SkyConnect in ZHA & Zigbee2MQTT - HA OS and Docker

[@snerketryne]

Woah, not only did your tutorial actually help me setup a working integration between zigbee2mqtt and homeAssistant, I also understood everything throughout the entire process through your easy explanations. Thanks alot friend, subscribed!

[@BeardedTinker]

Glad I could help! Thank you for the comment!!!

[@billydesaintsa]

What a super detailed tutorial. Thanks a lot for your time on this.🙌 🤙👍
I was able to install the missing USB drivers on my DS220+ DSM 7.2.
My Sonoff USB 3.0 Zigbee Dongle was detected immediately by HA through ZHA integration.
One point to mention though, my USBdriver was identified as ttyACM0 therefore the docker compose added instructions to my HA portainer stack was :
- devices :
- /dev/ttyACM0:/dev/ttyACM0 (not /dev/ttyUSB0)
=> sounds obvious afterwards but initially not so

[@davidhotar3246]

Thank you for the video. I was trying to setup SkyConnect with Zigbee2MQTT with no success until you said, that you can't have both ZHA and MQTT :) Good job!

[@BeardedTinker]

There are BTW ways (and coordinators) that can work with ZHA and Z2M at same time, but it's also not recommended as it may become issue with race between them.

[@LeRoms]

Awesome video. I'm not a computer programmer but was able to make it work thanks to your properly paced video, with detailed instructions. Thanks a lot !

[@BeardedTinker]

Great to hear! Thank you!!!

[@AY-vn2kq]

What a fantastic guide, thank you!

[@BeardedTinker]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@zyghom]

a piece of FANTASTIC work! thank you

[@BeardedTinker]

Many thanks - glad you liked it!

[@e2nomy]

It's excellent !!! Thx for these great step by step.

[@BeardedTinker]

Glad you like it - thank you!

[@ictstelucjam3604]

Thanks Andrej for this video. I will not use the Sky connect because I am happy with my Sonoff coordinator and two Sonoff routers at home. But The part of the Docker/Syno triggerd me again to bring my old HA in Syno to live again. Just as backup. 🙂

[@BeardedTinker]

That's great 👍And Sonoff newer version of stick and SkyConnect have same chip, so it should be as capable as the other. The only issue with Sonoff is they have bad/terrible firmware, but you can always flash new one :)

[@vjvj3576]

Well made video. Glad I found your channel

[@BeardedTinker]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the comment!!!

[@HeikoCestonaro1]

Thanks, this helped a lot, worked perfectly.

[@BeardedTinker]

Glad to hear it and THANK you for the support!!!

[@82kitas]

your the best! I also use Synology, and you are my first contact point!

[@BeardedTinker]

That's awesome - thank you!!!!!

[@catcam]

Thanks for that ... im planing to reinstall home server because of lot "temp solutions" and z2m is the way then ... i have lot (60) zigbee devices and sonoff stick as coordinator ... Thanks again BT

[@BeardedTinker]

Thank you Nikša! I also prefer Z2M over ZHA - need to finally finish one video that has comparison of both of them with few devices. Sonoff (older stick) is very good. Newer one has came chip as SkyConnect, but firmware on it is not that good (being polite).

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Thanks Andrej. My two cents on this is that I installed it with Zigbee2MQTT too, but it was not working reliable in my set up. I am moving over to ZHA which is stable until now. I am curious how the battery life of my Ikea remotes will do using the sky connect. With the Dongle-E they drained in no time.

[@BeardedTinker]

Thanks for that Ed! I will not be using SkyConnect except for testing. My current slae.sh stick is working like charm. But also I'll not move to ZHA as it simply lacks a lot of device support and even devices that are supported are missing a lot of interesting and important entities.

[@gertchristensen2577]

Is it possible to put 2 cordinatores in my DS720+ so that I can run both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT, my HA runs from a virtual machine.

[@BeardedTinker]

Yes, if you have two available ports (or hub), this should be possible. Just use extension USB cable to move one from the other so you don't get signal interference.

