Question

I have a few of the Hampton Bay Zigbee fan controllers. I have given up hope of anything in my house that uses zigbee ever staying connected more than a few days. Does anyone use Bond to control these controllers? I have to order the device since it's not stocked so i can't just test it and find out the hard way.  

Answer 1

Bond makes a similar canopy retrofit module that works with Bond and smartthings

Answer 2

I have a Hampton Bay fan with a retro-fit Hampton Bay remote control (not zigbee) and I’m using Bond to control the fan and lights. Works with Bond app and Alexa too. Working great so far.  

Answer 3

Use the same Hampton Bay controllers connected to a Bond bridge. All 6 fans work great with Smartthings and Alexa integration.  

Answer 4

I stopped using my Bond and switched to Hampton Bay Zigbee controllers with repeaters in each room. Bond is great if you only control the fan/light with Alexa, but if you also use RF remotes it becomes out of sync and Bond no longer knows if the device is on or off. I know that Bond changed its app since I last tried using it so maybe some of the issues I had are now fixed.  

Comments

What would you recommend for a repeater? These are literally the only things connected to my hub through zigbee. All my lights are on a hue hub or lutron caseta.  

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Check eBay. I have better luck there with switches/repeaters. There is an Iris model plug (believe 3201-L or similar) that is both Zigbee and Zwave repeater in one. I got 5 on eBay for 50$ and believe he still has more to sell.  

Answer 5

Now issue with Zigbee things have been connected to the hub easily for over a year without issues.  

Comments

@sammy is an issue specifically with these modules. They don't want to be direct connected

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I honestly think part of the issue is the fan controller’s antenna is very short and the fan’s motor & metal casing might obstruct the signal. Putting a repeater close by gives it the boost it needs to stay connected.  

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@burnoose I have 2 of those modules and no issues.  

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@sammy I have two and can't keep them connected

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@burnoose I do have a lot of devices that repeat.  

Answer 6

It's like other have said. Zigbee / Zwave is entirely dependent on the strength of the mesh. More repeatable devices (hardwired usually) the better. If you are trying to get away with only 1 or 2 zigbee devices probably better to go with something else like you mentioned.  

Answer 7

Sylvania bulbs work great as repeaters.