Netvox Zigbee end device not joining my zigbee coordinator

Question

I am implementing Zigbee Gateway with TIcc2530 SOC using ZStack for home automation and want to integrate various Netvox devices like Z211 IR Transmitter etc with our gateway.

But I am facing problem in joining of these devices to my zigbee network created by my gateway.

I have enabled the Association Permit join in my gateway, but these devices are unable to add to the zigbee network.

With packet sniffer we check that: Devices keeps searching network with Beacons, and observed that it sends association request for which we send association permit response from gateway then Transport Key command (default HA security key) is send from gateway but it keep repeating process of sending again association request and unable to join.

Does anyone has tried with these netvox end devices to join cc2530 coordinator and can provide solution or dependencies netvox device requires .

Thankful if help can be provided for the same.

Answer 1

Some end devices require that you bind to one of its clusters, or have it assigned to a group, for it to have some assurance that it has not accidentally joined the wrong network. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

If the end device is getting confused by your network key, it's possible that it doesn't support encryption. This can be tested by disabling security on your coordinator, after which all your messages will be sent in the clear. Alternatively, there could be an out-of-band commissioning scheme, or a hardcoded manufacturer key. I like tomlogic's idea to get a capture of the device joining a known good coordinator to find out what it does differently.

It's also possible that the Netvox device is using 802.15.4 for communication but does not actually implement ZigBee networking. In that case, it will still use the same beacons and association packets, but your ZigBee network key will be totally unrecognized. The Netvox website shows that they claim to be an "802.15.04 specialist", so there's a chance that some of their devices aren't using (or don't need) the ZigBee protocol.

Even if it does implement ZigBee, many of the variations within ZigBee can prevent two devices from communicating. For example, the Netvox may have no application profile support for HA, so your HA security keys won't be recognized. Tom's also right that the "stack profile" can prevent devices from joining if they are different (for example, one uses ZigBee PRO and the other does not). Some manufacturers will intentionally advertise non-standard profiles in their beacons to prevent use of their devices in other ZigBee networks. This allows developers on a budget to make hardcoded assumptions about other devices in the network. Based on your description, the Netvox didn't know how to handle the unexpected condition, and got stuck in an endless loop. Again, the capture can help you verify this.