Zigbee Controller outside HA

mombro · February 11, 2024, 8:51pm

Hi guys,

I’ve been working on my zigbee network for about 3-4 months now, to no avail. Nothing I have done so far has brought me closer to a working zigbee network. I have literally tried everything with my raspberry pi and HA now. My odyssey is well documented in this forum already.

I need to troubleshoot somewhere else and want to tackle the raspberry pi and the HAOS installation. Maybe that’s the issue.

So my question for this topic is: is there a way to have another device that only does the zigbee network, and exposes all entities to another HA installation - my current one? Like hosting an sql server on a different device than your Web server.

Your answers are Highly appreciated!

jerrm · February 12, 2024, 1:33am

zigbee2mqtt?

francisp · February 12, 2024, 5:32am

I agree with jermm, a Pi Zero 2 with Zigbee2MQTT and Mosquitto installed can be placed central in the home.

povlhp · February 12, 2024, 7:00am

It is uite nomal to move Zigbee2mqtt and Mosquitto outside of HAOS. Then these 2 things will run independently, and not be impacted by HA upgrades and restarts.
Many people installs Node Red outside HA as well, and creates light automation there. Then ligth is fully independent of HA

mombro · February 12, 2024, 7:09am

So I add the devices to z2m and have HA read the MQTT on the Pi zero?

francisp · February 12, 2024, 7:17am

Correct.

aceindy · February 12, 2024, 7:51am

Basically, add-ons are just dockers.
And every docker can be run independently from HA (iow, outside HA)

mombro · February 12, 2024, 8:23pm

Hm, ok, so I have a pi with Z2M. How do I get the entities into HA? I’m really sorry for the stupid question, but I couldn’t find a matching info on the Internet for my use case

fleskefjes · February 12, 2024, 8:27pm

You configure Z2M to talk to your MQTT broker which again talks to HA. Configuration | Zigbee2MQTT

mombro · February 12, 2024, 8:31pm

I have installed mosquito addon and mqtt integration on the HA pi. Is that correct? Do I need to listen to some topic in mqtt or mosquito?

fleskefjes · February 12, 2024, 8:34pm

It’s explained in the docs. MQTT | Zigbee2MQTT

In your case you would point z2m to talk to your external broker (mqtt://youripaddress:1883)

mombro · February 12, 2024, 8:38pm

The mosquito logs say that there’s a connection from 192.168.1.104, which is my z2m pi. But still no devices showing up

fleskefjes · February 12, 2024, 8:39pm

show your config.

mombro · February 12, 2024, 8:41pm

Ok!

fleskefjes · February 12, 2024, 8:42pm

zigbee2mqtt config? please use preformatted text (button in editor), not pictures.

mombro · February 12, 2024, 8:45pm

I’m on the phone, so don’t know how to do that from here. I’ll have to do that someday else I’m so sorry. This is stressing me out so much 🫨

k8gg · February 13, 2024, 12:03am

Don’t be stressed. We are getting there. First of all, your Mosquitto broker does not require login, and then your mqtt log is saying all the connection attempts are not authorized.

So, is your DVES_C6B63C the z2m pi @ 192.168.1.104? I would recommend you focus on getting your z2m pi to talk to your mqtt broker.
What else do you have in that z2m pi metal box?

… which is why fleskefjes is asking for your z2m config, which I believe you can get here:

While you are in z2m, it is also a good idea to check what the log say. You might want to provide the logs.

Again, you are getting closer.

francisp · February 13, 2024, 5:08am

if you have a recent mosquitto (>= 2.0) anonymous access is disabled by default.

mombro · February 26, 2024, 8:50pm

Ok, I’m in for proper debugging now.

the MQTT integration looks like this:

I have a password and a username set here.

Mosquitto looks like this:

logins: []
require_certificate: false
certfile: fullchain.pem
keyfile: privkey.pem
customize:
  active: false
  folder: mosquitto

I did not change anything regarding ports:

I now have a new Raspberry Pi 3 setup with IP 192.168.1.105, and a brand-new " SONOFF Zigbee Gateway, ZBDongle-E 3.0 USB Dongle Plus". This website (https://smarthomescene.com/blog/best-zigbee-dongles-for-home-assistant-2023/) said that the CC2652 chip would be good.

