Zigbee2MQTT not starting - Failed to start EZSP layer with status=HOST_FATAL_ERROR

Configuration Zigbee
1

Hi folks! I have a Sonoff Dongle-E that I’m trying to setup with my HA (running on RPi5) but I got no success so far. I’ve read a lot of discussions on this forum, on Reddit and on Youtube but I couldn’t figure out what is the issue.

After first attempts, I flashed the firmware ncp-uart-hw-v7.4.5.0-zbdonglee-115200.gbl, this is my current configuration file:

mqtt:
  base_topic: zigbee2mqtt
  server: mqtt://core-mosquitto:1883
  user: mqtt_user
  password: mqtt_password
serial:
  port: >-
    /dev/serial/by-id/usb-Itead_Sonoff_Zigbee_3.0_USB_Dongle_Plus_V2_4e9d94f042fded1190170a65024206e6-if00-port0
  adapter: ember
  baudrate: 115200
  rtscts: false

And the error is the following:

[10:44:53] INFO: Preparing to start...
[10:44:53] INFO: Socat not enabled
[10:44:53] INFO: Starting Zigbee2MQTT...
Starting Zigbee2MQTT without watchdog.
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	z2m: Logging to console, file (filename: log.log)
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	z2m: Starting Zigbee2MQTT version 2.0.0 (commit #unknown)
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	z2m: Starting zigbee-herdsman (3.2.1)
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	zh:ember: Using default stack config.
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	zh:ember: ======== Ember Adapter Starting ========
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	zh:ember:ezsp: ======== EZSP starting ========
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH Adapter reset ========
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: RTS/CTS config is off, enabling software flow control.
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Serial port opened
[2025-01-13 10:44:55] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH starting ========
[2025-01-13 10:44:58] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH Adapter reset ========
[2025-01-13 10:44:58] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH starting ========
[2025-01-13 10:45:00] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH Adapter reset ========
[2025-01-13 10:45:00] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH starting ========
[2025-01-13 10:45:03] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH Adapter reset ========
[2025-01-13 10:45:03] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH starting ========
[2025-01-13 10:45:05] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH Adapter reset ========
[2025-01-13 10:45:05] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH starting ========
[2025-01-13 10:45:08] error: 	z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
[2025-01-13 10:45:08] error: 	z2m: Failed to start zigbee-herdsman
[2025-01-13 10:45:08] error: 	z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions
[2025-01-13 10:45:08] error: 	z2m: Exiting...
[2025-01-13 10:45:08] error: 	z2m: Error: Failed to start EZSP layer with status=HOST_FATAL_ERROR.
    at EmberAdapter.initEzsp (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/ember/adapter/emberAdapter.ts:670:19)
    at EmberAdapter.start (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/ember/adapter/emberAdapter.ts:1533:24)
    at Controller.start (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/controller/controller.ts:136:29)
    at Zigbee.start (/app/lib/zigbee.ts:69:27)
    at Controller.start (/app/lib/controller.ts:142:13)
    at start (/app/index.js:161:5)

I appreciate any help.

2

Welcome to the forum, Thiago :wave:t3:

THIS thread might help. Looks like the same issue you encounter.

3

It seems it’s solved! :white_check_mark:

I had a temporary success after changing the Sonoff Dongle to another USB port (a 3.0 port), then the next day I had to reboot the HA and it started having issues again. I tried to restart a few times, and one time I got the message below

z2m: Error: ERROR_WRONG_DIRECTION

Then I restarted it and I got the previous error, very weird. But after searching for this new message, I found another thread here saying that it might be related to ZHA being enabled and conflicting with the zigbee2mqtt (I don’t know why and how they work exactly). Anyway, I disabled the ZHA and it started working right away. I also did another reboot just to see the behaviour e it’s all good now.

Screenshot 2025-01-16 094323

2 Likes
4

OMG, I’ve spent a day because of this. Thanks!

5

The error messages literally point you to a troubleshooting page:

error: z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions

Searching for the HOST_FATAL_ERROR takes you to this section, where one of the steps is to ensure ZHA is not enabled.

I’m not posting the above to ridicule you - I’m doing it in order to educate you in case you get an error in Z2M (or any other piece of software) in the future.
Generally, the errors logs themselves contain the clues needed to fix your issues if you take the time to read them.