[SOLVED] With what device can I extend a Xiaomi Zigbee mesh network?

Hello,

I have a question to zigbee range extenders and I just can’t find the answer on the forum or google. Everything I find is kinda vague.

I read several posts where people state that only main powered Zigbee devices act as a repeater and can extend the mesh network, and several times people mentioned that someone should use IKEA Tradfri Zigbee sockets, Osram Smart+ Zigbee Sockets or Xiaomi Zigbee Sockets.
What I would like to understand is, would any Zigbee socket extend any Zigbee network or would the Osram/IKEA sockets only extend the one network they are connected to?

If only the Xiaomi plugs would work than this would be quite unfortunate as those are only available as a Chinese version and someone would need a travel adapter for them and this looks quite ugly around the house.

I have a Xiaomi Gateway and several Xiaomi Sensors in the house. Some sensors sometimes show that they are offline and I assume it is a range problem as those sensors are the furthest away from the gateway. So I would like to extend the Xiaomi zigbee mesh in some way.

From what I’ve read, the Xiaomi devices don’t work well unless they are connected directly to the coordinator. This is likely because they don’t fully implement ZigBee and end devices in ZigBee have some very specific features.

However, in general, all mains devices are routers in a ZigBee network (there are exceptions, but you probably won’t hit any). So, you might get lucky, and the Xiaomi devices may work for you, but when I tried this a while back, it was not a success story for me.

Good luck :slight_smile:

Thanks for your reply!

However still unclear for me :slight_smile:

So does this also mean if I have a IKEA Tradfri socket which is connected to the IKEA Tradfri Gateway and also an OSRAM Smart+ Socket which is connected to a Philips Hue Bridge they both should also act as a repeater for the Xiaomi Zigbee Network? This means they repeat not only their network but all Zigbee networks?
If yes, this means they even act as a repeater for my neighbours zigbee networks?

No - mains devices will only act as repeaters for the PAN on which they are operating.

Thank you for this clarification, this is what I was looking for!

Unfortunately this means only a second Xiaomi Gateway or a Xiaomi Socket could extend my network as I will not be able to connect the Osram or Ikea socket to the Xiaomi network…

I’ve using some of the xiaomi plugin in zigbee switches as range extenders. Much cheaper than a new gateway…they’re not even controlling anything (but could if I had a lamp to plug in with them).

They just sit there happily forwarding packets from the far reaches of my 2 story house to my gateway at one end. So with the switch on the lower floor under the room it’s able to communicate with a temp sensor in the 2nd floor.

Do you mean these in-wall switches?
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bzmHspr6
I see the price is around €20, I can get a gateway for €22 and it is also a speaker and a rgb light in addition.

Sorry, socket is what I should have said: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-MiJia-Smart-Socket-Mi-Zigbee-WiFi-APP-Wireless-Control-Switches-EU-UK-AU-Plug/32800702480.html

Just make sure it’s a zigbee one…as there’s a bunch of wifi versions now.

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Yes the Xiaomi Sockets should work, but as mentioned before I would need an EU Adapter in between in order to be able to plug them in which looks really ugly and bulky…

hey guys, I’ve bought a zigbee smart plug and connected it to the gateway. let’s say gateway was installed in Room A successfully communicating with a window / door sensor. now I have put the gateway into Room B (much far away) but I installed the zigbee plug in Room A.

Now gateway can communicate from Room A to B with the plug. However, my window / door sensor doesn’t update its data anymore. What am I missing? Do I need to do anything to make the sensor connect to the plug?

EDIT: To answer myself. With the new locations in place I pressed the hardware button of the gateway three times to enable pairing. then I opened the window to force the sensor to send data. immediately the gateway replied in chinese language that pairing was successful. not it works again. btw: pairing took place although the sensor is located several meters away from the smart plug (incl. two walls)

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I use this ones. They are flat and work perfect

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/E81Enw2Tv