[@Robin-zn5we]

Thank you so much!

[@BeardedTinker]

You're welcome! And thank you!!!!!

[@ronm6585]

Thanks B.T.

[@BeardedTinker]

Thank you Ron!

[@haraldvanlieshout9932]

Dear Andrej, on my Synology DS215j, DSM 6.2.4 is see that SkyConnect USB is seen by the system (CP2102/CP2109 UART Bridge Controller). But when I configure Zigbee in my Home Assistant (EZSP access type) it is asking for a Serial Device Path. I tried to use /dev/ttyUSBx but it doesn't work. Do you have any ideas what I have to fill in.

[@BeardedTinker]

Sorry for a delay :) Are you using Docker or VM? Also are you going for ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT?
My guess is Docker because of the model you're using. Have you shared path in Docker to serial device? (delete old docker container, and create new one with path to SkyConnect).

[@image969]

Will this work for Bluetooth dongles too? If not then would you have a diff video for that? I’m desperate for Bluetooth integrations in HA and would rather not do the whole esp32 option if I don’t have to. I’m in DSM 7.2

[@BeardedTinker]

That requires different drivers. And is PITA to find them. But you're actually missing a lot if you ignore the ESP32 route.
As a matter of fact, HA Devs recommend this route over any type of BT USB dongle. It has less issues, it's stable over USB and actually and surprisingly faster.

[@RobWientjens]

Argh, doesn't work for me, must be doing something wrong. After starting the .sh file I check with 'ls /dev/ttyU*
' and this is the output: 'ls: cannot access '/dev/ttyU*': No such file or directory'. I am on a DS218+ with Apollolake and I am on DSM7.2.1, so I used the DSM7.2 files. What can be the issue?

[@BeardedTinker]

Check also if ttyA* (ACM0) is there. If not, drivers are not loaded properly. Also try to unplug and plug again the stick.

[@kevin6349]

How to add the device if you already have a HA install? Or update without losing data?

[@gerryf7015]

Great video. Will take a while for Matter to reach Credible Usability - you see Lewis's video today? Will wait to see how it plays out over time and then maybe SkyConnect. In meantime, back to reality - Zigbee, Sonoff, Zigbee2MQTT and HA.

[@BeardedTinker]

Yes, but stick is still good with ZHA and plain ZigBee. Although, ZHA is not my choice as there are a lot less supported devices than Zigbee2mqtt but also, devices that are support (some of them) are missing entities there that I need or want to have.

[@tomasz3217]

great videos, thanks!
13:46 there is an error in the command instead of rd.d it should be rc.d
:)

[@BeardedTinker]

Thank you :)
Yeah, typo... I say rc.d but... Typing... On 13:35 it's written correctly and also in video description I've added proper command :)

[@bazcurtis178]

Excellent video. I can't get my IKEA bulb to pair via ZHA. It never finds it. I thought I would give MQTT ago. Can I just disable ZHA or do I need to uninstall it first? I have heard ZHA is more reliable, but as I can't get the bulb to pair, I thought I would try another method.

[@BeardedTinker]

You need to deinstall so that ZH releases port for Zigbee2MQTT. As for difference. I still believe ZB2MQTT is much better than ZHA, although not that easy to setup as ZHA. More devices are supported and more people are working on it.
BUT IKEA bulb should still have no issue with pairing in ZHA.

[@lasseraty6868]

What OS, DE and theme you use? That looks awesome.

[@hoitinkfotografie]

Great video! If I understand correct; I can plug the cable+skyconnect directly into the device without install the drivers WHEN using Home Assistant in Virtual Machine?

[@BeardedTinker]

That is correct - but also depends on the hypervisor where your VM is.
You should be able to bind the USB port to VM and HA should automatically see it.

[@hoitinkfotografie]

@@BeardedTinker Solved! I'm idiot. I set the Virtual USB controller to USB3 (instead of disabled) and then it worked! Totally overlooked this line (as it was greyed out).

