Inswift

Guide · Intro · 6 min

Placement and interference: why a USB extension matters

Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth share the same band. A coordinator against a PC back panel, NAS, or USB 3.0 drive often shows poor LQI and random drop-offs.

Recommendations

  • At least 50 cm of USB extension; 1–2 m is better
  • Place it near the geometric center of the home, away from the router
  • For larger homes prefer an ETH gateway on Ethernet, rather than a host in the corner and a USB stick
  • Add always-on Zigbee routers (bulbs, outlets) so end devices are not all one hop from the coordinator