SuperHouse #35: Sonoff BasicZBR3: Zigbee, not WiFi! 

Hello! Many tanks for taking the time to put all that information together. Really appreciated. Very nice explanation, looking forward for the next video on this topic

Great video Jon, really looking forward to the next Video showing setup and local control with MQTT. can’t wait. Nice work

U know, I'm an architect and I'm currently constructing my home. I am planning to turn my home into a smart home. Your videos gave me a lot of ideas. And I'm going to do all this stuff myself. It's a low cost house. u really helped me man. Thanks for that. I'll definitely make donation.

This video is amazing mate. This will solve a problem I could see cropping up when I install zigbee sensors in my shed at the bottom of the garden. The sonoff basic will also have a use between my home assistant server and my garden so it's a win win

Great video as usual. The local solution is similar to the MySensors implementation. Please review that one in one of your next videos. It uses nrf radio, gateway, repetitors and self healing network.

Whoooaaaa!!! Game changer .. a $10 basic - no need to flash the relay to connect to homekit / homebridge. I hope they bring a higher amperage relay too. I just ordered half a dozen - Thanks.

great video Jon. keep it up.

Great video - like you say the zigbee MQTT bridge will be key for most of us. I don't ever want to rely on Amazon for anything other than delivering stuff.

always look forward to your videos thank you

Great vid. Not sure I will ever want to use Alexa, Siri, or Google voice commands. Bit more disillusioned by the lack of data integrity of companies atm. Simply put .... bad enough they track my laptop activity .... they don't need to track my internal household activity. I like these videos where you probe and "track" what stuff is on the boards. By all means do more!

Thanks Jonathan. Awesome detail as always. A while back you mentioned a part 2 video to your home network rebuild with ubiquity gear?

Was already wondering in the beginning of the video that you used a non domestic / Internet depending environment. Glad you said at the end that you will make more videos how to get it working "properly".

Nice video and I loved the mapping out section. Would have been nice to see a test without the sonoff connected to prove there was no coverage first.

looking forward for the next video.

love ur videos.. thanks for new infos

Thanks for your content. Helps me alot. Was wondering if you use smartthings and have been able to get the TH16 working with it. I've been able to get the Sonoff connect but not the TH16

Welcome to the Zigbee Dark side. :-) I am a big fan of Zigbee. I run a couple of ConBee II USB sticks with deconz and even have a Xiaomi Mi Gateway. Zigbee is so much nicer than wifi for these kinds of purposes. Most people flood cheap wifi routers with so many devices they can't connect their laptop or phone. Zigbee takes away that problem with most hubs being able to handle at least 50 devices before you start needing to add routers. And deconz lets you manage and maintain the network wonderfully easily.

Great video

Great video as always. Thanks. I've got the same PCB "ZIGBEE V1.0" and I can see no DIY header pins on it. Though the cardboard box it came in said DIY. Have I got an old rev PCB that's incompatible with DIY mode? I was hoping your video might address this :)

Great video as usual 👍 Hope you'll consider deconz conbeeII stick as well please

Thanks. My zigbee2mqtt finds it but I can’t switch the relay. Looking forward to your next video!

Good video sir...

@SuperHouseTV Do you know if this supports "PowerState 2" like Tasmota Firmeware on a Sonoff. PowerState 2: Toggle opposite of last state when power is cut. I'm using wall switches (buttons) to cut power and when light is turned on and i push the button the light turns off and vice versa. If this Zigbee Sonoff does support that I'll swap out all of my "old" Wifi based sonoffs.

FYI, there is now a third-party Zigbee 3.0 firmware (based on the official TI Z-Stack 3.0) available for Sonoff BasicZBR3 that also adds support for an external sensor as a proof-of-concept, checkout www.cnx-software.com/2020/05/25/zigbee-firmware-news-ti-z-stack-3-0-zigbee-for-cc2530-ptvo-zigbee-fw-configuration-tool/

I have set up a ZigBee Bridge in my camper van. The problem i have is the internet goes down I lose connection to the switches. Am I missing something?

Nice touch muting when you say Alexa preventing triggering others who’s listen to the clip

Can I add a chip rf433mhz module in this so off zegbee switch Or where can I give pairing switch connection if I add rf module in this switch for single switch pairing use

Hello. Beside switch S1 there are two LEDs. Can you check which pins on the 2530 are driving the LEDs? I didn't see any transistors nearby, so i am assuming they're between a pin and a rail? (I forget if the 2530 can sink more or src more current :) )

The great thing about ZigBee devices is they don't need firmware changing. All you need is a local co-ordinator instead of an Amazon or other cloud based one. Home Assistant and OpenHab work brilliantly with zwave co-ordinators like the xbee USB stick, Elelabs ZigBee co-ordinators, conbee and conbee2 plus any number of diy solutions based on reprogrammed CC253x ZigBee sniffers. These CC253x devices are so cheap. Under $20 will get you the USB device and the programmer. That's a cheap and reliable ZigBee co-ordinator for your Home Assistant or OpenHab box. Additionally some hubs, like the Hue bridge, can also work totally local.

