Sonoff switches and IHost

Very simple. Why do all sonoff switches have to go on to a wifi network before being visible to IHost? Zigbee evicts are hubbed directly in to IHost, why can’t sonoff switches.
And if they can’t be hunger on to IHost what device will allow me to collect all sonoff devices into a hub rather than putting 50+ devices on to my wifi router.
Thanks
Michael

Wi-Fi switch necessarily needs to connect to a Wi-Fi in order to communicate with the cloud or with iHost. Because that is its technology. iHost does not handle Wi-Fi networks.The iHost is not a Wi-Fi Hub that would create a Wi-Fi network and intercept the device and add it to your smart network. This could be considered a security flaw. That’s why there is this whole process for Wi-Fi device.If you want everything the same, a tip would be to replace the Wi-Fi switches with ZigBee models compatible with iHost.

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Indeed :slight_smile:

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That would cost an aweful lot of money. Is there no way I could use the x-wave protocol? Sonoff switches supports that

What do you mean? Are you talking about Z-Wave, perhaps?

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Well there’s nothing you can do. If you already have the Wi-Fi switches.It would be easier to put them on Wi-Fi and iHost by using the eWelink addon to pair them to iHost.Wi-Fi switches will actually only work on Wi-Fi. Because that’s their technology.

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Yes, my error brain said Z finger said X. Yes, Z-wave

Short answer:

iHost will act as a Wi-Fi client instead of Wi-Fi AP :robot:

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Hey,

If you are discussing integrating Z-Wave devices to iHost, please open a new topic in a new feature category.

None of the Sonoff devices support Z-Wave. That’s for one thing. Secondly, what kind of improvement would that be?

Does this mean that this will be possible? Is this planned for the future of iHost?

On the contrary, this means it would be like other Wi-Fi switches, which connect to a Wi-Fi access point/router rather than set up one to let others connect.

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As an alternative to Ethernet, I believe. iHost as a WiFi access point or router is not a good idea at all. I am leaving aside the technical issues. Such an option would be the source of many potential conflicts, causing further problems and unnecessary confusion, especially among less experienced users. Who needs this?

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I agree.

The existing solution for placing Sonoff Wi-Fi products inside iHost is already well implemented and does not create much confusion.

I believe that leaving it as it is is the best solution. The trend is for people to migrate to Matter or ZigBee.

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Spot on…and that was my mistake thinking it would. So effectively there is no “hub” product as such because it’s wifi as a wifi hub is simply a router (from what I understand) and that’s what it is linked to. From what I understand putting an access point like a TP-1201 would provide a single point access to the wifi but would not act as a hub that would consolidate traffic in/out.
Ok, thanks for your input.
Cheers

Ok, to bring this to a close. The 50+ sonoff TX wall switches and BASIC switches only support connectivity via WiFi and that is directly to the wifi router in the home. Protocols such as Zigbee and Matter are device specific like the 4 temp sensors we have and they use the ihost asa hub to be consolidated and linked to the web. If I was to change this setup to say a matter based network of Smart items then I will have to replace all the sonoff items (apart from the temp sensors if they are matter compatible.
So they cost about $35-45au here so 50X$35 = $1750…minimum. Lesson learned.:worried::cry:

I think so too. And back to the subject of matter. whether matter thread is in the development plan.

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No, they’re not. Simply put, there are devices that communicate through Zigbee or Matter or Z-Wave or WiFi or BLE. If you want them to communicate, they must speak the same language. Devices that “talk” both through WiFi and Zigbee are extremely rare. I’ve seen only one such specimen. Don’t mistake Matter over WiFi with WiFi communication.
Why do you want replace devices? What is your aim, really?

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You can bring them to Matter via the bridge in Host;

In my personal experience, bridge dozens of devices is way more stable than dozens of individual Matter over Wi-Fi devices, and it’s easier to maintain.

Also, Matter only has minimal ability sets, so using pure/native matter devices means you will loss many key features you are familiar with eWeLink, such as inching, timer, and even power-on state.

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From what you’re saying.

It doesn’t make much sense to change all 50 to another technology!

If they are working and implemented, it’s much easier to put the Addon on iHost and put them there!

With that, you could put them via Matter anywhere you wanted.

I believe you have to go for the technology that best suits you.

If you already have iHost, you can now try out some ZigBee devices and get them to work together with Wi-Fi.

Now, regarding Matter.

It’s still in its initial phase, and all companies are still discovering and deciding what to do with it.

I believe it will still take another year to see solid products built within Matter.

In the meantime, take the opportunity to test and use iHost and adapt your scenario to your best needs.

Now, speaking about Wi-Fi devices, I recommend a robust network for them. Other than that, they will work very well for years, especially because they have a local protocol.

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