Hub 02 / Devices and networks
Devices fail in physical ways long before they fail in software ways. This group covers radios, placement, brand lock-in and the maintenance that keeps a fleet reporting.
Short answer
Put the radio coordinator on a short USB extension cable, add mains-powered router devices before battery sensors at the edges, and check the integrations page for the globe icon — it marks every device that stops responding when your internet does. Those three habits resolve most device complaints without buying anything.
Devices and networks
Read in order for a complete picture, or enter at the decision in front of you.
Compare Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter and Thread for Home Assistant, then plan coordinators, border routers, coverage and recovery without protocol myths.
Read guideSet up Zigbee and Z-Wave coordinators, pair devices with the right security, and fix the interference and mesh problems that masquerade as broken hardware.
Read guidePlan Zigbee network capacity around the documented 32 direct-child limit, calculate how many router devices a fleet needs, and see what the arithmetic does not cover.
Read guideUnderstand the difference between Home Assistant integrations, apps and community custom code, and add each one without inheriting maintenance you did not plan for.
Read guideConnect IP cameras to Home Assistant, understand camera states and stream behaviour, and design snapshot notifications that stay useful and private.
Read guideAutomate TVs and speakers with media player triggers, conditions and actions, including announcements, grouping and the enqueue behaviour that varies by device.
Read guideWork out which Home Assistant integrations depend on a vendor cloud, what that costs you in reliability, and how to migrate the devices that matter to local control.
Read guideBuild a Home Assistant maintenance view for low batteries, unavailable entities and stale reports without turning one noisy threshold into an emergency.
Read guideTurn device count, cells per device and observed service life into a yearly battery plan, and back it with a low-battery alert that survives unknown and unavailable states.
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