Interesting device. I’m guessing you’re talking about zigbee2mqtt for the next video. Awesome project. Thanks Jon 👍

In terms of power consumption of Sonoff zigbee and esp8266, is it possible to make a valid comparison? It would be interesting to have a rough calculation based on always on devices over a year. Thanks for another great video Jon. Looking forward to the next ones.

Ahh, next video's gonna be zigbee2mqtt or domotix, for sure. I'm about to start implementing these ZBR3 modules in my network which runs on homeassistant with a zigbee2mqtt setup and hue bulbs, tradfri remotes and aqara remotes.

Hi Jonathan grat video

Can't wait for the next video where you hook it up locally.

Can you turn the light on and off from the power button on the module, and will the status be updated on Alexa ??

I've just bought some of these. Very reasonable price on Amazon. This video saved me a lot of time, thanks. :) I've used Zigbee for sometime although some devices don't always seem to play nice - e.g. considering the mesh network (that I can visualise using phoscon with Conbee II) I don't know why some Innr plugs sometimes lose connection and don't reconnect by themselves for ages when they're near other Zigbee routers. [If I was interested enough I know I could use make some kind of signal sniffer - maybe just using a zigbee endpoint - but I honestly have too many priorities and just want stuff that works). My best guess is too much interference on 2.4GHz ... I have a lot of gear on those frequencies and so placement can make a lot of difference (and of course turning down loud sources). Still. It's annoying. I really liked Wireless Things stuff that ran on 868MHz (for me in the UK). Less interference and more penetration/reach. Nb - running Conbee II Phoscon stuff in Docker ... but I use a MacVLAN connection rather than host (bridging's not always recommended for broadcasts etc.) (I use VLANs and this runs on Debian on a J5005 nuc) so I can put it on the VLAN I have my Echo's etc. on so that discovery works properly for the Conbee II gateway while still isolating from other stuff e.g. my plex server in another container runs on the VLAN my Desktop's connect to - to avoid excessive routing (handy to know). If using multiple interfaces & gateways even on Debian that involves a bit of manual routing ... but with the MacVLANs the host doesn't need to "know" they exist per se. (Individual containers - not swarm or anything). But something that's always frustrating me (one of many tech non-available's I'm always lamenting) is a simple/cheap READY-MADE 12V (etc.) version of this Sonoff BasicZBR3. (Manufacturer agnostic). I'll have to do another search soon. Wouldn't it be great to have an inline USB one? So much of my stuff is USB. Maybe with power sensing readings too. And, golly, I dare imagine Lithium Iron Phosphate powerbanks with zigbee control, reporting, and discharge/charge programmable thresholds to do partial C charging etc. to use as UPS's. I've waited decades for that sort of thing. Never had time + money + opportunity + skill lol to do it myself. Not quite. Partially completed attempts. I want to buy stuff I can plug in / wire-up simply, as a switch, and use. Not something I have hack a bit first. I seem to waste a lot of time doing stuff like that. It's very distracting. I want to get on with software, not hacking hardware. It's 2020 already. Will the devices I want ever be available? Those things I mentioned are just the start of all the missing kit. We only seem to be allowed to buy things with very constrained use cases that don't overlap well and possessed of multiple failure modes. :( And that eat electricity like there's no tomorrow. No sophistication. Rant over lol. But the video was very good. Very helpful. :)

loving your work btw. as a developer, i only harbor great dissapointment with zigbee, when i wanted to develop for it, zigbee asserted open source, finding documentation on it was impossible, but for a low low fee of $2000 you were allowed their documentation(albeit 5 years old), if you wanted a more current documentation you could pay $30,000. Otherwise i would have developed / utilised this tech, but the lies(open source) left an awful taste in my mouth.

I would like to know how this device works in case of powercycle. I want to place it between a regular wall switch and a ceiling light without a neutral wire. So when the wall switch is turned off the Sonoff device will also turn off. But what happens when power is turned on. Will then: - the previous state be restored - the bulbs be turned on by default - the bulbs be turned off by default

@SuperHouseTV - I would like to have this unit outdoor, is there a way to connect/hack a antenna to this. I have found antenna but how can one attach one to this switch.

Hi i watch your videos and have a question about the sonoff. I have a new generator with push start button and i want to connect the sonoff to turn it on and off from my phone. do you know the best way to wire a sonoff as momentary switch? i saw another video where the trace is cut and rewire the board and used inching. just want to know what is the best way available and the firmware or software need it. thanks

or could you test, if 3.3v and GND ( right 5pin) input dc power supply, is every thing works well?

