Sonoff ZBMicro and SNZB-01P with Home Assistant Nabu Casa Skyconnect v1.0

Configuration Zigbee
1

I just bought two Sonoff ZBMicro USB adaptors, primarily to improve the coverage and reliability of my HA Zigbee network, and 4 x SNZB-01P press buttons to get round Google Home’s increasingly erratic voice recognition of commands.

I expected them, once I put them in pairing mode (led flashing happily), to be found by ZHA over the Nabu Casa Skyconnect v1.0, which connects fine to various other Zigbee devices. At 2m range.

I did Add Device. It said searching…

The ZBMicros it never acknowledged, and one SNZB-01P it briefly showed as “Starting negotiation” (or similar, showing what I assumed was the mac address).

Was I too optimistic to expect

Screenshot 2025-06-25 183731
Screenshot 2025-06-25 183731832×435 29 KB

these would ‘just work’ locally without the Sonoff hub or the Sonoff app? They claim to be Zigbee v3.0, but so does the Skyconnect? Maybe Skyconnect needs a firmware upgrade?

Any opinions or suggestions very welcome!

Thanks!

SkyConnect v1.0by Nabu Casa
Connected via [Nabu Casa SkyConnect v1.0]
Firmware: 7.4.4.1 build 0
Zigbee info
IEEE: 04:87:27:ff:fe:1e:ae:7b
Nwk: 0x0000
Device Type: Coordinator
LQI: 255
RSSI: Unknown
Last seen: 2025-06-25T15:04:41
Power source: Mains

2

Claude said - 2m is too far for reliable pairing, try a few centimetres.
So I did, and it worked!
Wow!

The “2m range” expectation was reasonable for normal operation, but the initial pairing handshake is much more finicky. Many people discover this the hard way! Some Zigbee devices are more forgiving than others during pairing, but Sonoff devices do seem to prefer very close proximity for that initial connection.

This happens because:

  • The pairing/joining process requires more robust communication than normal operation
  • Devices often use lower power during pairing mode
  • The security handshake needs reliable packet exchange
3

You don’t have to do the initial pairing through the coordinator - if there’s another router nearby you can use that. Once the new device is on the network it will find the best signal and adjust.