Here is by the way a few good video guides showing how very easy it is these days to start from scratch with setting up and begin using Home Assistant’s built-in ZHA integration as a Zigbee gateway solution:
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Also check out this showing a scratch setup by a complete new beginner who never used Home Assistant:
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Watching these can remove the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) symdrome from beginners
I think the biggest hurdle for most new users is that they do not know how easy it is to setup ZHA today.
Therefore this step-by-step purchase recommendation might help nudge new users to take the plunge.
What to buy and do if you would like avoid some common pitfalls when starting from scratch:
- Buy a Zigbee Coordinator USB radio dongle that is well supported by the community, like either:
1a): Get the EFR32MG21-based official Home Assistant SkyConnect USB radio dongle/stick (which was later renamed to “Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1” by Nabu Casa) if you are sure that you will only use Home Assistant’s built-in native ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation) integration, but if you do make sure to first update to the latest EmberZNet (NCP) firmware using the official Web-Flasher on a different computer before getting started with it, that will make it into a dedicated Zigbee Coordinator and disable the multi-PAN/multiprotocol support that is not longer recommended. The downsides to Silicon Labs based radios are not recommended for Zigbee2MQTT and as the SkyConnect model does not have an external antenna it is extra important to start adding enough Zigbee Router devices as Zigbee repeaters/extenders (especially before adding any battery-powered devices). The upsides is that it is very easy to update firmware on it from Home Assistant, and even easy migrate to a different Zigbee Coordinator adapter using the ZHA integration if you ever want to repurpose this SkyConnect dongle hardware for Matter by reflashing it into a dedicated Thread radio adapter using OpenThread firmware instead.
1b): Alternatively, you could instead get the CC2652P-based “Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus (which was later renamed to “ZBDongle-P” by ITead), and flash latest Z-Stack 3.x.0 community firmware on it using ZigStar Multi Tool on a different computer before getting started with it. The reason for that is that with a CC2652P-based Zigbee Coordinator you can begin by using Home Assistant’s built-in native ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation) integration but it still leaves you with the option to later reuse that same CC2652-based Zigbee Coordinator adapter if you even want to move from Home Assistant’s built-in native ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation) integration to to the stand-alone Zigbee2MQTT (a.k.a. Z2M) Zigbee gateway application (which acts like an external third-party hub/bridge, but while it is known for great Zigbee device compatibility it targeting advanced users that need to tweak more low-level Zigbee attributes). Another bonus with this “ZBDongle-P” dongle is the external antenna which makes it get better reception, (not having an external antenna should only be a problem if you have not add enough Zigbee Router devices as Zigbee repeaters/extenders).
1c): Another alternative to a USB radio dongle that is not recommended can be to instead get a network-attached Zigbee Coordinator Ethernet radio adapter (which connects using TCP/IP over a wired LAN), but using one of those instead of a USB radio dongle increases the complexity of the setup and makes it more complicated to troubleshoot issues + means you need to replace the whole network-attached Zigbee Coordinator adapter if you ever want to upgrade. Personally I suggest that new users should avoid getting a network-attached Zigbee Coordinator adapter. - Since you want to place your Zigbee Coordinator USB radio dongle at least 0.5-meter/2-feet away from the computer running Home Assistant or even longer to avoid it causing EMI interference with the Zigbee Coordinator I recommend buying a long shielded USB extension cable and always use it when connecting the Zigbee Coordinator USB radio dongle to the computer running Home Assistant.
2a): SkyConnect dongle does ships with a 0.5-meter/2-feet but that is really be minimum. Better if you buy an even longer shielded USB extension cable than that. This cable should preferably be well shielded, and easiest for the next step below is if it is a USB 2.0 extension cable, (however most USB 3.0 extension cable are usually better shielded but then you need to make sure following the next step below about only connecting to a USB 2.0 port or USB 2.0 hub).
2b): Alternatively, if you want to have the dongle in a different room even from the computer running Home Assistant I suggest buying a “USB Ethernet RJ45 Extender Adapter” converter-kit and and a single long CAT5e/CAT6 shielded Ethernet cable with RJ45 connectors as such a converter will allow you to convert any CAT5e/CAT6 Ethernet cable into a very long dumb USB extension cable (note that 30 meters or 100 feet is the recommended maximum length for USB 2.0 data traffic over such a passive cable). There are many inexpensive variants of such USB Extender Over RJ45 adapters available, see example this → https://www.amazon.com/Male-RJ45-Female-Extension-Adapter/dp/B083W3D65G - Connect the Zigbee Coordinator USB radio dongle you bought via the long shielded USB extension cable to a native USB 2.0 port on your computer/server. Do not connect it to a USB 3.0/4.0 port as those are infamously well known to generate serious EMI/RMI/EMF interference to all low-power 2.4GHz devices (including Zigbee, Thread. and Bluetooth).
