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Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 Zigbee + Thread (Matter) Smart USB - $55 (20% off) & Free Express Shipping @ Smart Guys Australia

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Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 Zigbee + Thread (Matter) Smart USB - $55 (20% off) & Free Express Shipping @ Smart Guys Australia

Associatedsmartguysaustralia on 19/09/2024 - 11:51 smartguys.com.au (603 clicks)
Last edited 19/09/2024 - 12:39 by 1 other user

Hi all,

We have another deal on the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 at the moment and would like to share it with the community. It is $14 off (20%) our normal price of $69.

We also are now stocking an Australian first matter over thread dimmer that you can find at HausLink Matter Over Thread Dimmer

if you are looking for a out of the box home assistant hub we also stock the Home Assistant Green

The Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 is the easiest way to add Zigbee support to your Home Assistant instance and make it Matter-ready. If you are on the latest version of Home Assistant, it is automatically discovered and works seamlessly with ZHA. Zigbee2MQTT integration is possible but not officially supported.

There are many reasons why you should choose the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 as your choice of dongle for your home automation setup:

Fully supported by Nabu-casa with regular firmware updates
Buying Connect ZBT-1 supports Nabu Casa and will help them to continue improving the product we all love and rely on daily - Home Assistant
Seamless integration with Home Assistant
Dual protocol set-up so you can integrate with thousands of devices regardless of manufacturer
Comes with a USB extension cable to ensure your Home Assistant machine does not interfere with Zigbee communications
USB plug and play design means you can design your Home Assistant install to be as powerful as you want and add on Zigbee/Thread support.
Zigbee 3.0 (EmberZNet/EZSP)

A note on shipping: All items are dispatched same day if ordering before midday (Mon-Fri). We use Australia Post for all our shipping and you will get tracking.

Hope you find this to be a good deal and please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Happy automating,
The team @SmartGuys

Electrical & Electronics Home Assistant Matter Smart Home Smart Hub Thread (smart home) Zigbee Zigbee Gateway

22 Sep

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closed Comments

busyra on 19/09/2024 - 12:06

What is the advantage of this over the Conbee II? Is it easy to migrate over?
- Shon on 19/09/2024 - 12:21
  
  I had a lot of issues with my Conbee and a large amount of ZigBee devices. This or the Sonoff run faster microcontrollers and seem to be more stable. You also don't need to use Conbees interface, just ZHA /Zigbee2MQTT. Migration can be a pain as you need to relink all your devices (assuming you aren't already on ZHA/Z2MQTT as they allow you to change coordinators)
  - busyra on 19/09/2024 - 12:41
    
    Yeah having issues with Conbee. I am in ZHA already. Would you think the migration would be a breeze?
    - bamzero on 19/09/2024 - 13:13
      
      Looks fairly painless according to this
  - bamzero on 19/09/2024 - 12:52
    
    What sorts of issues did you have? I'm only running about 25 devices on mine, generally ok apart from a couple of Xiaomi temp/humidity sensors that seem to need re-pairing once or twice a year. Admittedly things got a lot better when I started running the conbee on a USB extension rather than directly plugged in.
    
    I've got a Sonoff sitting here too that I bought as a spare since were only about $15. Haven't tried yet to see if it's any better with the Xiaomis.
    - busyra on 19/09/2024 - 13:08
      
      Just noticed some devices would be unavailable. Not sure if they are power saving but even the smart plugs that act as my repeater would drop. I have a mix of hue, sonoff, ikea, generic zigbee devices.
    - howdydood on 19/09/2024 - 17:02
      
      After every Zigbee2mqtt update, none of my Xiaomi temp/humidity sensors work. I've tried everything possible to rectify this, the only thing that works is to physically power off the VM running HA and restart it ( a reboot doesn't fix it). I have the Conbee II
      - korda on 20/09/2024 - 12:02
        
        @howdydood: Did you pair the xiaomi temp/humidity sensors to the conbee or to a xiaomi zigbee router such as a smart plug socket? I use zigbee2mqtt and a sonoff dongle, but found all my xiaomi/aqara door sensors, buttons and temp sensors worked better when paired to the xiaomi smart plug sockets. When paired to the dongle they wouldn't pair, or if they did they'd fall off never to rejoin.
        