[@shotbyarian]

for me the device doesn't show up under "usb device" in the synology VM settings "other" .. is says "unmounted" unfortunately

[@shotbyarian]

the "virtual usb controller" under the same settings tab is greyed out for me and showing "disabled" - how would i enable it?

[@BeardedTinker]

Try stopping the VM and than enable Virtual USB controller. And after that look in the list if you see anything besides unmounted in there. Also, make sure to select USB 3.0, not 2.0

[@shotbyarian]

@@BeardedTinker wow i didn't know i have to stop the service first, thanks, worked!

[@BeardedTinker]

@shotbyarian awesome - glad it worked!

[@hometechUK]

Unfortunately zigbee2mqt won't start using this process?

[@BeardedTinker]

What is the error? It needs to how and error - like device in use or something else.

[@milnovako]

Pitanje, da li ste mozda probali zajedno, tj. da rade u isto vrijeme paralelno zha (skyconnect)i z2mqtt(sonoff dongle-p) , da li smetaju jedno drugom ili rade ok (bilo bi mi korisno da prosirim mrezu).

[@BeardedTinker]

Da, probao sam u jednom od zadnjih videa (ZHA vs Zigbee2MQTT) spominjem i taj scenarij. Bitno je sam da su dovoljno udaljeni fizički jedan od drugoga, te mogu raditi i ZHA i Z2M.

[@milnovako]

Hvala puno na odgovoru@@BeardedTinker

[@VolkanDon]

Hey there, I'm having an issue connection the SkyConnect Stick to my Synology DS220+ running the latest DSM. I am Using the rear USB Port, the extension Cord and it's a VM. I see the Stick in the settings of the VM and am able to put it into HAOS. Once I try to add is through the settings I'm also able to choose the SkyConnect adapter. But once I hit next, it loads for a bit and then shows me a list of other devices from which it wants me to choose one.
I have tried passing through USB 2.0 as well as 3.0

[@BeardedTinker]

Not sure why this is happening. Is it shown as ZWave or ZigBee device? I know that it sometimes was registered as ZWave and it would fail.
Did you try adding it via add integration by hand, not going for automatic discovery.

[@VolkanDon]

@@BeardedTinker it’s showing up as zigbee stick v1. Have tried the automatic discovery as well as going manually. I got it working on a VM on truenas and over the raspberry pi. So the stick shouldn’t be broken or anything.

[@Tntdruid]

Skynet is coming for BT 😄😂

[@BeardedTinker]

😂😂 I've had a feeling somebody was following me - so it's Skynet probably? 😂

[@VideoBajra]

Pitanje, kako dodati uređaj ako već imate instaliran HA (Container Manager)

[@BeardedTinker]

Treba rekreirati kontejner (izbrisati postojeći i napraviti nov) koji ima mapiranu putanju prema uređaju. Ja ne koristim (često) manager, već više radim u CLI, no isti je princip.
Ako je sve podešeno kako treba, brisanje i dodavanje ne utječe na HA jer se podatci nalaze van kontejnera.

[@VideoBajra]

@@BeardedTinker Izbrisao sam postojeci i napravio nov, sve je ostalo isto, Hvala 😀

[@BeardedTinker]

@@VideoBajra super! Sretno s ZigBee!

[@menz420]

Tried everything but could not get z2m to work with skyconnect

[@BeardedTinker]

What did you try? What OS, where is HA (device) installed and how (docker, VM, python,...).

[@menz420]

@@BeardedTinker I have my HAOS installed as a VM on VMWARE ESXi. i have the skyconnect dongle passed to the VM just like my Zwave dongle is. i set it up exactly the same as you did in the video and it just keeps giving me the same "Error: SRSP - SYS - ping after 6000ms"

[@image969]

I’m still running HA on DSM 6.2. If I finally upgrade to now 7.2, is there anything that will break HA? Besides the USB Dongle. I’m already aware of that which is why I never upgraded.

