Home Assistant SkyConnect (Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1) - official Zigbee and/or Thread USB radio dongle from Nabu Casa

The official SkyConnect adapter which this discussion is about will be very thighty integrated with Home Assistant OS, the ZHA integration as well as their comming Thread/OpenThread and Matter/CHIP integrations if that is what you mean.

You can always request it from Dresden Elektrik to show interest but do understand that Phoscon/deCONZ is third-party software developed by a company with their own solutions so maybe not realistic to expect too much openness and as tight integrations with applications that is not their own. Again, as developers from Dresden Elektrik will not be reading this forum it is better if you post your feedback to them there instead → [REQUEST] Standard "Open ZigBee Coordinator Backup Format" support for Zigbee network backups and restoring from and to ConBee/RaspBee (deCONZ based adapters)? · Issue #12 · dresden-elektronik/deconz-rest-plugin-v2 · GitHub

ConBee II is based on an older Zigbee-only SoC chip so it can not be updated to support Thead/OpenThread or RPC multiprotocol firmware. I did however read a roumor somewhere a while ago that a ConBee III is in development by Dresden Elektrik’s engineers but no idea if their adapter will also support Thread/OpenThread and RPC multiprotocol or if it will be Zigbee only with a newer SoC chip. Regardless that is really off-topic for this discussion so let us not steal this thread to talk about what third-parties are or are not working on.

1 Like

Once more - thanks for a super response.

I have booked a sky connect and want to use it, but re-pairing all my devices scares me a bit.

How can I make the migration as painless as possible?

It will not be a true migration as you should factory reset all devices one at a time before pairing/joining it to the new Zigbee network. Instead you will be building any new Zigbee network from scratch. So connect mains-powered devices before any battey-powered devices, and preferably begin by connecting newer mains-powered Zigbee 3.0 devices.
If you already own loads of main-powered Zigbee 3.0 products that are know to act as good ”Zigbee Router” (range extender/repeater) devices then start by pairing/joining a few of those first after factory resetting them.

If you do not already own that many mains-powered Zigbee Router devices and have a large house then suggest buying a few know good Zigbee 3.0 products as dedicated repeaters/extenders, (such as IKEA Tradfri Signal Repeater, or reflashed Sonoff ZBDongle-E and ZBDongle-P from ITead).

After connecting those mains-powered Zigbee Router devices they will after around 24-hours have created a stable Zigbee network mesh that you can use as a backbone to make sure you got always-on devices that make sure get great coverage needed as Zigbee signals does not have good range or wall penetration. Meaning additonal added devices will connect to the closest Zigbee Router with the stongest signal reception instead of directly to the Zigbee Coordinator.

Wait around 24-hours before lastly connect battery-powered devices as those will not extend your mesh network but will connect to a closer Zigbee Router if you already have those in place and will have had time to build a network mesh.

Good to know is that while mains-powered Zigbee Router devices will automatically reconnect to other Zigbee Router devices if one dies, (repairing the mesh network given time, again normally around 24-hours), many battery powered devices will not automatically connect to a Zigbee Router with stronger signal if it is added after the battery powered devices was initially paired.

Regardless read and follow all the best practice guidelines here → https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/wiki/Generic-best-practice-tips-on-improving-Zigbee-network-range-and-general-stability

1 Like

Thanks for the tips, but i have som questions.

Why should I flash IKEAs singnal repeter?

Is it possible to run two zigbee network?

I think @hedda was only talking about flashing the Sonoff dongles since they default to being a coordinator. Shouldn’t be any need to flash an Ikea repeater. He’ll correct me if I’m wrong.

Yes, you can continue to run deconz side by side with ZHA, and move devices from one to the other at your leisure. No need to do a rushed all-at-once conversion. I would advise against the rushed approach.

General consensus is your ulitmately best with a single bigger/stronger/more robust mesh network, but there is nothing “wrong” with two nets. Just plan accordingly, avoid conflicting channels, make sure there are enough router devices for each net as you migrate.

1 Like

As jerrm noted, I meant that you can flash ITead’s Sonoff branded “ZBDongle-E” and “ZBDongle-P” with Zigbee Router firmware as either of those can make great Zigbee Router devices when flashed with alternative firmware if then used in a USB charger for power so can be placed anywhere as a stand-alone device. The benefit is that these have an excellent modern radio and external antenna + get the latest cutting-edge firmware so will work better as dedicated Zigbee Router devices than practically any other commercial dedicated Zigbee signal repeater device products out there. Other than having to reflash firmware and not coming with a power supply the downside is that they are ugly and large so not as easy to hide away out of sight.

IKEA Trådfri Signal Repeater already ships with Zigbee Router firmware by default so it does not need to be reflashed but it is still a good idea to update its firmware via OTA (Over-The-Air) after it being paired/joined to Zigbee solution. The benefits of the IKEA Trådfri Signal Repeater as a product are that its default firmware it ships with works out-of-the-box with all Zigbee solutions and it comes with a power-supply. The downside is that it uses older firmware (even after updating firmware via OTA) and it does not have as strong radio + internal antenna so gets weaker reception. Yet is does have a better radio and antenna than most other dedicated Zigbee signal repeater device products that are sold with Zigbee Router firmware by default.

