I install a Nabu Casa Skyconnect on a Nabu Casa Green

My goal

I appreciate Nabu Casa’s own work and it’s an opportunity to pay tribute to them by installing the SkyConnect on their Green Box.

I discover the SkyConnect

The key is really tiny, the smallest one I have used.

I consult the documentation

The only paper supplied with the key is information offering to consult the website:

https://skyconnect.home-assistant.io/

I have consulted this link, the information is very clear and very interesting.

The only concern is that all the explanations lead to a switch to ZHA (whether from Zigbee2MQTT or Deconz). So I will not follow these explanations, I intend to stay on Zigbee2MQTT.

I find hidden in the FAQs a page that may interest me:

https://skyconnect.home-assistant.io/faq/#is-zigbee2mqtt-supported-by-skyconnect

I am disappointed to read this little opening of Nabu Casa but it is also a business:

The Home Assistant team abroad supports ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation), the Zigbee stack integrated into Home Assistant Core.

The Zigbee2MQTT project has experimental support (in beta stage) for the Silicon Labs radio on Home Assistant SkyConnect. With this setting, Zigbee2MQTT is known to work on Home Assistant SkyConnect.

I connect the SkyConnect

Let’s go, at the end of its USB extension provided, I connect the SkyConnect.

I have a notification informing me that equipment has been discovered, I find this:

I click on configured and there, I confess that the message leaves me speechless:

Fortunately, the message is in French because I do not understand all the words. For me, the Skyconnect key is a Zigbee coordinator, on the other hand, a Thread border router, this is the first time I have heard about it, I question ChatGPT and its answer does not explain me any more. I deduce from this that it is indeed a Zigbee coordinator that I need.

So I choose Zigbee.

The SkyConnect framework has changed:

The Zigbee logo replaced the SkyConnect logo. And ZHA appeared as well. I don’t want to use it, I’m looking at how to remove or disable it. In the doc, Nabu Casa wrote: If you are using Zigbee2MQTT, remember to delete and ignore the discovered Zigbee Home Automation integration to avoid interference.

So I press the button Ignore.

Any trace of ZHA disappeared on the screen, I did not delete anything, just ignored it, I will see later if further manipulation to avoid the Zigbee2MQTT/ZHA conflict.

I am installing Zigbee2MQTT on NC Green.

I must have a user mqtt

I will create a user mqtt, password mqtt who cannot connect that on the local network and which is administrator.

I have to install Zigbee2MQTT

I go to settings / Add-ons / Shop / … at the top right / Deposits / https://github.com/zigbee2mqtt/hassio-zigbee2mqtt / Add

F5 to update the screen, this new line appears:

I click on the first Zigbee2MQTT frame and I click on Install.

I rely on Start and I check the options, Zigbee2MQTT appears in the left bar.

I have to install the Mosquitto broker

I click on Install Then I'll Start.

I configure Mosquitto

In the configuration tab, I add the login information and save.

I configure Zigbee2MQTT

In the section MQTT, I add:

_topic base: zigbee2mqtt server: mqtt://core-mosquitto user: mqtt password: mqtt

I need to find the port of the SkyConnect.

I go to Parameter / System / Hardware / All the hardware and at the bottom, I find the USB stick on its port:

In the section serial, I add:

serial: adapt: ezsp port: /dev/serial/by-id/usb-Nabu_Casa_SkyConnect_v1.0_38c38b1c7bd8ed11a33c786162c613ac-if00-port0 baudrate: 115200 rtscts: true

I see this warning pass:

warning: zh:ezsp: Deprecated driver ‘ezsp’ currently in use, ’ember’ will become the mostly supported EmberZNet driver in next release. If using Zigbee2MQTT see https://github.com/Koenkk/zigbee2mqtt/discussions/21462

But when I replace ezsp with ember, the daemon does not start, so I keep ezsp for now.