Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 Zigbee Thread Matter USB Stick for Home Assistant (SkyConnect)

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Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 issue and replacement

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Article description:

USB Zigbee 3.0 / Thread (Matter) Gateway

The Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 USB hub offers seamless Zigbee connectivity for your smart home. With a simple firmware update you can also use the Thread protocol. Firmware update via the USB interface supports Over-The-Wire (OTW) updates for both protocols as well as experimental multi-protocol.

The Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 is compatible with Home Assistant Green as well as various PC, Linux, Raspberry Pi and virtualization platforms that support USB. This means you can easily integrate Zigbee sensors and devices into your Home Assistant system.

The adapter uses the same Silicon Labs chip (Silabs EFR32MG21) as the Home Assistant Yellow. A USB extension cable is included to avoid possible interference from USB 3.0 ports. Expand your smart home with the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1.

What is the difference between Home Assistant SkyConnect and Connect ZBT-1?

Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 is the new name for Home Assistant SkyConnect. Although it has a new name and design, both have the same hardware, features and support. This change was made to make room for a new line of Connect products, including an upcoming Z-Wave Connect product. In the future, updates and functions mentioned for Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 will also apply to devices sold under the name SkyConnect.

Why a USB extension cable is included

USB 3.0 ports (those with blue interiors) are known to cause significant interference and radio interference to 2.4GHz radios. This also affects Zigbee and Thread devices. Without the extension cable, the devices may not work at all, and if they do, the connection may be unstable, resulting in problems such as intermittent disconnections, unreachable devices, timeout errors, and other problems.

Recommended use cases for Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1

Nabu Casa currently recommends using the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 with the Zigbee firmware to control your Zigbee network. This solution provides a great user experience right from the start.

As part of Nabu Casa's efforts to integrate Matter into Home Assistant, the focus is on improving the use of Thread, making it equally easy to integrate Thread-based Matter devices into Home Assistant without having to rely on a third-party Thread border router. The Thread firmware is already fully functional in the background, but some improvements are still necessary to ensure that the use of Thread devices in Home Assistant works smoothly.

Once this experience is improved, Nabu Casa recommends using Thread firmware to control your Thread network, as an alternative to using Thread border routers from Apple or Google.

What is the current status of support for multiprotocol?

Multiprotocol remains an experimental feature and is not recommended for use.

When Nabu Casa introduced this device, we announced our intention to release firmware that supports multi-protocol. This allows the device's Silicon Labs chip to connect to both Zigbee and Thread networks via a radio. This experimental firmware has been available since December 2022. Through extensive testing, Nabu Casa has found that while it works in certain circumstances, there are technical limitations that may result in a poorer user experience. Therefore, Nabu Casa does not currently recommend using this firmware and it will remain experimental for the foreseeable future. Instead, we focus on ensuring that the dedicated Zigbee and Thread firmwares for Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 provide the best experience for users.

If you currently have the multiprotocol firmware installed but are not actively using it to connect to Thread devices, Nabu Casa recommends disabling multiprotocol.

Nothing changes for current users of the multiprotocol firmware who are satisfied with their experience. The experimental multi-protocol firmware remains available but is not recommended for new users.

Specifications:

Model No.: NC-ZBT-9710

Protocols: Zigbee 3.0; Thread (Matter) about firmware update

Transmitter/Receiver: Silicon Labs Multiprotocol EFR32MG21

Stack: EmberZNet Serial Protocol (EZSP)

Frequency: 2.4GHz

Antenna: PCB

TX performance: up to +20dBm

RX sensitivity: -104dBm (250kbps)

Over-the-wire (OTW) firmware updates

Power supply: 5V DC / up to 150mA

Bridge: USB to UART, Silicon Labs CP2102N USB-to-UART bridge

USB: v2.0 full speed (12Mbps)

Dimensions (LxWxH): approx. 38.5 x 18 x 4.5mm

Weight: 4g