Anyway, if starting a new Zigbee network from scratch then I generally recommend buying and connecting at least three mains-powered dedicated Zigbee Router devices at the beginning before adding any other devices to let them create a stable mesh network which will act as the backbone network that is always on and always available. If they already have the correct firmware then simply join/pair them to get good coverage and range, add additional mains-powered Zigbee devices, then wait around 24-hours before adding any battery powered Zigbee devices.

Not in ZHA. Not in Phoscon/deCONZ or Zigbee2MQTT either, though they have the benefit of being external stand-alone Zigbee hubs/gateways so could technically allow you to install several instances of Phoscon/deCONZ and Zigbee2MQTT as long as each instance has its own Zigbee Coordinator adapter. However, you can run ZHA, Phoscon/deCONZ, and Zigbee2MQTT separately and run them all side-by-side at the same time as long as they all have their own dedicated Zigbee Coordinator adapter, just as you can also have a Philips Hue Bridge, an IKEA Trådfri Gateway, and a Samsung SmartThings Hub in the same house too.

They will all work separately by themselves as there is no knowledge or communication with each other at the Zigbee layers as they will all be on their own isolated private network that uses unique encryption using a random encryption key. They are fully isolated from each other and their signals will only slightly interfere if using the same Zigbee channels, (still, Zigbee signals are very weak so Wi-Fi much stronger signals will always interfere a lot more). Any interaction between them has to be done via integrations at the application layer, i.e. in Home Assistant.

Also, be aware that Zigbee Coordinator adapters can only be connected to one Zigbee solution, and also that a Zigbee device can only be connected to one Zigbee Coordinator. So you can never connect a Zigbee Coordinator adapter to two Zigbee solutions, nor connect a Zigbee Router for Zigbee End Device to two Zigbee solutions as they will be using different Zigbee Coordinator adapters. Rules are as such, one Zigbee Coordinator per Zigbee solution, one Zigbee network per Zigbee Coordinator, and one Zigbee Coordinator for each device.

This is really all due to Zigbee specification limitations so maybe best if you read up on the Zigbee protocol technology/architecture, suggest start with wikipedia → https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zigbee

1 Like

Thanks for a great response. My plan is this.

  1. Connect Skyconnect and link it to ZHA. Will leave my current system via deconz via its selected channel.
  2. Link some IKEA reapeaters to ZHA and let the system stand for at least 24 hours.
  3. Transfer my devices from deconz to ZHA and will start with the ones with power then battery operated.

Some questions.

  1. Which channel(s) is best for zigbee?
  2. Is it possible to factory reset Hue easily or do I have to do it in their hub?
  1. It depends, (regardless note that Zigbee channel needs to be set in YAML config before you start the initial installation flow as can currently not be changed in ZHA after setup Zigbee network and for now you need to do full backup then restore if want to change to a other Zigbee channel later), see ZHA docs section about it → https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/zha/#defining-zigbee-channel-to-use

  2. See ZHA docs section under troubleshooting about that → https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/zha/#add-philips-hue-bulbs-that-have-previously-been-added-to-another-bridge

By the way, suggest contributing to ZHA docs to make it better and easier to understand if possible, but regardless please do read it all anyway.

1 Like

Is the photo of the device accurate?
I am a bit sceptic about case design, without antenna or at least connector for external one.
is there some info about coverage and/signal stability?

1 Like

I got no more info. But assume no connector for external antenna. I assume that its circut board either got a good deaign ”PBC trace antenna” or a high quality ”Ceramic chip antenna”. Regardless Zigbee uses network mesh technology so you will always want to use/have many mains-powered Zigbee Router devices which will act as always-on range extenders / signal repeaters when building a new Zigbee netword in order to get better coverage, read → Generic best practice tips on improving Zigbee network range and general stability · zigpy/zigpy Wiki · GitHub

1 Like

FYI, noticed puddly is developing a “Universal Silicon Labs Flasher” for Silabs OTW firmware update:

Looks like it will be used in a future Home Assistant Add-on for easily flashing SkyConnect and Yellow:

PS: See related addons:

2 Likes

Anybody know the estimated shipping date from the Nov/Dec batch?

2 Likes

I guess that the exact shipping date might also depend on which of the resellers you pre-ordered it from.

Pre-ordered from m.nu (Sweden) myself and last update got from them was that their plan is to start shipping the first batch on the 15th of December 2023. Other resellers may ship before or after that.

For reference, I placed my order on the 14th of October.

https://www.home-assistant.io/skyconnect/

image

For those wondering about shipping dates, just got an email that my order from RaspberryPi.dk has been shipped (dunno where their warehouse is but shipping should be from Denmark to France) and it’s listed as “in stock” now on their website. For reference I ordered in early November.

3 Likes

Same here… Ordered in september (i think).
Shipping to Norway

AmeriDroid (US) has an update on their website indicating that the first batch should arrive in their warehouse the week of Dec. 18 and then will start shipping out after that.

Received mine from Raspberrypi.dk yesterday.

1 Like

I also ordered my SkyConnect from raspberrypi.dk and received an email that shipping has started.

mine’s just arrived from raspberrypi.dk

2 Likes

What I don’t get is that many usb-dongle producers, make the dongles too wide, just a little too wide, so you can’t use two dongles beside each other?