        If you have any xiaomi routers, in zigbee2mqtt, up the top right where it says Permit join (All), change that to the desired router and try pairing.
        
        howdydood on 20/09/2024 - 19:57
        
        +1
        
        @korda: Thanks @korda - I only have the Conbee - the sensors work fine and they are reliable with the conbee - it's just whenever z2mqtt update to a new version, I have to power off and restart for it to see the sensors again. I don't have a xiaomi router … i'll look around for one to test
- xmagic on 19/09/2024 - 14:38
  
  +1
  
  Also SiLabs EFR32 series chips supports dual-stack (Zigbee+Thread) simultaenously (but not very stable).
  
  I started with a Sonoff Dongle-E (SiLabs chipset) but eventually transitioned to SMLIGHT SLZB-06p7 for Zigbee and boarder router via HomePod mini / Google Nest Hub for Thread/Matter.
  
  Though selection of chips could make a difference, selecting a channel that is free-of-interference is probably more important as switching channels after pairing is painful. Z2M supports channel switching without pairing now, but very experimental.
  
  ZHA is sketchy on my end so I choose to use Z2M eventually. Z2M is genereally more compatible with Ti chips as ember driver is still actively developed, while ZHA is kind of heavily optimised for SkyConnect, thus SiLabs chips, that's my impression of the year 2023 and 2024.
- Associatedsmartguysaustralia @ Smart Guys on 20/09/2024 - 08:44
  
  +1
  
  We used to sell the Conbee 2 and to be honest with you we had very little complaints from customers. We stopped selling it due to home assistant releasing their dongle and sales dried up of the Conbee 2. I would say the advantage of the home assistant dongle is being able to use multiprotocol on the this dongle however it can be a bit clunky at the moment. I typically use 2 sky connects on my home assistant, 1 for Zigbee and 1 for Thread. However, I would say if Conbee 2 is working for you no need to change.
NotForYou91 on 19/09/2024 - 12:09

+1

I am very new to this but have a stack of smart home devices from a range of different manufacturers. Do I need the dongle as well to get zigbee devices to work with the home assistant green? Or will the HA Green be enough? Thanks in advance for any advice!
- Ademos on 19/09/2024 - 12:37
  
  +2
  
  See https://www.home-assistant.io/green/
  
  Home assistant devices, no. Zigbee/thread, yes.
  
  A lot of home assistant devices can be addressed directly locally with the usb dongle, which is faster and far superior (it'll work offline, more customisation).
impoze on 19/09/2024 - 12:11

How does it compare to the sonoff zigbee dongle? Didn't know you needed a specific matter hub?
- Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:09
  
  There are a couple of Sonoff dongles, the SONOFF ZBDongle-E and the SONOFF ZBDongle-P.
  
  The Dongle-E is the same chipset as the Home Assistant Connect and is recommended to use with the Home Assistant ZHA integration. The Sonoff is slightly cheaper, but the HA Connect will directly fund the Home Assistant project, if that is important to you.
  
  The Dongle-P is a different chipset that only does Zigbee (not Thread). It is recommended to use with the Zigbee2MQTT integration (instead of ZHA).
  
  In the past the Dongle-P had a reputation of being more reliable for Zigbee, but that is probably no longer the case, as long as you’re using them with the right integration.
  - Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:28
    
    Re a Matter hub: Matter works over Wifi/Ethernet as well as over Thread. It will depend on the device. Battery powered devices tend to use Thread, AC powered devices will either be Wifi or Thread. To connect to Thread devices, you will need a Thread radio (such as the Home Assistant Connect).
krouton24 on 19/09/2024 - 12:15

Can you run this aside by a Conbee?
- Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:01
  
  You could, especially if you were going to use this device for Thread. If you were going to use it for Zigbee, then it would be better to replace the Conbee with the Connect.
  
