ITead's "Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus" (model "ZBDongle-P") based on Texas Instruments CC2652P radio SoC/MCU

I recently upgraded from a CC2531 to thie sonoff dongle and all was working well.

After about a week the batteries died in my ikea E1743 switches. I replaced the batteries but the switches didnt reconnect.

I tried resetting the switches, put them in pair mode and enabled permit join but when checking the logs in debug there is no messages being received.

When trying to pair one of the switches it then took control of one of my LIDL HG06492C bulbs which now can no longer be controlled by Z2M.

I have tried putting the bulb into pair mode and enabled permit join and again there is nothing appearing in the logs.

I’m running Z2M 1.22.2 and the coordinator is on 20211217.

has anyone got any ideas please?

There are known Zigbee2MQTT issues when migrated from CC2531/CC2530 to any CC2652/CC1352 where one solution has been to backup, reset NVRAM, then restore from backup. See discussion here:

https://github.com/Koenkk/zigbee2mqtt/issues/9117

1 Like

Thanks Hedda, i started a thread there and Koenkk linked me to that thread too.

Seems my searching skills work as well as my zigbee pairing :smiley:

$20 including shipping to east coast.

It was. $60 with shipping on itead website.

Tip! Check out CC2652P based ITead Sonoff ZBMINI-L which I hope is also a Zigbee Router device(?)

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/sonoff-zbmini-l-zigbee-3-0-smart-switch-by-itead-works-without-neutral-wire-and-based-on-cc2652p-so-should-be-a-good-zigbee-router/384644/

Update! Seen many reporting that Sonoff ZBMINI-L does not have Zigbee Router config in firmware.

But, new Sonoff S26R2ZB is also based on CC2652 so might maybe it works as a good Zigbee Router?

https://itead.cc/product/sonoff-s26r2zb-zigbee-smart-plug-uk-de-fr/

https://sonoff.tech/product/smart-plug/s26r2zb/

2 Likes

Hi, I recently bought in amazon a 2-pack of sonoff zigbee dongle plus.

I’m trying to boot in bootloader pressing the boot butom before connect it to usb port, waiting 10 sec until release, but it’s doenst work. Windows detect the dongle as zigbee usb, not as com port.

Seems to be that the board is version v1.4 and actuals methods for enter to bootloader are not valid. I also have tried python scripts but it not detect any com port available.

Anyone knows how to flash this dongle to can use it with zigbee2mqtt?

Thanks!

1 Like

Sounds like you don’t have the driver installed. See if this vid helps you out HOW TO - Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 Dongle Plus in Home Assistant (Flash, Update, Zigbeemqtt & MQTT Broker) - YouTube

1 Like

As billyjoebob999 mentions, it does sound as if you have not installed Silabs CP210x device drivers.

Try follow my instructions here on how to flash it with the latest cc2538-bsl without pressing BTL button:

https://github.com/JelmerT/cc2538-bsl/pull/114

For ITead SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus: For the CC2652P based “SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus” (model “ZBDongle-P”) adapter from ITead you need to invoke toggle to activate bootloader with --bootloader-sonoff-usb if you do not want to open its enclosure to manually start the bootloader with the boot button on the PCB.

Broken down steps taken to flash firmware already mentioned in Add Itead Sonoff CC2652P usb stick bootloader invoke toggle by JelmerT · Pull Request #114 · JelmerT/cc2538-bsl · GitHub and Automatically start BSL mode on Itead Sonoff USB stick · Issue #113 · JelmerT/cc2538-bsl · GitHub into a step-by-step guide for flashing Sonoff Plus dongle:

  1. Installed Silabs CP210x device drivers for Windows (for CP2102N USB-to-UART bridge / USB-to-Serial converter board uses).
  2. Installed Python for Windows (Python 3.10.1) then the dependecies (“pip>=10”, “setuptools”, “wheel”, “pyserial”, “intelhex”,).
  3. Downloaded and installed zigpy-znp via pip then performed NVRAM backup by following instauctions in TOOLS.md (also find more details ZNP radio backup procedure at Coordinator Backup and Migration · zigpy/zigpy Wiki · GitHub for Windows backup command should be something like python.exe-m zigpy_znp.tools.network_backup COM5 -o network.json)
  4. Downloaded cc2538-bsl master branch from GitHub https://github.com/JelmerT/cc2538-bsl/archive/refs/heads/master.zip (Note that there is no new release packlage yet with this patch so need to download from GitHub master branch and not pip package from PyPI)
  5. Got latest firmware (I tested latest “CC1352P2_CC2652P_launchpad_*.zip” image available from the master branch at this time. Alternatively, you could get the latest “beta” version from the develop branch).
  6. Stop any applications or services that might be connected to the Zigbee adapter via serial port (ex. Home Assistant’s ZHA integration, Zigbee2MQTT, ioBroker, Jeedom, etc.). In my case, I ran the update on another computer so nothing to stop there.
  7. Ran command from command-promt (cmd.exe) as Administrator, example with firmware release available at this time: python.exe cc2538-bsl.py -p COM5 -evw --bootloader-sonoff-usb CC1352P2_CC2652P_launchpad_coordinator_20211217.hex

Obviously need to replace number in COM5 with the port # actually shown used under ports in Device Manager on Windows.

