Devices Not Responding to Short Address Commands in Zigbee Network

[dmsherazi]

I am experiencing an issue in my Zigbee network where devices that are not within direct reach of the Zigate coordinator often do not respond to commands sent to them using their short address. However, these same devices respond reliably when commands are sent to their group.

Environment:

Coordinator: Zigate+ Firmware Version: Latest release of Zigate V2 firmware Version 3.A0

Problem Details:

• Behavior: Devices outside the direct range of the coordinator fail to respond when I send commands using their short address. However, when I send commands to the group that includes these devices, they respond correctly.
• Initial Functionality: When these devices are first added to the network, they respond to short address commands for a period of time, but eventually stop responding.
• Hypothesis: This issue may be related to how the routing table is managed in the Zigbee network. It seems that the routing information for these devices may not be updated or utilized correctly when commands are sent using the short address.

Questions:

• Routing Table Management: Could this problem be due to issues with the routing table on the devices or the coordinator? How can I verify if the routing information is correctly propagated across the network?

• Group Commands vs. Short Address Commands: Why do group commands succeed where short address commands fail? Does the Zigate handle these command types differently in terms of routing or broadcasting?

• Potential Fixes: What steps can I take to ensure that devices respond to short address commands even when they are not within direct range of the coordinator? Are there any known issues or limitations with the Zigate V2 firmware that might be causing this behavior?

• Steps to Reproduce:

• Add a device to the Zigbee network.

• Send a command using the short address to the device and observe its response.

• Wait some time probably some hours or a day and attempt to send a short address command again.

• Observe the lack of response.

• Send a group command to the device and observe the successful response.

Expected Behavior:

Devices should respond to both short address and group commands, regardless of their proximity to the coordinator, as long as they are within the network.

Actual Behavior:

Devices only respond to group commands, not to short address commands when they are not in direct reach of the coordinator.

Additional Information:

• I am using the latest firmware release (Zigate V2).

• The issue primarily affects devices that are not directly within the coordinator’s reach.

Request for Assistance:

I would appreciate any insights or recommendations on how to address this issue, particularly concerning the routing tables and command handling within the Zigate firmware.

[fairecasoimeme]

Hello, the best way to understand is to sniff zigbee traffic.

There is a routing table in all routers (and coordinator). If an end device is not reachable, we need to check the whole routing table. If the end device is on a router, it is possible that the router function is not correct. I mean it is not the coordinator that manages all the routes. It could be a lack in the middle of the network.

For the group process, I think the group does not use the same method as the short address, but I am not an expert in group.

First, for testing, I think you need to use another router to see if there is the same phenomenon

But I think you need to get a sniffer tool.