Home Assistant ZBT-1 SkyConnect - Zigbee Thread Matter USB Stick Home Assistant

FAULT-FREE BATCH:

From now on, you'll receive the new, fault-free batch (Batch: 422402) of the Connect ZBT-1 from November. This ensures you'll get the reliable performance you expect for your smart home system.

For more information on the original announcement, click here:

Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 Issue and Replacement

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 utilize the Thread protocol. Firmware updates via the USB interface support Over-The-Wire (OTW) updates for both protocols as well as the experimental multiprotocol.

The Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 is compatible with Home Assistant Green and various PC, Linux, Raspberry Pi, and virtualization platforms that support USB. This allows you to 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 potential 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 rebranded version of Home Assistant SkyConnect. Despite the new name and appearance, both products share identical hardware, capabilities, and support. This change was made to pave the way for a new series of Connect products, including an upcoming Z-Wave Connect product. Moving forward, any updates or features mentioned for Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 will also apply to devices branded as SkyConnect.

Why include a USB extension cable?

USB 3.0 ports (the ones with blue on the inside) are known to cause significant noise and radio interference to any 2.4 GHz wireless devices. This includes Zigbee and Thread. If you do not use the extension cable, it may not work at all, and if it does, it could be flaky at best with intermittent problems (issues with pairing, device dropouts, unreachable devices, timeout errors, etc).

Recommended Use Cases for Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1

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

As part of Nabu Casa's efforts to integrate Matter into Home Assistant, there is a focus on improving support for Thread. The goal is to make it just as easy to integrate Thread-based Matter devices into Home Assistant without relying on third-party Thread Border Routers. While the Thread firmware is already fully functional in the background, further enhancements are needed to ensure seamless operation of Thread devices within Home Assistant.

Once this experience is enhanced, Nabu Casa recommends using the Thread firmware to control your Thread network as an alternative to using Thread Border Routers from Apple or Google.

What is the current state of multiprotocol support?

Multiprotocol will remain an experimental feature and is not recommended for use.

When Nabu Casa launched this device, we announced our intent to release firmware supporting multiprotocol, which allows the device's Silicon Labs chip to connect to both Zigbee and Thread networks with one radio. This experimental firmware has been available since December 2022. Through extensive testing, Nabu Casa has found that although it works in some circumstances, it has technical limitations that lead to a worse user experience. Nabu Casa now does not recommend using this firmware, and it will be experimental for the foreseeable future. Instead, Nabu Casa will focus on ensuring that the dedicated Zigbee and Thread firmwares for Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 deliver the best experience to users.

If you currently have the multiprotocol firmware installed but don't actively use it to connect to Thread devices, Nabu Casa recommends that you disable multiprotocol.Nothing changes for current users of the multiprotocol firmware who are happy with their experience.

The experimental multiprotocol firmware will remain available, but Nabu Casa will not recommend it to new users.

Specifications:

Model No.: NC-ZBT-9710

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

Transmitter/Receiver: Silicon Labs Multiprotocol EFR32MG21

Stack: EmberZNet Serial Protocol (EZSP)

Frequency: 2.4 GHz

Antenna: PCB

TX Power: Up to +20 dBm

RX Sensitivity: -104 dBm (250 kbps)

Firmware Updates: Over-the-wire (OTW) firmware updates

Power Supply: 5V DC / up to 150 mA

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

USB: v2.0 full-speed (12 Mbps)

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

Weight: 4 g