[@BeardedTinker]

My main setup is still on 6.2 :) But recording and test are on 7.1. The only potential issues are of course related to USB. Everything else should work as previously.
But also it depends on type of system you run (Docker vs VM). Do you use MariaDB or InfluxDB on Synology or as Addon, if you are using them, etc.
So, in general, besides possible issues with USB if you run in Docker, all should be OK.

[@d96634]

I updated to 7.2 and now it's broken yes for me. I have put the updated modules drivers in but having lots of trouble getting it going. I got 7.1 running fine tho. hmm

[@simonhinger8176]

Hello. Thanks for the Video. Im using a Synology 918+ with HA OS running on a VM. I assigned the USB Port to the VM. The Skyconnect can be selected as the Coordinator for ZHA as shown in the Video, but no matter what i do, it cant discover any new devices. I tried reinsalling, rebooting OS, VM, different Port, Different Cable, many ZB Devices. Nothing works :/

[@BeardedTinker]

What devices are you trying to add? Are they end devices (for ex. battery powered) or routers (for ex. mains powered)?
I guess that you did start pairing process in ZHA? I've never encountered anything like this.

[@simonhinger8176]

@@BeardedTinker I tried to pair an Aquara P1 Motion Sensor (Enddevice) but also an Osram Smart Plug (Router). Im stuck in the process you can see in the Video at 3:09. The devices just don't show up.

[@simonhinger8176]

@@BeardedTinker now i tried an Aquara Doorsensor like you did in the video, also not showing up. I think i will stick with the Sonoff dongle and ZB2MQTTT

[@simonhinger8176]

After spending the whole day experimenting, it works now. Even though i used the extention cable, it might be to short /not shielded enough for my Serverrack. I bought an 3m USB Cable go get away as far as possible from interferance sources. Now it works.

[@BeardedTinker]

Not sure if you've seen video on it on official Home Assistant channel? Some stuff can really block the signal. Glad you managed to get it working and the end.

[@rastkokostic]

Zdravo, uspeo sam da vežem tuya uredjaje preko z2m i rade, ali ih mosqitto ne vidi kao entitete, da li znaš kako bih to mogao da rešim?

[@BeardedTinker]

U kojem smisli ih ne vidi? MQTT bi trebao sve što dobije od Z2M samo prihvatiti i čuvati, odnosno proslijediti dalje.
Što koristiš za pregled MQTT prometa?

[@rastkokostic]

@@BeardedTinker Posle 4h googlanja, trebalo je dodati homeassistant: true u yaml file z2m. Sve pohvale za kanal, možda i najkorisniji od svih koji su na ovu temu. Ok Paul Hubert i njegove šale 😁

[@BeardedTinker]

Ah, tako to ide, uvijek nešto sitno negdje fali :)
Hvala puno Rastko 😀

[@rastkokostic]

@@BeardedTinker ajd kad si tu, jel si zadovoljan kako voice assistent radi na hrvatskom? Jel koristiš nabu casa ili onaj iz pipera free?

[@BeardedTinker]

Testirao jesam ali ne previše. Koristim oba i Nabu casa i free piper.
Nisam uspio doći još do onog novog uređaja S3 s ekranom da na njemu probam.
Radi mi OK, no još mi je to previše "kemija" nego nešto što bi dao svojima doma da koriste.
Sljedeći tjedan ide novi update - mislim da će sa tim biti sve jako blizu da bude funkcionalno. To bi po meni trebalo poboljšati stvari dosta.
A još i poznajem osobno čovjeka koji je radio većinu prilagodbe za HR, pa znam koje problem je imao sa jezikom, opcijama, padežima,..... tako da ustvari ovo super radi kako je moglo biti.

[@EmilePolka]

If the host machine doesnt have usb 3.0 ports you can just directly plug it in, no extension required.
Else if the host machine have usb 3.0 port (even if you didnt plug that dongle on that port) then you need a extension cable.
Also, stupid stuff with newest synology os making usb stuff other than usb mass storage are broken, even with virtual machines.

[@BeardedTinker]

True, but it's also good idea to move it further away from any devices if you can. Even with 2.0 port I had trouble due to a lot of devices (router, AP, UPS, Synollgy) being nearby. So, nothing bad with using extension cable even with 2.0 USB.

