Oct 11, 2026, 11:31 AMCalibrating my new Zigbee soil moisture sensor.
- Oct 11, 2026, 11:31 AM
Replies
- Oct 11, 2026, 8:42 PM
Also got some of these small temperature / humidity sensors.
They work pretty well. The one in my fridge *mostly* connects back to #HomeAssistant but occasionally just doesn't.
I possibly need more #Zigbee sensors dotted around to form a more effective mesh.
- Oct 13, 2026, 7:59 AM
Ok, this is slightly weird. The #ZigBee sensor in my fridge works overnight. But as soon as I open the door in the morning, it seems to lose the connection to the mesh.
WTF?
I need to put some more lights near the fridge to bolster the network - but that'll mean getting Alexa to talk to my #HomeAssistant box.
kianryan ☑️🐙🏳️🌈kianryan@oldbytes.spaceOct 11, 2026, 11:38 AM@Edent
It's wet.- Oct 11, 2026, 11:45 AM
@kianryan certainly is after I lick it.
Anton Piateksldrant@mastodon.socialOct 11, 2026, 2:36 PM@Edent interesting, I don't think mine can be calibrated. Then again they're cheap and the batteries don't last well so they don't do much for me at all (should probably try some LiIon AA tbf)
- Oct 11, 2026, 3:03 PM
@sldrant by calibrate, I mean checking it goes from 0 to 100 and back again 😄
Hugo Millsdarkling@mstdn.socialOct 11, 2026, 3:11 PM@Edent @sldrant From conversations with some soil scientists, years ago, soil moisture sensors are deeply unreliable -- even the good ones tend to drift (a lot) in their calibration over time.
Someone at Southampton was trying to develop ones using thin-film techniques, which drifted even more, but were a lot cheaper, so you could replace them more easily.
- Anton Piateksldrant@mastodon.socialOct 11, 2026, 3:16 PM
@Edent tbf I'm not sure mine do much from 0 to 50, but even having them reliably keep power so I get notified to water when dry would be great. Have had mine years and never got around to properly utilising them
Oct 11, 2026, 8:51 PM@Edent generally only the mains powered ones will act as "routers", so anything that's a lightswitch or socket or an IKEA VINDSTYRKA or etc.
(just in case you didn't know and later wonder why the mesh isn't doing much meshing)
Home Assistant has a map which shows what's a router and what's talking via what. It's under Settings, Connectivity, Zigbee, Show Map
Henryk Plötzhenryk@chaos.socialOct 11, 2026, 8:51 PM@Edent Note that sensors are usually battery-operated, in ZigBee lingo "end devices", devices and won't operate as routers. Look at the ZigBee visualization in Home Assistant to see it.
That being said, last time I tried I didn't get *any* signal to an in-fridge sensor, and there's plenty of routers around in the room. Do you use a fridge made from cardboard?
petur 😶🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼peturdainn@mastodon.socialOct 11, 2026, 8:52 PM@Edent you probably know but just in case: remember that battery powered zigbee devices don't mesh, only the wired ones do
- Oct 11, 2026, 8:55 PM
@peturdainn they will *connect* to a mesh though, right? I'm not expecting them to be a router.
Oct 11, 2026, 9:27 PMThey will - you can even see them as different coloured dots in your network graph in #HomeAssistant.
/config/zha/visualization
GaryWiteWulf@cyberplace.socialOct 12, 2026, 6:29 AM@mike @Edent @peturdainn another note re. Zigbee: in my experience the battery powered end-devices a) only connect to one “upstream” node, and b) won’t connect to a different one automatically.
So, if you already have a few in your house they won’t automagically connect to a new router (like a lightbulb) if it appears nearby, you need to manually re-pair them with your network. And if their new router disappears (someone turns a lightswitch off) you’ll lose the battery powered end devices.
- Oct 12, 2026, 6:55 AM
@WiteWulf That’s interesting, I’ve never directly observed that, but I have had unexplained connectivity issues which might be related.
I can try to test that hypothesis with the Back Office Dimmer Switch in my diagram. It’s within range of several other “routers” and isn’t fixed down, so I can walk it about the house, too. Thanks.
- GaryWiteWulf@cyberplace.socialOct 12, 2026, 6:57 AM
@mike maybe it’s specific to the Aqara Lumi environment sensors I’m using, then 🤔
- Oct 12, 2026, 7:20 AM
@WiteWulf My dimmer switches are all Philips Hue, but my roller blinds are Aqara Lumi. I can try both and see if there’s a difference by way of manufacturer/firmware.
Steve Holdenholdenweb@freeradical.zoneOct 12, 2026, 6:35 PM@WiteWulf @mike @Edent @peturdainn It doesn’t happen quickly, but Zigbee nodes will usually find each other given enough time.
- GaryWiteWulf@cyberplace.socialOct 12, 2026, 6:37 PM
@holdenweb @mike @Edent @peturdainn the Aqara LUMI battery powered devices are specifically known to not mesh. But they’re cheap, so I live with it 😀
- petur 😶🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼peturdainn@mastodon.socialOct 12, 2026, 6:45 AM
@Edent yes, sorry that wasn't written very clear. They won't do routing unless externally powered (as they need to stay on all the time)
(reading back your first toot) You did write that you would add more sensors around it for the mesh, so that's why I wrote my reply. Battery powered sensors nearby won't help with creating the mesh.
FYI: Ikea has some cheap zigbee routers that also have a low power USB socket (or had, I haven't checked their offers lately)
Fazal Majidfazalmajid@vivaldi.netOct 11, 2026, 10:50 PM@Edent can you find one that supports an external thermocouple? If so, you can leave the Zigbee box outside and snake the thermocouple wire through the fridge joint. That won't cover humidity, only temperature, however.
Another alternative would be to use a Bluetooth logger. I suspect BT is more robust, not being a niche technology like Zigbee or Thread developed because the Home Automation industry are special snowflakes too good for standard protocols.
Brian SmithBrianSmith950@mas.toOct 13, 2026, 8:15 AM@Edent
Interference from the fridge internal lights?- Oct 13, 2026, 8:53 AM
@BrianSmith950 possibly - but the light goes off after the door closes.
MexMexicals@mastodon.socialOct 13, 2026, 8:36 AM@Edent is it when you open or when you close? fridge doors will pull a vacuum as the air inside cools back down for a while after closing them which might mean there is a better seal, and less RF gets out? </big guess>
- Oct 13, 2026, 8:54 AM
@Mexicals pressing X to doubt :-)
It seems to happen after the door is opened - but stays off when the door is closed unless I manually reconnect it. 
ash56ashley1745@mastodon.socialOct 13, 2026, 8:48 AM@Edent I have used ZigBee plug socket to help with the next work. For the fridge and freezer I'm using switch not Bluetooth sensors which work fine
- Henryk Plötzhenryk@chaos.socialOct 13, 2026, 9:04 AM
@Edent Report from a happy User: Alexa with Home Assistant Link (née Home Assistant Cloud) works fine.
Ben Gillambengillam@mastodon.socialOct 12, 2026, 7:00 PM@Edent Are these sort of things usable outside ?
Ive got a plan in my mind to use these for our outdoor plant to set off alarms if stuff is struggling my workload is usually quite heavy and watering is often forgotten by my stupid brain
- Oct 12, 2026, 7:24 PM
@bengillam that's what they claim. I'll try it tomorrow.