  As a side note, the Conbee devs have released firmware to repurpose the Conbee as a Thread radio. I haven’t heard how well it works, but will probably try it out when I eventually get some Thread endpoint devices.
automated on 19/09/2024 - 12:22

With the HausLink Matter Over Thread Dimmer, can you still connect some type of physical dimmer control dial?
- Associatedsmartguysaustralia @ Smart Guys on 20/09/2024 - 08:39
  
  The matter over thread dimmer wont work with the physical dimmer knob that you see in light switches. It will work with push buttons or toggle switch if that helps.
FoxJump on 19/09/2024 - 12:29

-2

why do we have zb even bt already existed?
- Domingo on 19/09/2024 - 12:42
  
  +1
  
  why do we have cars even horse and carts already existed?
  
  why do we have ovens even fires already existed?
  
  why do we have mobile phones even landlines already existed?
  
  etc
  
  Zigbee is a superior protocol for certain use cases. Among other things a core focus is low power consumption, meaning it has far better battery life for battery operated devices.
  - Smigit on 19/09/2024 - 12:57
    
    Low power consumption as well it being designed to run in mesh which has benefits for home automation.
    
    As a technology, devices using it such as light switches are often far more responsive than wifi or Bluetooth counterparts.
    - FoxJump on 19/09/2024 - 14:30
      
      Ah they mesh together, that makes perfect sense and a valid improvement over BT
- Leho on 19/09/2024 - 14:01
  
  +1
  
  ble kinda shitty for smart home imo never worked 100% like zigbee has for me
  - FoxJump on 19/09/2024 - 14:31
    
    what zb things do you have?
    atm i have wifi smart plugs, wifi lights, and bt temp sensors.
    - Leho on 19/09/2024 - 14:43
      
      +1
      
      bloody everything
      
      plugs, buttons, relays, lights, temp sensors, motion sensors, blinds, energy monitor, powerboards, door sensors
  - xmagic on 19/09/2024 - 14:43
    
    +1
    
    I'm kind of had the exact opposite experience - my BLE thermometers works wonderfully and have much better refresh rates for automations, while the few zigbee thermometers are atrocious (constantly disconnecting, losing pairing, slow refresh) but worked quite well after I manged to convert them from Zigbee to BLE (Tuya ZTU modules used in those sensors can be converted between Zigbee and BLE, not easy but can be done). I do have a lot other Zigbee sensors (contact, water, etc.) though.
    
    BLE works with normal Intel Wi-Fi cards when running on x86 boxes but you must get a separate dongle for Zigbee. BLE works even better if you have BLE gateways, such as GL-S10 flashed with ESPHome (cheap, supports PoE).
    - FoxJump on 19/09/2024 - 15:18
      
      i've amazon'd me a long range bt dongle + antenna to see if i can reuse my existing temp sensors. if not. sigh, i may have to zigbee
      - xmagic on 19/09/2024 - 15:22
        
        +1
        
        @FoxJump: I have two GL-S10 deployed in dark zones. I got zero skips on sensor data now. Don't try to expect one dongle to get full reception.
        
        Get some BLE gateways (with ESPHome BLE Proxy mode) to help! (They only work for BLE, no BT support though).
        
        https://esphome.io/components/bluetooth_proxy.html
        
        FoxJump on 19/09/2024 - 15:35
        
        @xmagic: Great thank you.
        whenever our new house is ready, if one dongle doenst cut it, i'll buy one of those to put in the living room. Thank you.
- Associatedsmartguysaustralia @ Smart Guys on 20/09/2024 - 08:47
  
  +1
  
  You can use BT and the beauty of Home Assistant is you don't need to restrict yourself to one or the other. We find there are a lot more Zigbee products on the market and demand is quite high for these products due to price points and generally good integration in to Home Assistant.
Kymatica on 19/09/2024 - 12:38

Can these run zigbee and matter concurrently, or is it one or the other?

I'd need to cover a rather long distance on zigbee. What's the practical range on these things?
- Smigit on 19/09/2024 - 12:59
  
  +1
  
  If range is a concern and you have the ability to, add some smart plug or other ZigBee devices running on A/C to your setup. These devices act as routers and form a mesh and can relay any connections.
- Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 13:24
  
  +1
  
  One or the other. The devs tried to get concurrent protocols working, but in the end recommended you select just one.
- awph on 20/09/2024 - 09:13
  
  That's kind of what Nabu Casa promised initially, but unfortunately it didn't pan out due to stability issues. Basically one or the other, so two dongles if you want both.
  - SickDmith on 20/09/2024 - 11:17
    
    That's a bummer. I have ZBT-1 and running it in ZigBee mode.
    
