#Migrating from HA Yellow to Beelink EQ14 + ZBT-2

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

tawny ibex
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I understand that HA Yellow can have some issues around the now-deprecated multiprotocol wireless setup, and maybe be a bit under-powered.

I've purchased a Beelink EQ14 and two ZBT-2s, the intention being to use one of the ZBTs for Zigbee and the other for Thread, since multiprotocol is deprecated.

I'm assuming that it may be easier to move my HA installation to the Beelink if I follow these steps, but I'm new to HA and appreciate any information that would point me in a different direction.

Plan:

  1. Set a static IP for the HA Yellow.
  2. Install one ZBT-2 on the HA Yellow.
  3. Migrate my Zigbee network from the HA Yellow internal controller to the ZBT-2.
  4. Install the second ZBT-2 on the HA Yellow.
  5. Migrate my Thread network from the HA Yellow internal controller to the ZBT-2.
  6. Test all the things.
  7. Back up HA Yellow.
  8. Shut down and power off HA Yellow.
  9. Install HA/HAOS on the Beelink.
  10. Set the Beelink's IP to the static IP previously reserved for the HA Yellow.
  11. Connect the XBT-2s to the Beelink
  12. Restore the backup from the HA Yellow to the Beelink.
  13. Test all the things.
  14. Enjoy a more reliable HA setup.

Any and all advice, gotchas, and other relevant info is appreciated. Thanks!

smoky snow
# tawny ibex I understand that HA Yellow can have some issues around the now-deprecated multi...

In theory I don't see any problems with your plan. to be sure as you didn't specifically state: for setting the static IP, you should do this on your DHCP server and not the device itself.

I say "in theory" because there is obviously a few moving parts here and In practice something might not quite work automagically but I don't see why it wouldn't work even if you do need to tweak some settings in the end.

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also something to be aware of is that you should space your zbt-2's and beelink slightly to ensure that the 2.4 ghz antennas have some space to not interfere with each other. recomended minimum is 25cm (2 wavelengths at 2.4ghz).

sullen fox
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take a look at your backup encryption key and save it if needed

tawny ibex
smoky snow
tawny ibex
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So... I waited until after the holidays to get this going and I'm getting nothing when I plug ZBT-2 into my HomeAssistant Yellow's USB port (either of them).

I thought that maybe HA Yellow powered by PoE might not have enough "juice" to power USB peripherals, so I shut down the Yellow, connected an AC Adapter, and then connected ethernet to a non-PoE port. No change. ZBT-2 is not showing any signs of life.

Any ideas? Should ZBT-2 work with HA Yellow? Does it need some sort of powered hub? I'm not sure what to try next.

smoky snow
tawny ibex
smoky snow
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occasionally the cables are DOA. some usbc cables are also power only so that's why I say known working for both power and data.

tawny ibex
smoky snow
tawny ibex
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the LEDs lit up immediately

smoky snow
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it may be an issue with your yellow usb ports?

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do you have a terminal addon installed on HA by any chance?

tawny ibex
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oh, I already selected "install firmware", but stopped there.

Screenshot_2026-01-07_at_6.14.35_PM.png
smoky snow
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its fine

tawny ibex
smoky snow
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it looks like the device is working its just not working with the yellow

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can you plug in something else. maybe a keyboard or something

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then on the terminal addon run
lsusb
and
dmesg

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lsusb shows the usb port data
dmesg is the latest kernel output so it should say "ooo a new decvice" "its a keyboard" "ill do this with it" etc...

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just trying to see if anything is being recognised on the usb port

tawny ibex
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I've got a keyboard connected as well as the ZBT-2 now.
No caps lock LED on the keyboard. :/
Annoying, but consistent.
Let me see what the thise commands have to say

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➜ ~ dmesg | grep USB [ 0.458566] dwc2 1000480000.usb: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1 [ 0.458628] usb usb1: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0002, bcdDevice= 6.12 [ 0.458636] usb usb1: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1 [ 0.458769] hub 1-0:1.0: USB hub found [ 0.459022] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for generic [ 0.462300] usbhid: USB HID core driver ➜ ~ lsusb Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux 6.12.47-haos-raspi dwc2_hsotg DWC OTG Controller

smoky snow
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are those in dmesg at the bottom?

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run without the grep

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i want to know if its finding something when you plug in now instead of some thing that happened ages ago during boot

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it looks like that its just detecting the controller during boot

tawny ibex
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there was nothing to do with USB at the bottom of the output.

I'll detach and reattach and see if there's a change

smoky snow
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so it seems its an issue with the usb ports on the yellow

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I am thinking that the compute module may not be fully seated correctly on the main board.

tawny ibex
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no change, no new messages in the dmesg output

smoky snow
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opening it up detaching and reattaching the cm ensuring there is no pin damage in the connectors would be my next step.

tawny ibex
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Thanks, I'll try that

smoky snow
tawny ibex
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Huh, well.

there did not appear to be any pin damage. I removed and reseated the compute module.

No change on USB-A behavior or output.

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I noticed the USB-C port on the yellow and connected ZBT-2 to that, and it gets power, but it's not being recognized in the HA Settings > Devices & services

smoky snow
tawny ibex
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Well, shoot

smoky snow
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so it seems the usb ports are non functional for some reason.

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if its just the power going to them causing issues then a powered hub may work but there is not really any way to know

tawny ibex
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JP5 is in the Cls3 position.
I'm running a RPi CM5.

I don't think that's got anything to do with the USB ports, does it?

smoky snow
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jp5 is power selector for poe

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what is jp1 set too?

tawny ibex
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I recall that I did my initial install to the emmc using USB-C recovery, some years ago

smoky snow
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try switching it to uart

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its in the proceedure when you flash that you should switch it back

tawny ibex
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Ah well.

My plan had been to migrate my Zigbee and Thread each to one of my ZBT-2s before moving my HA install to a new Beelink PC.

Is it necessary to move them before migrating to the new hardware?

smoky snow
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I dont know if it will help but imagine it has that step for a reason

tawny ibex
smoky snow
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i guess you flashed it ages ago and it was working so didnt nessasarily follow the "clean up" steps

smoky snow
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hopefully we got the problem found in any case and progress can be made 😛

tawny ibex
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Success!

Screenshot_2026-01-07_at_7.15.32_PM.png
smoky snow
tawny ibex
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Thanks!
I don't know how long it would've taken me to find that thread about the jumper

smoky snow
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yeah, I was looking through the yellow documentation. thought to check it then searched using that as a reference and found it.

smoky snow
tawny ibex
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Much appreciated!