How to determine if ZBT-1 is functioning

Configuration Matter/Thread
1

I just bought a ZBT-1 and am attempting to add it as a thread border router. I am running HA Docker and as much as I try to get the OTBR docker container running it just cannot seem to talk to my ZBT-1.

I have updated to the latest firmware using the chrome firmware updater which was 7.4.4.0 if I remember correctly. I also tried multiple USB ports on my computer including ones I know function as I use them for USB storage. I also tried with and without the USB extender as I thought that might be faulty.

I wanted to ensure the actual ZBT-1 is working and though using sudo screen /dev/ttyUSB0 115200 would give me something, but even trying baud rates of 115200, 9600, 38400, 460800 I just get a blank screen. I have tried doing this not only with the specified ttyUSB0, but also using /dev/serial/by-id/usb-Nabu_Casa_Home_Assistant_Connect_ZBT-1_a6c7b1cd7e39ef11ba5b59f454516304-if00-port0. Both of these have just blank output which leads me to believe I have an issue with the dongle but I really donā€™t know.

If anyone has any thoughts on how I can make sure my dongle is working, Iā€™m all ears. Iā€™ve spent well over 20 hours on the problem and feel like Iā€™m hitting a brick wall. Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

2

As far as I know, 7.4.4.0 is Zigbee firmware, not thread firmware.

See:
https://connectzbt1.home-assistant.io/about-firmware-options/
and

Edit: and if you are running in a VM, be sure to ā€˜pass-throughā€™ the dongle to the VM.

3

Yes, I have done the passthrough and Iā€™m pretty sure it works as I originally passed through to HA Docker and it popped up and asked if I would like to add the device before it explained I needed to setup OTBR.

As far as I can tell, I donā€™t see a way to manually flash the thread firmware like zigbee but correct me if Iā€™m wrong. On the website it says OTBR will flash the thread firmware when connected. I wasnā€™t cognizant of the difference in firmware so thanks for the explanation, but I still canā€™t seem to get it working:

Here is my docker compose:

version: '3.8'
services:
  otbr:
    image: openthread/otbr:latest
    container_name: otbr
    hostname: otbr
    restart: unless-stopped
    devices:
      - "/dev/serial/by-id/usb-Nabu_Casa_Home_Assistant_Connect_ZBT-1_a6c7b1cd7e39ef11ba5b59f454516304-if00-port0:/dev/ttyUSB0"
    privileged: true
    group_add:
      - dialout
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
      - SYS_ADMIN
      - SYS_MODULE
    environment:
      - OTBR_WEB_SERVICE_PORT=8282
      - OTBR_AGENT_PORT=49191
      - OTBR_INTERFACE_NAME=eth0
      - OTBR_RADIO_URL=spinel+hdlc+uart:///dev/ttyUSB0?uart-baudrate=115200  # Explicit baudrate
    volumes:
      - otbr_data:/etc/otbr
      - /lib/modules:/lib/modules:ro
    network_mode: "host"
    extra_hosts:
      - "otbr:127.0.0.1"

volumes:
  otbr_data:

And here are the logs:

otbr  | RADIO_URL: spinel+hdlc+uart:///dev/ttyUSB0
otbr  | TREL_URL: 
otbr  | TUN_INTERFACE_NAME: wpan0
otbr  | BACKBONE_INTERFACE: eth0
otbr  | NAT64_PREFIX: 64:ff9b::/96
otbr  | DEBUG_LEVEL: 7
otbr  | +++ dirname /app/script/server
otbr  | ++ cd /app/script/..
otbr  | ++ HAVE_SYSTEMCTL=0
otbr  | ++ have systemctl
otbr  | ++ command -v systemctl
otbr  | ++ HAVE_SERVICE=0
otbr  | ++ have service
otbr  | ++ command -v service
otbr  | ++ HAVE_SERVICE=1
otbr  | ++ [[ ! -n x ]]
otbr  | ++ echo 'Current platform is ubuntu'
otbr  | Current platform is ubuntu
otbr  | ++ with BORDER_ROUTING
otbr  | ++ local value
otbr  | +++ printenv BORDER_ROUTING
otbr  | ++ value=1
otbr  | ++ [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ with DHCPV6_PD
otbr  | ++ local value
otbr  | +++ printenv DHCPV6_PD
otbr  | ++ value=
otbr  | ++ [[ -z '' ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ -f examples/platforms/ubuntu/default ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ '' == 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ with BORDER_ROUTING
otbr  | ++ local value
otbr  | +++ printenv BORDER_ROUTING
otbr  | ++ value=1
otbr  | ++ [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ with NETWORK_MANAGER
otbr  | ++ local value
otbr  | +++ printenv NETWORK_MANAGER
otbr  | ++ value=
otbr  | ++ [[ -z '' ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ -f examples/platforms/ubuntu/default ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ '' == 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ STAGE_DIR=/app/stage
otbr  | ++ BUILD_DIR=/app/build
otbr  | ++ [[ -d /app/stage ]]
otbr  | ++ mkdir -v -p /app/stage
otbr  | mkdir: created directory '/app/stage'
otbr  | ++ [[ -d /app/build ]]
otbr  | ++ mkdir -v -p /app/build
otbr  | mkdir: created directory '/app/build'
otbr  | ++ export PATH=/app/stage/usr/bin:/app/stage/usr/sbin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
otbr  | ++ PATH=/app/stage/usr/bin:/app/stage/usr/sbin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
otbr  | +++ basename /app/script/server
otbr  | ++ TASKNAME=server
otbr  | ++ BEFORE_HOOK=examples/platforms/ubuntu/before_server
otbr  | ++ AFTER_HOOK=examples/platforms/ubuntu/after_server
otbr  | ++ [[ ! -f examples/platforms/ubuntu/before_server ]]
otbr  | ++ BEFORE_HOOK=/dev/null
otbr  | ++ [[ ! -f examples/platforms/ubuntu/after_server ]]
otbr  | ++ AFTER_HOOK=/dev/null
otbr  | + . script/_nat64
otbr  | ++ NAT64_SERVICE=openthread
otbr  | ++ TAYGA_DEFAULT=/etc/default/tayga
otbr  | ++ TAYGA_CONF=/etc/tayga.conf
otbr  | ++ TAYGA_IPV4_ADDR=192.168.255.1
otbr  | ++ TAYGA_IPV6_ADDR=fdaa:bb:1::1
otbr  | ++ TAYGA_TUN_V6_ADDR=fdaa:bb:1::2
otbr  | ++ NAT64_PREFIX=64:ff9b::/96
otbr  | ++ DYNAMIC_POOL=192.168.255.0/24
otbr  | ++ NAT44_SERVICE=/etc/init.d/otbr-nat44
otbr  | ++ WLAN_IFNAMES=eth0
otbr  | ++ THREAD_IF=wpan0
otbr  | + . script/_dns64
otbr  | ++ BIND_CONF_OPTIONS=/etc/bind/named.conf.options
otbr  | ++ NAT64_PREFIX=64:ff9b::/96
otbr  | ++ DNS64_NAMESERVER_ADDR=127.0.0.1
otbr  | +++ echo 64:ff9b::/96
otbr  | +++ tr '"/"' '"/"'
otbr  | ++ DNS64_CONF='dns64 64:ff9b::/96 { clients { thread; }; recursive-only yes; };'
otbr  | ++ without NAT64
otbr  | ++ with NAT64
otbr  | ++ local value
otbr  | +++ printenv NAT64
otbr  | ++ value=1
otbr  | ++ [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ without DNS64
otbr  | ++ with DNS64
otbr  | ++ local value
otbr  | +++ printenv DNS64
otbr  | ++ value=0
otbr  | ++ [[ -z 0 ]]
otbr  | ++ [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | ++ '[' ubuntu = raspbian ']'
otbr  | ++ '[' ubuntu = beagleboneblack ']'
otbr  | ++ '[' ubuntu = ubuntu ']'
otbr  | ++ RESOLV_CONF_HEAD=/etc/resolvconf/resolv.conf.d/head
otbr  | + . script/_firewall
otbr  | ++ FIREWALL_SERVICE=/etc/init.d/otbr-firewall
otbr  | ++ sudo modprobe ip6table_filter
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  | sudo: modprobe: command not found
otbr  | ++ true
otbr  | ++ FIREWALL=1
otbr  | + OTBR_MDNS=mDNSResponder
otbr  | + OT_BACKBONE_CI=0
otbr  | + REFERENCE_DEVICE=0
otbr  | + main
otbr  | + [[ '' == \s\h\u\t\d\o\w\n ]]
otbr  | + startup
otbr  | + . /dev/null
otbr  | + sudo sysctl --system
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-console-messages.conf ...
otbr  | kernel.printk = 4 4 1 7