[@DivisPetr]

I would love, when HA would add support for multiple Zigbee gateways in ZHA, one is poor.

[@BeardedTinker]

Zigbee network shouldn't need more than one gateway. Why would you need more?

[@DivisPetr]

@@BeardedTinker because our house is large and Zigbee does not get though floors, also I manage a flat on connected network in one HA, but need Zigbee there also. Have Sonoff as second integration, but that is 3rd app and sucks.

[@BeardedTinker]

For extending network (floor is reinforced concrete) I use other mains powered ZigBee devices.
And for separate flat, I have separate installation of HA.
Check standard for ZigBee afaik, it doesn't support multiple coordinators on same network.

[@DivisPetr]

@@BeardedTinker I know that and I find it impractical, but HA could solve it by separating the networks and exposing only the devices etc. but that is more of a philosophical discussion :) thanks anyway

[@MrZiemwit]

SkyConnect vs sonoff dongle ?
chip the same, sonoff better looking, cooling, antena
who will buy skyconnect?

[@BeardedTinker]

Well, because it's Sonoff. And what any electronic devices makes or breaks is software/firmware. For ex. Sonoff firmware, original (not some custom or third part few) supports 39 devices, SkyConnect had theoretical no device limit (although it could potentially be around 200).
SkyConnect is device that's part of SiliconLabs incubator, Sonoff has issues with software developers.
And cooling, actually, Sonoff doesn't have cooling. Aluminium case on newer and older device type doesn't touch chip to cool it. Actually it even reduces cooling effect due to that as heat stays trapped in the case without direct chip-to-aluminium contact.
That's why it has external antenna - not to increase range but get signal out of the cage.

[@MrDead1975]

not sure if the cooling is any better, the fancy looking heatsink case of the sonoff is just that, fancy looking at it's not connected to any chips on the board

[@planf1147]

Thank you very much for the very great video! I have Synology and HomeAssistant is already running in docker. I just want to map the USB stick correctly. You talk about it here (ruclips.net/video/GjZI4Mw0a4c/видео.html). But I can't implement that, what is the effective command?
As a test, I installed a new HomeAssistant installation in another directory, and the stick is recognised correctly there. I just can't finish setting up the existing installation.

[@BeardedTinker]

You can remove existing container and recreate it with same command as previously, just add USB stick. If using compose - just add device there. AFAIK there is no way in Synology Docker UI to map USB after it has been created. Removing existing container will (should) keep all of your existing files. Just don't delete the folder.

[@jonathanthomson5000]

It should be noted that Synology removed the USB drivers as a security measure and hacking them back in comes with risks which users should be aware of before they follow this guide.
As an IT professional it makes me uncomfortable when appliances like NASes and especially routers are “hacked” to run third party software as it increases the attack surface for malicious actors as well as making your device unsupported so far as the manufacturer is concerned.

[@BeardedTinker]

Actually, no. Synology decided to remove USB support because of all of the support requests they were receiving for devices that they didn't sell. Originally they supported USB drives USB TV sticks for media players and USB modems.
As Synology still supports USB drives they haven't done a single thing to improve security threat potential via external data in that sense. They have additional tools for that plus other layers of protection for possible introduction of crypto lockers, viruses etc.
And I'm telling you this as IT professional with direct communication to Synology.

[@jonathanthomson5000]

@@BeardedTinker with respect whatever the reason for doing it they did and this tutorial advocates installing drivers into what is supposed to be a closed system with no verification of the safety or compatibility of those drivers. If as you say you have direct contact with Synology, ask them what they think about installing the hacky drivers and post the response publicly, I’ll wait…

[@jonathanthomson5000]

I’ll contact them via our corporate channel and ask the same question and we can compare notes 😎

[@BeardedTinker]

Sure. Maybe we will also see some of the supported drivers back as they communicated earlier - for example for some Z-Wave devices.
As actually they are standard kernel modules they just decided not to include in official build.