Advice needed for reliable temp sensor and motion sensor

[cristian-spiescu]

Hi there,

I starting playing w/ HomeAssistant + zigbee2mqtt. I currently have a Sonoff USB dongle, a Tuya socket, a Sonoff motion sensor + temp sensor.

My need

I need to build a relatively simple solution similarly to a thermostat. The logic is not complex, but it needs to be reliable and updateable remotely, as I don't have access to that place. I mean, I will be there when I install it, but I won't be there to push the "re-pair" buttons of the sensors.

My observations

W/ my laptop I "simulated" the following situations:

• computer reboot, sleep
• usb adapter disconnect/reconnect
• long periods w/ the coordinator offline
• interference

After such tests,

• The Tuya socket continued to function.
• The motion sensor: restarted working once after a long pause. But now it doesn't connect any more
• The temp sensor: doesn't connect any more

Note: when the sensors were in state "they don't send data any more", I long pressed their buttons. For the temp sensor I also had to press "reconfigure" from the zigbee2mqtt UI. After this, the sensors started to send data. But again, for my use case this is a no go. I won't be on premises, to be able to reset the sensors when they don't transmit any more.

Questions

1/ If the zigbee network is in an "unhealthy" state, e.g. interference, long absence of the coordinator, do battery powered devices enter in some kind of "protection"/deep sleep mode? This was my guess initially, observing the motion sensor.

2/ Are there some devices that are more robust to these kind of situations than others? For example, is a Tuya motion sensor more reliable than a Sonoff one?

Thanks in advance.