I have setup z2m on the pi without docker, because I’m a noob and I don’t understand docker. But Z2M is running and it’s in pairing mode (some of that config stuff came in by itself, the advanced and decive options):

# cat /opt/zigbee2mqtt/data/configuration.yaml
homeassistant: false
permit_join: true
mqtt:
  base_topic: zigbee2mqtt
  server: mqtt://192.168.1.100
  user: mqtt-user
  password: *****
serial:
  port: >-
    /dev/serial/by-id/usb-ITEAD_SONOFF_Zigbee_3.0_USB_Dongle_Plus_V2_20231122135024-if00
advanced:
  homeassistant_legacy_entity_attributes: false
  legacy_api: false
  legacy_availability_payload: false
device_options:
  legacy: false
devices:
  '0xa4c1389344582510':
    friendly_name: '0xa4c1389344582510'

As you can see, 1 device is already paired (one of the 9 identical power sockets I bought, “Silvercrest”/Lidl). It was paired immediately and with a breeze. I can see lots of MQTT/Zigbee packets flying in on the Z2M raspberry pi:

Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:29:48: Connecting to MQTT server at mqtt://192.168.1.100
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:29:49: Connected to MQTT server
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:29:49: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/bridge/state', payload '{"state":"online"}'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:29:50: Zigbee2MQTT started!
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:16: Device '0xa4c1389344582510' joined
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:16: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/bridge/event', payload '{"data":{"friendly_name":"0xa4c1389344582510","ieee_address":"0xa4c1389344582510"},"type":"device_joined"}'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:16: Starting interview of '0xa4c1389344582510'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:16: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/bridge/event', payload '{"data":{"friendly_name":"0xa4c1389344582510","ieee_address":"0xa4c1389344582510","status":"started"},"type":"device_interview"}'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:17: Successfully interviewed '0xa4c1389344582510', device has successfully been paired
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:17: Device '0xa4c1389344582510' is supported, identified as: Lidl Silvercrest smart plug with power monitoring (EU, FR) (HG08673)
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:17: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/bridge/event', payload '{"data":{"definition":{"description":"Silvercrest smart plug with power monitoring (EU, FR)","exposes":[{"features":[{"access":7,"description":"On/off state of the switch","label":"State","name":"state","property":"state","type":"binary","value_off":"OFF","value_on":"ON","value_toggle":"TOGGLE"}],"type":"switch"},{"access":7,"description":"Recover state after power outage","label":"Power outage memory","name":"power_outage_memory","property":"power_outage_memory","type":"enum","values":["on","off","restore"]},{"access":7,"description":"LED indicator mode","label":"Indicator mode","name":"indicator_mode","property":"indicator_mode","type":"enum","values":["off","off/on","on/off","on"]},{"access":1,"category":"diagnostic","description":"Instantaneous measured power","label":"Power","name":"power","property":"power","type":"numeric","unit":"W"},{"access":1,"category":"diagnostic","description":"Instantaneous measured electrical current","label":"Current","name":"current","property":"current","type":"numeric","unit":"A"},{"access":1,"category":"diagnostic","description":"Measured electrical potential value","label":"Voltage","name":"voltage","property":"voltage","type":"numeric","unit":"V"},{"access":1,"description":"Sum of consumed energy","label":"Energy","name":"energy","property":"energy","type":"numeric","unit":"kWh"},{"features":[{"access":3,"description":"Enables/disables physical input on the device","label":"State","name":"state","property":"child_lock","type":"binary","value_off":"UNLOCK","value_on":"LOCK"}],"label":"Child lock","type":"lock"},{"access":1,"category":"diagnostic","description":"Link quality (signal strength)","label":"Linkquality","name":"linkquality","property":"linkquality","type":"numeric","unit":"lqi","value_max":255,"value_min":0}],"model":"HG08673","options":[{"access":2,"description":"Only the energy value is polled for this device.","label":"Measurement poll interval","name":"measurement_poll_interval","property":"measurement_poll_interval","type":"numeric","value_min":-1},{"access":2,"description":"Calibrates