    I am not sure if I need Thread… I have Aqara M3 and I am still confused about all this Matter (Thread) situation. :|
    
    Not sure if I need to get a second ZBT-1 to run in in Thread mode. :)
    - awph on 20/09/2024 - 11:50
      
      +1
      
      There aren't much Matter over Thread hardware around just yet, most stuff are doing it over WiFi, and they cost double or triple compared to the ZigBee alternatives. Unless you have some Matter over Thread stuff in mind, setting up a Thread network at home isn't really gonna bring any benefits. If you happen to have those Nest/Alexa/HomePod smart speakers alongside your HASS setup (many people do), chances are whatever hardware you got will likely also have a Thread radio already.
      - SickDmith on 20/09/2024 - 21:23
        
        @awph: Thanks. I think so far Aqara is the only device which support Thread.
WhiteEvo6 on 19/09/2024 - 12:40

So this doesnt need to connect to all devices in the house does it? I have a large two storey and Im guessing zero chance this can connect to leak sensors upstairs in bathrooms, this will connect to nearby sensors and those to repeaters and those repeaters will then connect to other repeaters and sensors etc. Is that correct?
- Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 13:35
  
  +1
  
  I assume you’re talking about Zigbee (not Thread). Yes, that’s how it should work, if everything is connected to the same Zigbee network.
  
  Only powered devices will act as repeaters (they’re referred to as Zigbee routers). You can only have one zigbee coordinator though. So this device would replace any existing Zigbee coordinator/hub you already have.
  
  Thread is a bit different, you can have multiple hubs (referred to as Thread Border Routers).
OzHan on 19/09/2024 - 13:04

+1

Do I need this if I already have a Samsung smart things router?
- Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 13:57
  
  This device is intended to be connected to a Home Assistant server. Compared to SmartThings, Home Assistant is more powerful, flexible and it has a greater range of compatible products over SmartThings. SmartThings is easier to understand and get started with. I started on SmartThings and then moved to HA.
  
  I understand that the SmartThings Wifi Mesh Router has a Zigbee (and a Zwave radio), but not Thread. The Home Assistant Connect has a Zigbee and Thread radio. Thread is a newer communications protocol that may someday replace Zigbee, and is used by a new smart home standard called Matter. Right now there are heaps of Zigbee devices around and not many Thread devices.
  
  To get back to your question, if you’re happy with SmartThings at the moment, there is no need to buy this. If you’re finding you’re running into limitations, think about setting up a Home Assistant server and getting a device like this.
  - OzHan on 19/09/2024 - 14:19
    
    Can confirm SmartThings Wifi Mesh Router has both Zigbee and Matter (my new tp110m use this). and I thought HA server integrates with Smart things via API? too many stuff I have not had the time to wrap my head around.
    - Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:22
      
      Good to hear it can connect to Matter devices. I suspect it would just be Matter over Wifi, but not Matter over Thread (without another Thread Border Router).
      - OzHan on 19/09/2024 - 14:23
        
        @Hargain Bunter: Does it + HA server replace the Smart things? If it does it might be worth it for the saving on electricity alone. but then I am not sure if it has the range of Smart things.
        
        Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:37
        
        +1
        
        @OzHan: It could either replace SmartThings, or run concurrently. For me, I started with both running concurrently. There is a HA SmartThings integration which allow you to control SmartThings devices from within Home Assistant. I eventually moved all of my SmartThings Zigbee devices to be paired with a Sonoff Zigbee Dongle-P (similar to the Home Assistant Connect) connected directly to my HA server. Having just one Zigbee network is desirable, as more AC powered devices on the network increase the range and signal strength.
isidore12 on 19/09/2024 - 13:12

+1

I personally recommend SONOFF ZigBee 3.0

https://sonoff.tech/product/gateway-and-sensors/sonoff-zigbe…
- foursaken on 19/09/2024 - 13:23
  
  +2
  
  …why?
- Bruceflix on 19/09/2024 - 13:54
  
  That's what I'm using. Replaced an old Conbee II that was starting to fail. The SONOFF device is faultless. No pairing issues and just works. The conbee II I had was a headache when needing to pair something.
  - isidore12 on 19/09/2024 - 15:02
    
    That sums up my own experience :)
    
