#Zigbee + Thread coexistence recommendations

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

noble seal
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Hi there,
I've been running a SkyConnect for a couple years now as a Zigbee coordinator only (ZHA) and everything has been working great.
Last week, I've decided to give a try to an Aqara LED bulb which is Thread compatible, as such I'm looking for options to add that capability to my Home Assistant setup (Docker).

I'm aware that SkyConnect technically has the capability of handling both Zigbee and Thread at the same time, however, even after many years, continues to not be recommended.

I would buy another SkyConnect, but they are pricey, hence I'm considering getting a Sonoff ZBDongle-E (with the EFR32MG21 chipset) to use for Zigbee and change the SkyConnect for Thread only.
This would however, require me to somehow migrate my Thread Setup from one adapter to another.

I'm a bit concerned and cautious about this, hence reaching our for some recommendations.

dawn crescent
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I think you don't need to swap the dongles, you can flash a thread firmware on the Sonoff dongle.

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I can also recommend the SMLight SLZB-07, also same chip as the skyconnect

noble seal
noble seal
spiral shard
noble seal
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What I'm wondering right now is how important is to have hardware flow control

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for thread

stark ibex
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You also have to plan your 2.4 GHz channels right. 2.4GHz WiFi, Zigbee, Thread and Bluetooth use the 2.4GHz frequency band. Zigbee and Thread use the same channel scheme. A good starting point is here:

https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/zigbee-wifi-coexistence/

MetaGeek
ZigBee and Wi-Fi Coexistence

ZigBee transmits on the same part of the 2.4 GHz spectrum as Wi-Fi, and when both protocols are transmitting at the same time, it causes interference that can damage the quality of the Zigbee signal. In this lesson, we’ll cover how to design a network for Wi-Fi and Zigbee to peacefully coexist.

noble seal
noble seal
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Alright, I've ordered the Sonoff ZBDongle-E, which has the same chipset as the SkyConnect (EFR32MG21) to reflash for Thread.
Managed to find it on a local shop for 23€ lol

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Lets see how it goes

stark ibex
noble seal
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Well, it seems that the firmware that darkxst Silabs Firmware builder installed, not only didn't work, but also screwed up something.
When I pluged the Sonoff to the HA box, it was not automatically recognized and didn't create the Thread Border Router.

If I tried to add it manually, its asking for an API URL, which doesn't make sense since the device is connected via USB.

The flashing was successfull, however, now it's failing to flash again anything (Zigbee, MultiPan or custom), I see an exception on the console from pyodine.asm.js:9

Uncaught (in promise) PythonError: Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/lib/python3.11/site-packages/universal_silabs_flasher/flasher.py", line 310, in enter_bootloader
    await self.probe_app_type(types=[ApplicationType.GECKO_BOOTLOADER])
  File "/lib/python3.11/site-packages/universal_silabs_flasher/flasher.py", line 260, in probe_app_type
    raise RuntimeError("Failed to probe running application type")
RuntimeError: Failed to probe running application type

Still, when I connect the Sonoff ZBDongle-E, it's recognized, it's able to connect and also recognizes having the firmware OpenThread (RCP) SL-OPENTHREAD/2.4.4.0_GitHub-7074a43e4

It would have been too easy 😦

I've found a forum thread https://community.home-assistant.io/t/sonoff-zbdongle-e-with-openthread-rcp/717730/6 suggesting to use another version and I wanted to try 2.4.1.0 but don't how I can flash it again.
Any ideas?

Home Assistant Community
Sonoff ZBDongle-E with Openthread RCP

They don’t recommend the multiprotocol firmware any more , but tell people to use either the NCP firmware (Zigbee) or RCP Firmware (Thread)

noble seal
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Ok, I was able to flash it again now with 2.4.5.0 manually with universal-silabs-flasher on HA box.

noble seal
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I still hope that one day, we have a more streamline option, such as instructions for the addons (image repository, required settings, such as what is already present in the config.yaml for each addon), so that HA Docker users can simply create the container manually and add the integration on HA UI.

waxen sage
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one other thing to note is that the recently released aqara bulbs actually support both thread and zigbee; if you want to run only one network it is possible to switch them to zigbee mode and use them that way.

noble seal
waxen sage
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yeah, i believe they prefer to use zigbee when connecting to an "aqara hub".

noble seal
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oh wait, I think I found it

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How to Switch Protocol:
 To switch protocols, you can either remove the device in the Aqara Home app or turn the 
device off and on 5 times to reset it. Then, repeat the pairing process, and on the device 
pairing screen, tap "Switch Protocol" and select the desired protocol. Follow the app's 
instructions to complete the setup.
 Note: Switching protocols is equivalent to restoring factory settings, and will erase all 
settings and data

Not clear, well, let me try it as it would be a normal Zigbee bulb

waxen sage
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they have a note saying "The protocol switching process may take several minutes to load. " which makes me suspect that it has to be done from the app, sounds like they might actually be loading a different firmware onto the bulb

noble seal
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yep, no luck.

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And the app requires an account....

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This was the first product I've bought from Aqara becuase was Matter Thread, as I'm not a fan of their agreesive lock down into their ecosystem

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I was avoiding having Thread mostly to not have another protocol conflicting for air time.
I've been using mainly ESPHome (wifi), Matter (wifi) and Zigbee

waxen sage
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fwiw, i do have both thread and zigbee networks, and haven't had any issue with them. put them on different channels with the one that i use more (thread atm) on a channel which overlaps with fewer wifi channels, and made sure my wifi ap was far away from both.

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another reason for using separate dongles for each network type, apart from the issues with the multiprotocol firmware, is that it lets you use different channels for each network :)

noble seal
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For me the Wifi AP aspect will be impossible, its a 100m2 appartment and I have the Wifi AP smack down in the middle (Unifi AC-LR). But yeah, I will continue with my quest of building the OTBR image and using it with HA Docker.

waxen sage
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i don't mean physically far away (tho that helps), but rather have your 2.4ghz wifi on a channel which is as far away in frequency as possible from both thread and zigbee

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i have my 2.4ghz wifi on channel 1, zigbee on channel 20 (sort of in the gap between wifi channels 6 and 11), and thread on channel 25 (just beyond wifi channel 11)

noble seal
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even if I force my AP to be on a specific channel, the neighbours will jump as they are all auto

waxen sage
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yeah, i'm also in an apartment building. helpfully that means the low power mesh devices tend not to be too far apart so it doesn't matter as much :) but since your wifi is physically closer, it matters more than your neighbour's wifi

noble seal