I have one Sky Connect USB-stick working with eight devices on ZHA, seven of the devices work fine, but one ELKO Super TR (RF PH) thermostat doesn’t work very well. It lacks configuration on what sensor to use, temperature to show, etc. So it shows the wrong temperature (room, not floor).
Seems I might have to use Z2M (MQTT) to get it working better. I can’t see any way to fix this on ZHA. Please help if that’s possible.
Seems the other easy option would be to buy another Sky Connect and use one on ZHA and the other on MQTT. Would that work? Could I use two ZigBee sticks simultaneously? I would rather not have to set up the other seven devices again if swithing to MQTT.
If two SkyConnect devices won’t work, could I buy for example an Aeotec Zi-Stick (Zigbee) and run that with ZigBee MQTT alongside Sky Connect on ZHA?
I think that is the better solution. 2 identical sticks can cause problems because it is difficult to distinguish between them. (They have the same /dev/serial/by-id/)
Either way, I should be able to use two ZigBee USB-sticks on the same install of Home Assistant, with one ZigBee on ZHA (the existing one right now) and one USB-stick on MQTT? If I understand correctly…
On my main HA box, I run two instances of z2m and ZHA concurrently. The “main” z2m instance is where 90% of my devices live. ZHA is currently mostly idle.
Dear @jerrm and others,
Another newbie here, Peter. Pi4B with Home Assistant.
Short question:
Would I be able to build automations with Zigbee devices connected to different Zigbee sticks and protocols? For example an Ikea bulb that lives in SkyConnect ZHA and turn it on using trigger by a motion sensor that lives in z2m on a Sonoff Dongle-E?
Longer explanation:
I currently have a SkyConnect using ZHA and I have some issues. I too am considering adding a second Zigbee stick (Sonoff Dongle-E) to start using z2m. The above posts teach me that I can run more than one Zigbee stick simultaneously. If I can get them to work alongside each other I could troubleshoot more easily.
@jerrm : also, since you shared with us that you use Dongle-P and Dongle-E on the same device: could you recommend either one to work with the following devices:
Aqara P1 motion sensor
Aqara temp/humidity sensor
Aubess smart plug 20A with energy measuring
third reality motion sensor
ikea light bulbs E14 / E27
Ikea smart plug (new version with AAA batteries)
Ikea Vallhorn motion sensor (new version with AAA batteries)
The issue I am having is that the Aqara’s lose connection often.
Inside HA, Yes. At the automation level it would be like any two random entities. I have zigbee buttons that control lutron caseta lights through HA automations, that could just as easily be a ZHA based zigbee button controlling z2m connected lights.
The thing you cannot do is use zogbee binding between devices on different networks.
ZBDongle-P would be preferred for z2m.
The only ones in the list I have direct experience with are the aqara temp sensors and third reality motion sensors. Both are rock solid under z2m with ZBDongle-P.
I have had less weirdness with the ZBDongle-P in general. Others report the opposite. My main net is z2m with ZBDongle-P and is rock solid witb aqara, hue, third reality, innovelli, sengled, a few tuya, etc devices…
Okay @jerrm I cannot thank you enough for your insights. Especially since you use both the Dongle-P and the Dongle-E so you have experience with both.
I do wonder: since you have a clear preference for the Dongle-P, what use do you have for the Dongle-E? Does it do something the Dongle-P is not capable of?
I must say I was torn between the -P and the -E. This article made by a zealous dutch YouTuber almost made me go for the Dongle-E, especially since he uses the same Aqara P1 motion sensors that I have in my setup. The -E is also newer technology. But you made me go for the -P now.
I’ve had both the E and P under ZHA. Ultimately settled on the E just for variety. Have since moved ZHA and the E to multiprotocol to test Thread. If/when I have a production Thread net, I would probably dump multiprotocol and have dedicated sticks.
For z2m the TI/zstack chip family is the “native” device. It is what the dev Koenkk uses, and Koenkk maintains the community firmware. My belief is the TI fmily will always be first among peers for z2m support.
A disadvantage for the E and other SILabs/EZSP sticks is that backup/restore is not currently supported in z2m, but that can be worked around using third party tools.
And as I said, I’ve had less wierdness (pairing issues, drops, etc) with the P under both ZHA and z2m, but admittedly, the serious testing was a while back and there have been multiple firmware updates since then.
I wouldn’t really consider the E newer tech. Yes it was released later, but I think that was largely due to supply line issues. The TI and SI Labs chips are pretty similar in specs, basically two competitors of the same generation.