Just setup a raspbee on Home Assistant with the deconz integration, seems to be working good so far, and you can view your mesh.

Hi, do you know how to connect external light switch to BasicZBR3?

awesome video. i'm so interesting. can i ask some?. i want to rebuild sonoff zigbee to 5v or 12v. then how can i rebuild. behind the pcb, i saw 5v and GND mark(next to U3 mark). if i solder 5v(+ -) to this 5v, GND, is this works well?

Looking forward for the new video

So great

Mate what security cameras are u using?

Good video. I suspect 99% of the people using this would use the Zstack code from TI, which basically has all the heavy lifting of the zigbee stack included. All you'd need to do is add the endpoint for the relay control, and chances are it is already in the example code somewhere. Also, for the range test -- Zigbee is not like WiFi in terms of the sensitivity. It is quite possible the end device in your test could reach your coordinator directly. Lastly, there are ways to map out the zigbee network. I use zigbee2mqtt as my gateway, and have an XBee in the mesh which allows me to map out the network anytime. It also acts like a router, which I should probably undo...

Where I can get the switch?

Is there an easy way to repurpose this module to short the pins instead of connecting them to main AC? My gas heater has two pins, if I short (connect) them, it will start, it they are disconnected, it will stop.

I have one question... Zigbee waves travel in one perticular direction or its like WiFi waves in all directions.. I have zigbee hub which is connected to zigbee repeater and this repeater connected to other few end zigbee devices... When i kept zigbbee hub antenaa direction toward zigbee router then it picks signal and then this zigbee repeater antenna face toward other few end zigbee devices... Then communication is perfect and has no problem.... But if i change the one of the hub or repeater antenaa direction to opposite side...then all my end zigbee devices lost its connections.... So my question is.... Zigbee is work in a straight direction ? Or it is like WiFi waves in all directions?

The vias that are bonding the ground planes together aren't vertically blocking RF. The wavelength at 2.4 GHz is about 12 cm, or 120 x the thickness of the circuit board, and RF at that frequency doesn't even see the sides of the board as two separate things. The ground plane vias do prevent the parts of the board that aren't supposed to from becoming an antenna, but that many, that close together isn't necessary for RF at 2.4 GHz, and is usually done for heat dissipation.

Excellent I will appropriate if you could guide how to reflash original "Sonoff Firmware ..after flashing Tasmota or easyesp..

does it have an "inching" mode or just a "selflock"?

Can't wait for the zigbee mqtt bridge!

is there a way to add switch?

Jon, love your videos. Have you looked at the Aqara hub and sensors etc that are Apple HomeKit compatible. Also use zig bee, are cheap and easy to set up. Your video explains why the batteries will last for two years. They are so small. Cheers and thanks.

Do you think this is oke to use outdoors?

Hi, Have you done a video of the non-cloud NOT using Alexa yet? I have just bought a zigbee sensor and I am using zigbee2mqtt which I hope you will do a video of.....hopefully. Thanks. BTW I am getting a sonoff zigbeee soon and now I know the sonoff will route signals. Thanks for that information I couldn't find that information anywhere.

My Echo Plus does work on internet down when controlling Zigbee devices, but only directly through the Echo Plus and not any connected Alexa devices (I have a couple of dots too).

Great news to hear Sonoff and making a Zigbee version. I do hope it's (going to be??) compatible with Zigbee2MQTT? Curious to see the zigbee traffic to such as if the relay is triggered via the button - the chip sends a zigbee command to say it's on/off? Hope you've found all this out already!?! Off to Ali to get one I think!! :) Steve

Did you happen to make a video about setting up a local gateway/hub for a Zigbee network not relying on internet/cloud?

Hey Jonathan! just to go off track! i have been searching for a way to get a camera feed from front of house to the cresh at church. so we set up a daft camcorder and hdmi to ethernet and audio inject. not what i want and the quality and inevitable overlays suck! so my goal is to find a camera that i can flash if needed and will give me rstp (or your suggestion!) and audio input (feed from the mixer) but i of course need a good frame rate and good sound sinc. so i saw your camera feed and it looked as if it was fast enough, what is it? is it reasonably priced? can i acheve my goals with it? i will be looking to slap a rpi as the rstp player at the tv end. i would prefer to go cable rj45 rather than wifi and poe is an option but i want this an independent network so as not to further congest a heavily used multi vlan network. Appreciate your thoughts, my skill level is ok, i regularly fit sonoff mini's with radar and temp/humidity sensors. thanks Jonathan!

