Hm. I loaded HA into a Docker container on a Synology NAS and passed the /dev/ttyACM0 (Sonos Type -E) to it etc. ZHA recognized a bunch of devices … Temperature, Vibration, Water Leak, even Smoke Detector.
The Magnet Activator (for windows opening etc) MCCGQ11LM however is recognized, but always shows as closed and doesn’t do anything, if I bring the Magnet near or away. Strange … I’d though this one of the simpler devices.
The Aqara Cubes I bought are not recognized at all … or half. It’s stuck in something called “interview”.
The complex FP2 radar positional sensor is not recognized at all, but that’s very new, so I assume there’s no driver at all.
I’m new to HA. though I’m not sure if I have to delete the whole docker container, if there’s a HA update, or if this updates inside the container, or if new drivers appear automatically in it etc.
Good news, the Dongle-E and ZHA are not bad choices at all as mechanisms to control your zigbee devices, and is the currently recommended method for new starters, but there are other ways.
Lets start with pairing and Aqara devices.
Sometimes, these devices don’t fully pair before they go back to sleep. To stop this, you usually short press the button that you long pressed to start the pairing process. This keeps them alive. I’d try this with your cube and see if you can get it paired.
Once paired, that means the device is simply connected to the zigbee network, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will operate correctly.
Some devices require custom code to be written for them to work, because the manfacturer has decided not to follow the zigbee standards.
For ZHA that requires a custom ‘quirk’ if its not already been adapted into the version of HA that you are running.
For instructions on how to setup custom quirks, take a look here as an example:
I use 5 quirks for a variety of devices (some Aqara) to get them to operate correctly.
I’m surprised however that the door sensors aren’t working straight away. I’d be tempted to restarted HA again just once more, as very occasionally devices don’t seem to fully work immediately after pairing.
Thankies for your reply! Strangely, all the door sensors worked with an aeotec hub, now I get mixed results in HA. One of them acts properly (and astonishingly quick). The others have decided to either not bind, or bind but not du much … have to investigate. Battery is reported at 70% still. One of the cubes is now in the lsit for some reason, even though it was stuck in “interview”, but doesn’t do anything.
So the only way to upgrade ZHA and it’s “drivers” is a complete new install of a newer version of HA. It can not individually download it’s drivers from somewhere while running (it’s what the aeotec hub did with those “edge drivers” once you had joined as developers “channel”).
Its also possible that your issues are related to interference or signal strength with your zigbee network. Some of what you are describing could be due to this.
I’d search the forums for results like this which might help you.
I assume by ‘drivers’ you’re talking about the local ZHA quirks I talked about earlier ? These can be ‘installed’ simply by adding a file into your HA install (see the link I posted on this), and then restart HA.
No experience with the it (yet), but my understanding is the FP2 is wifi, not zigbee. Reports are it should work via the homekit controller integration.
So the only way to upgrade ZHA and it’s “drivers” is a complete new install of a newer version of HA. It can not individually download it’s drivers from somewhere while running (it’s what the aeotec hub did with those “edge drivers” once you had joined as developers “channel”).
It is not really “drivers” per se (there are ‘quirks’ or device handlers that sort of act like drivers but you should rarely ever even think about them). All the devices you listed speak the same protocol, in this case Zigbee. If you replace Zigbee in your mind with WiFi, then maybe it is a bit simpler (it is not WiFi though).
If one WiFi laptop works well with your Access Point (AP), then another laptop does not, we would surmise the problem is in the second laptop. This is 96% of the time the case. The device is the odd one. This could be as others have noted timing issue with pairing, interference at the antenna (your Sonos Type -E dongle), or simply bad implementation of the Zigbee protocol (Aqara is famous for some of their devices behaving oddly).
The remaining times it could be distance between device and radio antenna (too far), antenna to host computer distance (to close and causing interference), or antenna to host cable (again, interference). To resolve this bring the device closer like two or three yards, and use a USB cable between the antenna dongle (Sonos Type -E) and your computer (Synology NAS).
I’m not sure if I have to delete the whole docker container, if there’s a HA update, or if this updates inside the container, or if new drivers appear automatically in it etc.