Hi everyone ![]()
I’m not sure how to start this post, it might be a bit messy, but I wanted to share my experience.
I’ve been into home automation for several years now, and I quickly became a Gladys user. Like many people, I think, I caught the home automation bug: I equipped myself, a bit haphazardly, and probably a bit too much!
Over the years, I’ve accumulated around 75 Zigbee devices compatible with zigbee2mqtt because that seemed the most relevant to me.
But this abundance of equipment has a downside: maintaining the health of my installation.
The more devices you have, the more you have to monitor things like battery levels, mesh quality, etc…
And that’s where the problem lies: I let myself be overwhelmed by the scale of the installation.
I’ve noticed for many months now that my module to open the sliding gate at my house sometimes takes 10 seconds to respond, just like a connected bulb in my bedroom: one of the two bedside lamps sometimes takes 20 seconds to turn off… In short, these erratic behaviors, annoying on a daily basis, and which make me look like a fool to my wife who laughs at me ![]()
I used to restart my containers, my mini PC, but this doesn’t solve the root problem.
And then I had the idea of asking Claude to inspect my Mini-PC, its containers, its logs… and he was a great help!
I was able to understand some things - yet basic - but that I had completely underestimated, such as the fact that I had equipped some ceiling lights with Aqara bulbs, but as I wanted to keep my switches functional I kept the wall control as it was. (I know there are built-in modules, I have some, but I never managed to install them on two-way switches, and I have them all over my house).
But I had forgotten one thing: a bulb is a router… so my mesh is constantly discovering routers, connecting devices to them, then losing contact, etc…
I also underestimated the interference with the objects surrounding my coordinator: I had placed it at the end of a 1m USB extension cable, on a wall, but too close to my electrical panel, and especially too close to my photovoltaic inverter.
So I started improving these little things and Claude regularly analyzes the communications between all my devices … and the network seems much more stable!!! ![]()
I think I’ll create routines so that I don’t lose track of things, such as taking periodic measurements and giving myself a little weekly or monthly report on the health of my Mini-PC, my overall installation, my mesh, etc..
In short, if anyone is in the same situation as me, know that this solution has been effective for me, even if I haven’t finished improving everything!
See you soon on Gladys!