Zigbee — Zigbee2MQTT + ZHA + HA Connect ZBT-2

Overview

Zigbee is the primary short-range wireless protocol for sensors and smart plugs. The home uses a single HA Connect ZBT-2 USB stick as the Zigbee coordinator, running Zigbee2MQTT (the primary active stack). ZHA is also installed but is disabled by the user to avoid coordinator conflicts.

Hardware

Zigbee2MQTT

Add-on version: 2.12.0-1 | Bridge device: 723747744690709ec853190a975e567b

Zigbee2MQTT communicates via the Mosquitto MQTT broker add-on. All Zigbee device data flows through MQTT topics.

Zigbee2MQTT Devices

Bridge entities:

• switch.zigbee2mqtt_bridge_permit_join — enable Zigbee device pairing
• binary_sensor.zigbee2mqtt_bridge_connection_state
• sensor.zigbee2mqtt_bridge_signal_level (Bar Shelves sensor)

Soil Sensors

Third Reality soil moisture sensors are the backbone of the Plants dashboard. They report temperature, humidity, and soil moisture levels.

These sensors also have ZHA registrations (Soil Sensor 1, 2, 3) — this is because the same coordinator serves both Zigbee2MQTT and ZHA paths, but ZHA is disabled. The ZHA sensor entities may appear but are likely inactive.

ZHA (Disabled)

ZHA is configured but disabled by the user (disabled_by: user). The original entry 01KGV9QD6568DF9P3S4JQE53X8 (HA Connect ZBT-1) is not loaded.

A second ZHA entry for the ZBT-2 (homeassistant_connect_zbt2 hardware integration) is loaded but only provides the hardware device — Zigbee traffic goes through Zigbee2MQTT.

Notes / Gotchas

• Do not enable ZHA while Zigbee2MQTT is active — both cannot share the same coordinator simultaneously.
• The permit_join switch should be turned off when not actively pairing devices (security best practice).
• Third Reality Gen1 soil sensors (3RSM0147Z) appear in both ZHA device registry (paired historically) and Zigbee2MQTT — the active entities are the Zigbee2MQTT ones.
• Upstairs Hallway Switch (Third Reality Zigbee plug) acts as a Zigbee mesh router, extending coverage to the 3rd floor.
• Christmas Lights Living Room (Third Reality plug) is seasonal and may be physically disconnected.

Last Updated

2026-06-24