the power value (percentual offset), takes into effect on next report of device.","label":"Power calibration","name":"power_calibration","property":"power_calibration","type":"numeric"},{"access":2,"description":"Number of digits after decimal point for power, takes into effect on next report of device. This option can only decrease the precision, not increase it.","label":"Power precision","name":"power_precision","property":"power_precision","type":"numeric","value_max":3,"value_min":0},{"access":2,"description":"Calibrates the current value (percentual offset), takes into effect on next report of device.","label":"Current calibration","name":"current_calibration","property":"current_calibration","type":"numeric"},{"access":2,"description":"Number of digits after decimal point for current, takes into effect on next report of device. This option can only decrease the precision, not increase it.","label":"Current precision","name":"current_precision","property":"current_precision","type":"numeric","value_max":3,"value_min":0},{"access":2,"description":"Calibrates the voltage value (percentual offset), takes into effect on next report of device.","label":"Voltage calibration","name":"voltage_calibration","property":"voltage_calibration","type":"numeric"},{"access":2,"description":"Number of digits after decimal point for voltage, takes into effect on next report of device. This option can only decrease the precision, not increase it.","label":"Voltage precision","name":"voltage_precision","property":"voltage_precision","type":"numeric","value_max":3,"value_min":0},{"access":2,"description":"Calibrates the energy value (percentual offset), takes into effect on next report of device.","label":"Energy calibration","name":"energy_calibration","property":"energy_calibration","type":"numeric"},{"access":2,"description":"Number of digits after decimal point for energy, takes into effect on next report of device. This option can only decrease the precision, not increase it.","label":"Energy precision","name":"energy_precision","property":"energy_precision","type":"numeric","value_max":3,"value_min":0},{"access":2,"description":"State actions will also be published as 'action' when true (default false).","label":"State action","name":"state_action","property":"state_action","type":"binary","value_off":false,"value_on":true}],"supports_ota":true,"vendor":"Lidl"},"friendly_name":"0xa4c1389344582510","ieee_address":"0xa4c1389344582510","status":"successful","supported":true},"type":"device_interview"}'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:17: Configuring '0xa4c1389344582510'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:18: Successfully configured '0xa4c1389344582510'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:22: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/0xa4c1389344582510', payload '{"linkquality":240,"voltage":234}'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:33:24: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/0xa4c1389344582510', payload '{"child_lock":"UNLOCK","indicator_mode":"off/on","linkquality":236,"power_outage_memory":"off","state":"OFF","voltage":234}'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:34:07: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/0xa4c1389344582510', payload '{"child_lock":"UNLOCK","current":0,"indicator_mode":"off/on","linkquality":236,"power":0,"power_outage_memory":"off","state":"OFF","voltage":233}'
Zigbee2MQTT:info  2024-02-26 21:34:07: MQTT publish: topic 'zigbee2mqtt/0xa4c1389344582510', payload '{"child_lock":"UNLOCK","current":0,"energy":0,"indicator_mode":"off/on","linkquality":236,"power":0,"power_outage_memory":"off","state":"OFF","voltage":233}'

Yet, nothing happens in Home Assistant: the MQTT integration remains empty.

If I’m listening to the topic from the Z2M logs, I receive all of the messages in HA that Z2M is sending:

So, I’m kinda lost again why the integration remains empty. Any idea(s)?

k8gg · February 27, 2024, 3:40am

I think you are close. I am not 100% sure but noticed a couple of things:

Do you want to change this to 192.168.1.100 also?
This looks like 6 digits:

…but then the password here looks like 5 digits
Also see above, is there a specific reason why you don’t specify port 1883 after server: mqtt://192.168.1.100?
For the mosquitto config, is there a reason why you don’t specify username and password?

For the purpose of debugging, you might want to use the mqtt explorer add-on on the Home Assistant, which is 192.168.1.100 and supposedly your mqtt broker.