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-ipv6-privacy.conf ...
otbr  | net.ipv6.conf.all.use_tempaddr = 2
otbr  | net.ipv6.conf.default.use_tempaddr = 2
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-kernel-hardening.conf ...
otbr  | kernel.kptr_restrict = 1
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-link-restrictions.conf ...
otbr  | fs.protected_hardlinks = 1
otbr  | fs.protected_symlinks = 1
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-magic-sysrq.conf ...
otbr  | kernel.sysrq = 176
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-network-security.conf ...
otbr  | net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter = 1
otbr  | net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter = 1
otbr  | net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies = 1
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-ptrace.conf ...
otbr  | kernel.yama.ptrace_scope = 1
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/10-zeropage.conf ...
otbr  | vm.mmap_min_addr = 65536
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/60-otbr-accept-ra.conf ...
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.d/60-otbr-ip-forward.conf ...
otbr  | net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding = 1
otbr  | net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
otbr  | * Applying /etc/sysctl.conf ...
otbr  | + nat64_start
otbr  | + with NAT64
otbr  | + local value
otbr  | ++ printenv NAT64
otbr  | + value=1
otbr  | + [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + '[' openthread = tayga ']'
otbr  | + nat44_start
otbr  | + with DOCKER
otbr  | + local value
otbr  | ++ printenv DOCKER
otbr  | + value=1
otbr  | + [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + service otbr-nat44 start
otbr  | + dns64_start
otbr  | + with NAT64
otbr  | + local value
otbr  | ++ printenv NAT64
otbr  | + value=1
otbr  | + [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + with DNS64
otbr  | + local value
otbr  | ++ printenv DNS64
otbr  | + value=0
otbr  | + [[ -z 0 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + return 0
otbr  | + firewall_start
otbr  | + with FIREWALL
otbr  | + local value
otbr  | ++ printenv FIREWALL
otbr  | + value=1
otbr  | + [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + with DOCKER
otbr  | + local value
otbr  | ++ printenv DOCKER
otbr  | + value=1
otbr  | + [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + service otbr-firewall start
otbr  | + case "$1" in
otbr  | + firewall_start
otbr  | + firewall_stop
otbr  | + ip6tables -C FORWARD -o wpan0 -j OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS
otbr  | ip6tables v1.6.1: Couldn't load target `OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS':No such file or directory
otbr  | 
otbr  | Try `ip6tables -h' or 'ip6tables --help' for more information.
otbr  | + ip6tables -L OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS
otbr  | ip6tables: No chain/target/match by that name.
otbr  | + ipset_destroy_if_exist otbr-ingress-deny-src
otbr  | + ipset list otbr-ingress-deny-src
otbr  | ipset v6.34: Kernel support protocol versions 6-7 while userspace supports protocol versions 6-6
otbr  | The set with the given name does not exist
otbr  | + ipset_destroy_if_exist otbr-ingress-deny-src-swap
otbr  | + ipset list otbr-ingress-deny-src-swap
otbr  | ipset v6.34: Kernel support protocol versions 6-7 while userspace supports protocol versions 6-6
otbr  | The set with the given name does not exist
otbr  | + ipset_destroy_if_exist otbr-ingress-allow-dst
otbr  | + ipset list otbr-ingress-allow-dst
otbr  | ipset v6.34: Kernel support protocol versions 6-7 while userspace supports protocol versions 6-6
otbr  | The set with the given name does not exist
otbr  | + ipset_destroy_if_exist otbr-ingress-allow-dst-swap
otbr  | + ipset list otbr-ingress-allow-dst-swap
otbr  | ipset v6.34: Kernel support protocol versions 6-7 while userspace supports protocol versions 6-6
otbr  | The set with the given name does not exist
otbr  | + ipset create -exist otbr-ingress-deny-src hash:net family inet6
otbr  | + ipset create -exist otbr-ingress-deny-src-swap hash:net family inet6
otbr  | + ipset create -exist otbr-ingress-allow-dst hash:net family inet6