Also, if using Linux or Mac OS instead of Microsoft Windows then the COM# serial path will be different and not use python.exe

@MarkWattTech didn’t show BSL method for cc2538-bsl but mentions he will do so in a future video.

Is anyone successfully using the Sonoff 3.0 to control a Lutron Aurora dimmer with ZHA?

Otherwise I did a full reinstall of ZHA.and re-pairing of my devices and I’m very impressed with the Sonoff. Coming from a 2531 this has MUCH snappier response times and a better mesh. No issues outside the Aurora dimmer. I’d rather not migrate a 3rd time Z2MQTT.

No but wondering if that is another ZGP (Zigbee Green Power) kinetic switch based on either older EnOcean PTM 215ZE or newer PTM 216Z module? As ZGP is not yet supported by ZHA/zigpy, see:

https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/issues/341

and

https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/pull/656

I think all or at least most “Friends of Hue” partnership switches are based on EnOcean ZGP modules.

That includes but are not exclusive to “Friends of Hue” rocker wall stype switches from; ABB (Sweden), Illumra (USA), Kichler (USA), MAKRIS by Imoon (Italy), Vimar (Italy), Busch-Jaeger (Germany), Senic (Germany), Niko (Belgium), Sunricher (Hong Kong), Koizumi (Japan), Legrand (France), and John Lewis (UK).

Again, the issue with those is that the zigpy library which ZHA depends on does not yet support ZGP.

https://csa-iot.org/all-solutions/green-power/

PS: Believe the reason is Zigbee Green Power specification is not very similar to other Zigbee specs(?), as while Zigbee Green Power (ZGP) V2 is included as a subset in the Zigbee 3.0 specification (Z3), it is based on V1 Green Power energy-harvesting technology that was a subset of the Zigbee PRO standard, which I think in turn is an implementation of EnOcean’s Energy Harvesting technology for its Dolphin brand (i.e.it is really Zigbee Green Power is really a “EnOcean Zigbee” derivative implementation):

https://www.enocean.com/en/technology/energy-harvesting/

https://www.enocean.com/en/enocean_pressrelease/enocean-launches-dolphin-brand-for-its-energy-harvesting-wireless-modules/

I have a Lutron Aurora in ZHA, not with a Sonoff dongle but rather a Tasmota ZBBridge. So not sure if this will help you or not, but a data point for comparison.

The ZHA zigbee network is stable with about 20 devices.

With the Aurora joined directly to the coordinator, I found that the on/off presses were received into Home Assistant at best 10% of the time. However, the rotation messages seemed to come through near 100% of the time. Strange… not to useful a configuration to control a kitchen overhead lighting however. So I removed the Aurora from ZHA and joined it to my Hue hub. When I connected the Aurora in Hue hub to a Hue lightbulb, both the on/off and dimming functions appeared to work 100% of time. Unfortunately, the Home Assistant Hue integration does not pass the dimming events through to Home Assistant, only the on/off events.

I have setup a zigbee2mqtt docker and I am going to move the Aurora once again, this time from Hue to the zigbee2mqtt. Will see what I get in this config. The coordinator is a USB attached Tube ZB with the CC2652, so again not your desired config, but I will give you a report here when I try this config. Hope you get it to work, the Aurora looks to a useful switch for those stuck in a no neutral wire world…

2 Likes

Regardless, please understand that problem with the Lutron Aurora dimmer switch (and other “Friends of Hue” switches is a current limitation in ZHA and not a limitation of ITead’s Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus adapter (nor a limitation of other ZHA compatible Zigbee adapters or their firmware for that matter) so suggest that you guys start a separate new forum thread about it in the ZHA section for specific discussion about that here → https://community.home-assistant.io/c/configuration/zha/48

1 Like

Has anyone used other devices as extenders with Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus?
For example, IKEA offers a “signal repeater” (TRÅDFRI, Signal repeater - IKEA) but before I buy now or two I’d like to know what will work best for an extender.
I’m aware that we can use Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus with router firmware, but IKEA’s repeater is cheaper.

Or, if you’re planning to use zigbee bulbs, most are routers.

For now only buttons and motion sensors. All other things are using WiFi.
I hadn’t found a button with Wi-Fi that is fast and has long running batteries. Sonoff Zigbee Dongle is quite cheap so this is a good alternative.

The Sonoff S31 Lite Zigbee smart plug makes a good router also.

Most mains powered devices should act a router. Smart plugs fill the role here.

I can’t speak personally about the Tradfri repeater, but I’ve seen reports it has a stronger signal than the Tradfri smart plug, but they both work as a router.

Aqara end devices reportedly seem the most problematic about not liking certain routers, but that seems to be more an issue with the Aqara devices than the with routers. Aqara seems happy with the Tradfri line by all reports.

If you’re going with Sonoff for sensors, I haven’t noticed any negative comments with regard to Sonoff S31 Lite as a router.