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Having switched to zigbee devices recently I regret trying to start with WiFi. While I'm not sure how it looks under the hood, adding devices with home assistan
by Forge36 2mo ago
Having switched to zigbee devices recently I regret trying to start with WiFi. While I'm not sure how it looks under the hood, adding devices with home assistant was miles easier.
- baby_souffle 2mo agoI've helped lots of people with home automation Network build outs l; the biggest factor is the RF environment. If you're fortunate enough to not be battery constrained at most endpoints and can put a high quality Wi-Fi access point in an optimal location than Wi-Fi is incredibly reliable. The tooling for inspecting all layers of a Wi-Fi network is infinitely more accessible and mature and that certainly helps; I can't go to My local big box store and get a USB thread dongle for 20 bucks that will just work on a Lennox computer and integrate nicely with Wireshark out of the box...
- Dan_- 2mo agoNo, you have to order it from Mouser for $16 instead. Fixed link: https://www.mouser.com/en/ProductDetail/Nordic-Semiconductor/nRF52840-Dongle?qs=gTYE2QTfZfTbdrOaMHWEZg%3D%3D&srsltid=AfmBOooWtRDBeRpLpzfjfjdVXbsdiuKyY1NbWvdi31V-r4a0ZR_T2mr7 https://www.mouser.com/en/ProductDetail/Nordic-Semiconductor... And there’s a little configuration: https://wiki.makerdiary.com/nrf52840-mdk-usb-dongle/guides/nrf802154-sniffer/configuring/#configuring-wireshark-for-thread https://wiki.makerdiary.com/nrf52840-mdk-usb-dongle/guides/n...
- hiitsmyaccount 2mo agoDead product link
- Dan_- 2mo agoSorry I thought I was removing tracking bits from the URL. It’s fixed now.
- hiitsmyaccount 2mo agoI have a Unifi home network with two Wifi 7 access points and gigabit ethernet. For home automation, I went with ZWave and do not regret it at all. It's been rock solid and I've never felt the need to get a dongle to debug the traffic. I don't want to be working through all of the WiFi baggage with my home automation devices. I recently introduced some Zigbee bulbs (hue and cheapos from Amazon) and they've been mostly "fine", albeit with lower range.
- baby_souffle 2mo ago> For home automation, I went with ZWave and do not regret it at all. It's been rock solid and I've never felt the need to get a dongle to debug the traffic. That's because zwave requires everything go through certification process. You pay more for this, but things generally just work. It's an entirely different situation in zigbee land though. I stick with ESPHome and MQTT because I can inspect and modify the behaviors of everything with free and open tools.
- Forge36 2mo agoWi-Fi was never unreliable. The devices that used WiFi were much worse to work with and setup.
- Gigachad 2mo agoThread is fairly similar to Zigbee, just standardized and doesn't require brand specific hubs. You can actually control thread devices direct from an iphone with no hub at all. Wifi for anything but cameras is a mistake, it only exists for maximum compatibility since everyone has wifi already.
- esseph 2mo agoWifi for cameras is arguably also a mistake
- nomel 2mo agoCameras that require internet to connect to are a mistake, but cameras that use Wifi for local link are fine (wifi is perfect for this). And, having some way to connect remotely is a requirement, for most everyone.