otbr  | + ipset create -exist otbr-ingress-allow-dst-swap hash:net family inet6
otbr  | + ip6tables -N OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS
otbr  | + ip6tables -I FORWARD 1 -o wpan0 -j OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS
otbr  | + ip6tables -A OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS -m pkttype --pkt-type unicast -i wpan0 -j DROP
otbr  | + ip6tables -A OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS -m set --match-set otbr-ingress-deny-src src -j DROP
otbr  | + ip6tables -A OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS -m set --match-set otbr-ingress-allow-dst dst -j ACCEPT
otbr  | + ip6tables -A OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS -m pkttype --pkt-type unicast -j DROP
otbr  | + ip6tables -A OTBR_FORWARD_INGRESS -j ACCEPT
otbr  | + start_service rsyslog
otbr  | + local service_name=rsyslog
otbr  | + [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + sudo service rsyslog status
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * rsyslogd is not running
otbr  | + sudo service rsyslog start
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * Starting enhanced syslogd rsyslogd
otbr  |    ...done.
otbr  | + start_service dbus
otbr  | + local service_name=dbus
otbr  | + [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + sudo service dbus status
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * dbus is not running
otbr  | + sudo service dbus start
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * Starting system message bus dbus
otbr  |    ...done.
otbr  | + [[ mDNSResponder == \a\v\a\h\i ]]
otbr  | + [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + have service
otbr  | + command -v service
otbr  | + sudo service mdns status
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  | Usage: /etc/init.d/mDNS {start|stop|reload|restart}
otbr  | + sudo service mdns start
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  | Starting Apple Darwin Multicast DNS / DNS Service Discovery daemon: mdnsd.
otbr  | + without WEB_GUI
otbr  | + with WEB_GUI
otbr  | + local value
otbr  | ++ printenv WEB_GUI
otbr  | + value=1
otbr  | + [[ -z 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + start_service otbr-web
otbr  | + local service_name=otbr-web
otbr  | + [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + sudo service otbr-web status
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * otbr-web is not running
otbr  | + sudo service otbr-web start
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * Starting thread web interface otbr-web
otbr  |    ...done.
otbr  | + start_service otbr-agent
otbr  | + local service_name=otbr-agent
otbr  | + [[ 0 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + [[ 1 == 1 ]]
otbr  | + sudo service otbr-agent status
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * otbr-agent is not running
otbr  | + sudo service otbr-agent start
otbr  | sudo: unable to resolve host otbr: Resource temporarily unavailable
otbr  |  * Starting thread border agent otbr-agent
otbr  |    ...done.
otbr  | + . /dev/null
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr mDNSResponder: Default: mDNSResponder (Engineering Build) (Mar 21 2025 16:56:40) starting
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-web[137]: [INFO]-WEB-----: Running 0.3.0-d45b444
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-web[137]: [INFO]-WEB-----: Border router web started on wpan0
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-web[137]: [ERR ]-WEB-----: OpenThread daemon is not running.
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent: [NOTE]-AGENT---: Backbone interface: eth0
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: [NOTE]-AGENT---: Running 0.3.0-d45b444
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: [NOTE]-AGENT---: Thread version: 1.4.0
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: [NOTE]-AGENT---: Thread interface: wpan0
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: [NOTE]-AGENT---: Radio URL: spinel+hdlc+uart:///dev/ttyUSB0
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: [NOTE]-ILS-----: Infra link selected: eth0
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: [INFO]-RCP_HOS-: OpenThread log level changed to 5