Hello sir.. I watch all your videos.. All videos are very informative... Sir... I have a one question... Zigbee waves travel in one direction? Or is it travel like routers WiFi waves in all directions? I have this sonoff zigbee device...it connect to other child devices... When i change this sonoff zigbee antenaa direction to opposite to other connected child devices...then all connected child devices lost its connections

I like my home automation wired (poe mqtt) Zigbee seems ok for places where wires are a bit of a problem. I look forward to the next episode.. A zigbee gateway that connects to a mqtt broker Yehh That so cool. By Alexa :)

Is this device Zigbee Light Link compatible?

Thank you for this great video! Would you ever consider hacking into the cc2530 in a future vid? (I know it uses an 8051 core and according to you that's very annoying to work with, but it would be super helpful) Also for your future video, would you be using a MCU or a MPU for the gateway? I made a gateway using a pi, but I really want to explore the possibility of using a WiFi enabled MCU (ESP8266 / ESP32) as the core of the gateway (mainly for security purposes and cost)

I did have my ZBR3 connected. I reset and erase from alexa app. now i cant connect back to alexa. i tried several ZBR3's (even a new one) and Alexa does click them up and green light goes on, but at the end, the message is ¨no device detected". HELP PLEASE. I also tried different alexas echo show wih zigbee capacity .

I didn't see a strain relief in the housing. Is it included?

Please help if is possible to make a scene on Sonoff like this: - to keep the bulb light off if you open the door less than 1 min . Otherwise to be switched on. - The ideea is * do not turn on the alarm if the door is closed in less than 1 min *

Would it be safe to assume you can rename the devices, like rather than 'lamp one' to say 'front porch light'?

Are there any issues with having large numbers of zigbee devices ? 50+

What is the standby power consumption?

is this pretty much the same as MQTT-SN?

Is this works without INTERNET

what about esp now?? I would have thought esp now is much better than zigbee and wifi??

Could you measure the current consumption for that Zigbee board?

great work as usual but i fear that , because you are so insanely busy, the follow up video will take months , years to come to fruition , still waiting for the follow up to your ' how to set up wireless properly ' not that im particulary fond of wifi because im a firm believer in wires not wifi (another of your great videos) but its interesting how the pro's set up stuff

Hang your Sonoff (esp8266) at a weak signal . Reflash them under Modbus and used HMI-Kascada for remote control

how to turn it into a garage door opener

You can flesh the sonoff zigbee bridge with Tasmota and by that linking MQTT -> Bridge -> Zigbee

Where are the "friendly names" being generated in this demo? I've always needed to provide these at device level for a WiFi setup (originally written from scratch, now TASMOTA)...

In my professional opinion, these ZigBee devices are low power and ideal for control, however distance between mesh nodes are worse than Bluetooth. I've had problems in open air at 10 metres.

FYI, ptvo now posted a blog on how to use his configurable ZHA 1.2 firmware with Sonoff BasicZBR3 with an external sensor ptvo.info/sonoff-basic-zbr3-with-the-configurable-firmware-283/ He only tested it with Sonoff Si7021 Temperature and Humidity Sensor as a proof-of-concept sonoff.tech/product/accessories/si7021 ptvo configurable firmware also supports DS18B20, BMP280, BME280, DHT11, DHT22, DHT12, AM2301, MHZ19, and SenseAir S8 Sonoff BasicZBR3 will continue work as a ZHA 1.2 router with ptvo configurable firmware as well.

Now we only need custom firmware so we can connect a PIR sensor.

If the SONOFF BASICZBR3 is paired with Samsung smarthings, and the smarthings works with google assistant, that means that the SONOFF BASICZBR3 can be managed by Google assistant to? instead of amazon alexa.. ?

I think you are wrong since the Echo plus have zigbee hub inbuilt it can even connect even when there is no internet. So i think its not connecting to internet to control zigbee devices

How come you don't use the Alexa wakeup word?

great video ! dont get me wrong or dont be mad but it makes me cringe when you say "VIA." being a professional circuit board designer I am so used to "VEE-YA." but its all good mate. cheers. keep up the good work.

FYI, s-hadinger on GitHub has now got a Sonoff ZBBridge (Sonoff branded Zigbee Bridge from ITead) and started to review it is possible to hack the firmware in it with Tasmota github.com/arendst/Tasmota/issues/8583 and also related hacking discussion in: github.com/Koenkk/zigbee-herdsman/issues/168

Is this Compatible with 5G ?

Zigbee2mqtt with raspberry pi. Node-red and homeassistant

zigbee2mqtt USB stick will be sold in iMall soon

I think one reason for a custom Sonoff Zigbee firmware might be if someone implements it in a secure way and if Sonoff didn't. (Of course, unless it's open source, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? :) ) See page 5 under Conclusion. www.blackhat.com/docs/us-15/materials/us-15-Zillner-ZigBee-Exploited-The-Good-The-Bad-And-The-Ugly-wp.pdf

There is a custom firmware ptvo.info/how-to-select-and-flash-cc2530-144/ Look for zigbee2mqtt project

Try Zigbee2Mqtt With it

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