network with well over 100 devices, but many of those have been replaced over time. To save others the wasted time and money, I wanted to give a short breakdown of what I’ve noticed across brands.

  • SONOFF: My Zigbee controller is made by SONOFF, and it works well. As far as their motion sensors, not so much (I even made a post about how bad they were about a year ago). Their motion sensors give such unreliable results that they’re borderline useless. Their plugs work generally okay, although they do drop off my network occasionally. Overall, they really wouldn’t be my first choice.

  • Aquara: They make some very slick-looking devices, but they’re horrible. Magnetic door sensors frequently just get stuck in an open or closed state, or just drop off the network completely. I used two of their leak sensors. One is still working well; the other just spontaneously decided to stop responding completely. I have a few of their pushbuttons; it took me at least a dozen tries to pair them, but they seem to work well after that. Overall, Aquara devices either quit responding or drop off the network more frequently than any other brand; I will never buy another Aquara device.

  • DOGAIN: I bought several of their plugs. So far, not a single issue. I assume they’re a white-label brand, so I don’t know who actually makes the hardware, but I have no complaints so far.

  • MHCOZY: Another white-label brand. I’ve purchased several of their relay switches. I haven’t had a single problem with any of them, and I’m using quite a few.

  • Haozee: Probably another white-label brand. I have several of their mmWave sensors. Occasionally they get stuck in a “detected” state, but rarely. They have never dropped off my network. I’d buy more.

  • Phillips (Hue): They’re exceptionally expensive, but for a reason. I have a lot of their smart bulbs, and a few outdoor motion sensors. They all work flawlessly. Don’t use the Hue app or a Hue bridge, though, unless you want to be locked into their app; just pair your device with a third-party Zigbee controller.

  • Leviton: I have replaced every single in-wall switch in my home with a Leviton smart switch or smart dimmer. They’re a well-known brand, so I would expect their products to work well, and they do. My only complaint is that occasionally one of the switches will drop and refuse to communicate unless I power it off (with a breaker); this is rare, though, and normally corresponds with a power outage.

  • Thirdreality: I saved Thirdreality for last because I have absolutely no complaints at all. They are my go-to for Zigbee devices. I have many of their temperature sensors, plugs, magnetic door sensors, motion sensors, soil moisture sensors, etc. I have never had a device drop off my network or stop working correctly. I have dozens of their devices, and my only issue was a climate sensor that got stuck at 99% humidity after I accidentally sprayed water into the case. That’s my fault.

So, in general, if I was to re-build my Zigbee network from the ground up, I’d go for Thirdreality devices first. If they didn’t make what I need, I’d go for Phillips Hue, and if I still couldn’t find what I need, then that’s what the list above is for.

I’m hoping to see some replies to this; what are your experiences with different Zigbee devices? Any brands you either trust or would never buy from?

Edit: As others have mentioned, your Zigbee integration (also also possibly your controller) may make a difference in reliability. I am using ZHA and a SONOFF controller. Your experience may be different.

  • Claude Flammang@dju.social
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    7 hours ago

    @Damage
    I got the square ones a few years ago and they kept on dropping from the network. In the meantime, a few firmware updates later I migrated to HA and now they are rock solid, don’t know if it’s due to consolidating Ikea, Hue and Aquara Zigbee networks into a single ZHA mesh or the firmware getting better, but I suspect that it’s due to a single optimized mesh instead three colliding Zigbee networks.

    • Damage@feddit.it
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      6 hours ago

      I’ve started (admittedly years ago when implementations were less advanced), with a single Zigbee2mqtt network with Philips, Le grand, IKEA and so on, but they kept dropping off immediately.
      Some time later I got a new coordinator, migrated everything, everything else improved, those sensors did not, so I tried creating a different, Aquara only network for them with another instance of Z2M, that made things better but still had problems.
      This week I’ve installed an Athom Ethernet ZigBee gateway (great device btw, mine runs Esphome), and joined the networks again, but I’ve already had disconnections. I’ve only got a couple of those still in place, I keep trying to get them to work 'cause I have a bunch sitting in my drawer, but I’m just about to throw them in the recycling bin.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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        1 hour ago

        Any chance you guys have your zigbee radios plugged directly into your host device? I had a bunch of issues with mine until I plugged it and my ZWave dongle into USB extension cables. I think with the Pi specifically, you can wind up with interference. Another point of interference is your wifi AP as wifi and zigbee frequencies overlap one another.

        I’ve personally used Aqara window sensors, temp sensors, and switches for a few years now on my current Sonoff and previous HUSBZB radios without issue after eliminating any possible interference as noted above.

        Getting some repeaters couldn’t hurt either. I have a couple Ikea Tradfri shades and they both came with repeaters.