3a): If your computer/server does not have a native USB 2.0 port then buy and connect a powered USB 2.0 hub (with an external-supply) and then connect the USB extension cable + Zigbee Coordinator USB radio dongle via that powered USB 2.0 hub, (note that is needs to be power USB 2.0 hub with external-supply and not a USB 3.x hub / USB 4.x hub or no external-supply). See example → https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Port-USB-Power-Adapter/dp/B00DQFGJR4/ - Place your Zigbee Coordinator radio adapter in a location where it is not too close to any known sources of EMI/RMI/EMF interference. That includes all types of electronics and appliances or cables/wired with electricity. Seriously, all Zigbee radios are extremely sensitive to electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic fields, to the point of it being ridiculous sometimes.
4a): Preferably also place your Zigbee Coordinator radio adapter so that it is not too close to a wall, ceiling, floor, etc. as just getting it 25-centimeter/10-inches away from any building surface will make it get better reception. - After you are done initial installation/configuration of Home Assistant’s built-in native ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation) integration, then start adding all mains-powered Zigbee Router devices, beginning with those that are closest to the Zigbee Coordinator. The best process is if you finish doing this 24-hours before start adding battery-powered Zigbee devices.
5a): If you do not have many mains-powered Zigbee Router devices or you do not want to start by moving such devices from their existing Zigbee network(s) then you need to consider buying a few dedicated mains-powered Zigbee Router devices to connect first. Regardless, be aware that adding a few “known good” dedicated mains-powered Zigbee Router devices to your Zigbee network will make it more stable and robust. See → Zigbee networks: how to guide for avoiding interference + optimizing using Zigbee Router devices (repeaters/extenders) to get best possible range and coverage - If you have problems pairing a device, do not move it closer to the Zigbee Coordinator USB radio adapter. Even though that approach is recommended by some manufacturers, the general best practice if that Zigbee devices should be paired in the location where it’s going to be used.
6a): If your paired/joined Zigbee device is not showing all expected entities (attributes) in the ZHA integration then first try re-pairing it a few times, it is likely that the device interview process was interupted for some reason, and some battery-powered devices might have to have their batteries replaced and/or manually be kept alive by activating a change state on the device (like for example triggering a motion sensor with motion).
6b): if your paired/joined Zigbee device still is not showing all expected entities (attributes) in the ZHA integration after being re-paired then chances are it will need custom ZHA Device Handlers (also known as “zha-quirk”) for that specific device. This is more common if it is a newly released or brand new device that no one added support for previously or an odd device with complex features that almost no one else have bought due to it being a niche product with a very small userbase. See → Zigbee Guide: How-to setup local custom device handler quirks in ZHA integration - When in doubt, keep adding more mains-powered Zigbee Router devices!
7a): Pro-tip is that you can easily convert inextensive Zigbee Coordinator USB radios adapter like the “Sonoff ZBDongle-P” and “Sonoff ZBDongle-E” models into very powerful “known good” dedicated mains-powered Zigbee Router devices by simply re-flashing them with Zigbee Router firmware and then powering them via USB-charger adapters to make the best permanent Zigbee repeaters/extenders that you can currently buy. The alternative is to just buy a few pre-made dedicated Zigbee Router products, like the “IKEA Tradfri Signal Repeater ” and/or the “Aeotec Range Extender Zi ” (which work very well out-of-the-box but are not as good as the above mentioned DIY solution).
Additional note: If you have any Zigbee lightbulbs/lights that are Zigbee Router devices (which most are) then you need to make sure that the power for those are not connected via a dumb switch (like an easily accessible wall-switch) that people that flick ON and OFF. Zigbee Router devices are meant to bve always connected and always powered, and if they constantly become unavailable (unnessesary) on a regular basis then that will mess up your Zigbee network mesh paths as devices will need to keep finding alternative routes/paths in your Zigbee network mesh. And understand that while it might alleviate the situation a little by adding a few “known good” dedicated Zigbee Router devices in strategic locations it is not a permanent alternative to leaving your Zigbee lightbulbs/lights connected to dumb switches if they are Zigbee Router devices.
If you do that then getting started should be more or less plug-and-play as avoided most common pitfalls.
PS: Again, highly recommend you also read and do your best to follow all the best practice tips here → Zigbee networks: how to guide for avoiding interference + optimizing using Zigbee Router devices (repeaters/extenders) to get best possible range and coverage