    The range is also much better (you can see it in the strength of the signal)
- Associatedsmartguysaustralia @ Smart Guys on 20/09/2024 - 08:49
  
  Sonoff dongle is a great alternative and are at a great price point. We used to sell these too, however the demand from customers was significant lower compared to the skyconnect so we opted to stop selling.
- awph on 20/09/2024 - 09:23
  
  SkyConnect has hardware flow control while the Sonoff ZBDongle E does not. Hardware flow control is nice bonus to have, it helps with stability.
George Z on 19/09/2024 - 14:02

Can this be used as a thread border router?
- Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:11
  
  +1
  
  Yes, when it is combined with a server running Home Assistant.
  - George Z on 19/09/2024 - 14:27
    
    Thanks, any input on the range?
    - Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:44
      
      No sorry, I don’t have a HA Connect, so I can’t speak to the range of this device specifically. I can say that having additional Thread Border Routers (such as HomePod Mini/2, or Nest Hub 2), or Thread Mesh Extenders (which are usually AC powered Thread devices like lights), will increase the range.
      
      Hopefully someone else can give more info on the range of the Connect.
DingoBlue on 19/09/2024 - 14:08

Does this need to be physically connected to the server or is it wifi?
- Hargain Bunter on 19/09/2024 - 14:11
  
  Physically connected via USB (with the included USB extension cable).
- Kabal on 20/09/2024 - 08:55
  
  Get a SMLIGHT SLZB-06 if you want to seperate them. It’s awesome.
insertusernamehere on 19/09/2024 - 15:46

Can anyone confirm that I can use this to replace a Philips Hue hub and an Aqara hub?
- Bruceflix on 19/09/2024 - 15:50
  
  +1
  
  yes
- Tight Tim on 19/09/2024 - 20:03
  
  Yes, I use both Philips Hue and Aqara products but don't have a hub from either (I have HA + this Zigbee USB instead).
- awph on 20/09/2024 - 09:24
  
  Yes, both Hue and Aquara zigbee products are very well supported by Z2M or ZHA.
junet on 19/09/2024 - 21:39

+2

Beginner HA user here and I set up a SMLIGHT SLZB-06 today with Zigbee2MQTT. $45 from Aliexpress, usb & POE connection. Connected IKEA bulbs & sensors no problem.
awph on 20/09/2024 - 09:40

Tempting, it's nice to see mains powered stuff with proper Australian safety certification too.
scottb721 on 20/09/2024 - 13:17

Classic. I've had this page open in Chrome for weeks waiting to buy.
Now I just need to get some Zigbee devices to try it out.
scottb721 on 20/09/2024 - 14:52

Hmmmm hopefully compatible with my Synology NAS HA.
- Hargain Bunter on 20/09/2024 - 16:16
  
  As long as you can pass through the usb ports to the HA instance it should be ok.
  - scottb721 on 22/09/2024 - 09:02
    
    Managed to load the USB serial drivers and get it set up.
    - Hargain Bunter on 22/09/2024 - 13:26
      
      Nice!
    - NotForYou91 on 22/09/2024 - 23:15
      
      How did you do this? Did please and thank you in advance for instructions :)
      - scottb721 on 23/09/2024 - 08:02
        
        +3
        
        @NotForYou91:
        
        Go here and check what "Package Arch" your NAS has.
        
        Check here that your Package Architecture has you version of DSM in its folder
        
        SSH into your NAS (I used Putty) the follow this guide from about here. I didn't get to the MQTT stuff yet.
        
        Stop the HA container and add the following to the HA compose file
        devices:
        
        /dev/ttyUSB0:/dev/ttyUSB0
        
        Restart the HA container.
        
        In HA go to settings/devices and it should show the dongle as 'Discovered'. Hit Configure
        
        NotForYou91 on 23/09/2024 - 09:14
        
        @scottb721: Greatly appreciate this guide, thanks so much. Will give it a go when the dongle arrives. Thanks!
        
        scottb721 on 28/10/2024 - 08:44
        
        @NotForYou91: How did you go ?
        I had to redo it after upgrading DSM to 7.2.2

Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 Zigbee + Thread (Matter) Smart USB - $55 (20% off) & Free Express Shipping @ Smart Guys Australia

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