The Spruce wifi controller uses a 802.15.4 2.4GHz radio to connect to ZigBee based networks or create its own sensor network.  By default the controller will form this network when a sensor is added for the first time.  This is designated when the controller indicator light breathes purple for about 10 seconds.  After the sensor network is created, the controller will remember the network settings going forward so that communication with the sensors is maintained after firmware updates or controller restarts.

• The sensor network starts automatically when the first sensor is added with the + on the device page
• The controller indicator light will breath purple briefly indicating the network has been created and then will turn red indicating a sensor can be added
• The event log will display “Mesh network created on ch:xx” this is the channel number that the network was created on
• Please note that the sensors will not act as network repeaters because the sensors are sleepy devices.

Range and range extenders

• Refer to Wireless Range 101 for additional detail on wireless range
• The Spruce controller works with ZigBee based range extenders. 
  • See adding a device for instructions on adding the outlet to your Spruce controller
  • The outlet and sensor network will automatically find the best routes to extend range
  • Multiple outlets can be used to further extend range