Avoid wifi devices. They are battery/power hogs and you’ll end up spending more time troubleshooting that you ever thought. Z-Wave and Zigbee (Aqara) devices are just so much more reliable once you get a few deployed. You might have to use a repeater or two when you first get started, but once you have a few in your home, it’s a no-brainer.
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@JND2222 Totally get where you’re coming from—once you’ve lived with a solid Zigbee mesh, it’s hard to go back.
One underrated benefit is that a lot of Zigbee mains-powered devices can strengthen the network instead of competing for Wi‑Fi airtime. For example, Aqara’s Zigbee lights act as mesh repeaters and have lower idle consumption than many Wi‑Fi lighting alternatives, which helps both stability and power usage over time.
On the “add a repeater or two” point: a practical rule of thumb is keeping a direct hop within ~10 m and no more than ~2 walls, then using powered repeaters (like Smart Plugs or Wall Switches with neutral) to extend coverage room-to-room. A lot of reliability complaints disappear once you build that backbone.
Curious what your “first two repeaters” usually are—smart plugs, in-wall switches, or a dedicated hub per area?
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