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:48.088 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Sent spinel frame, flg:0x2, iid:0, tid:0, cmd:RESET
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:32 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:48.088 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Waiting response: key=0
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:33 otbr rsyslogd: rsyslogd's groupid changed to 101
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:33 otbr rsyslogd: rsyslogd's userid changed to 101
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:33 otbr rsyslogd:  [origin software="rsyslogd" swVersion="8.32.0" x-pid="87" x-info="http://www.rsyslog.com"] start
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:34 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:50.090 [W] P-SpinelDrive-: Wait for response timeout
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:34 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:50.090 [I] P-SpinelDrive-: co-processor self reset successfully
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:34 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:50.090 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Sent spinel frame, flg:0x2, iid:0, tid:1, cmd:PROP_VALUE_GET, key:PROTOCOL_VERSION
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:34 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:50.091 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Waiting response: key=1
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:36 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:52.092 [W] P-SpinelDrive-: Wait for response timeout
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:36 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:52.092 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Sent spinel frame, flg:0x2, iid:0, tid:1, cmd:PROP_VALUE_GET, key:PROTOCOL_VERSION
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:36 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:52.092 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Waiting response: key=1
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:38 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:54.094 [W] P-SpinelDrive-: Wait for response timeout
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:38 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:54.094 [C] Platform------: Init() at spinel_driver.cpp:83: Failure
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:38 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:54.094 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Sent spinel frame, flg:0x2, iid:0, tid:1, cmd:PROP_VALUE_GET, key:PROTOCOL_VERSION
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:38 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:54.094 [D] P-SpinelDrive-: Waiting response: key=1
otbr  | Mar 23 05:20:40 otbr otbr-agent[152]: 49d.17:08:56.096 [W] P-SpinelDrive-: Wait for response timeout
otbr  | Mar 23 05:21:43 otbr kernel: [  431.584848] audit: type=1400 audit(1742707303.495:126): apparmor="DENIED" operation="capable" class="cap" profile="/snap/snapd/23771/usr/lib/snapd/snap-confine" pid=6389 comm="snap-confine" capability=12  capname="net_admin"
4

Ah, snap. Canā€™t help with that.

5

Hang on. Iā€™ve never used docker, but Iā€™m pretty sure you canā€™t use both /dev/serial/by-id and /dev/ttyUSB0 in the same line as a single string.

Itā€™s either one or the other, so try removing one of them from:

devices:
      - "/dev/serial/by-id/usb-Nabu_Casa_Home_Assistant_Connect_ZBT-1_a6c7b1cd7e39ef11ba5b59f454516304-if00-port0:/dev/ttyUSB0"
6

The mapping is correct, for docker you separate the ā€œrealā€ device to the left of the colon and the docker device to the right of the colon so /dev/ttyUSB0 is a virtual mapping that only exist in the container.

However youā€™re still getting the same spinel_driver failure you posted in your other thread. Looking at your log, note how the Radio URL is different than whatā€™s in your compose (the baud rate is missing) so that could be why the spinel driver is failing.

Edited to add: judging by this post, it appears the baud rate should be set to 460800, and you also need to specify uart-flow-control for the zbt-1.

1 Like