Home Assistant SkyConnect (Zigbee and Thread USB adapter)

Home Assistant SkyConnect

The Home Assistant SkyConnect is the easiest way to add Zigbee support to your Home Assistant instance and make it Matter-ready.

A future firmware update will bring Thread support; allowing SkyConnect to power your Matter and Zigbee networks at the same time.

The Home Assistant SkyConnect is compatible with the Raspberry Pi and other Home Assistant-supported Linux devices. The Home Assistant Sky Connect will allow you to easily set up and use Zigbee sensors and devices with your Home Assistant install, allowing even more automation and integration options for your home.

The adapter uses the same Silicon Labs chip used in the Home Assistant Yellow device (Silabs EFR32MG21). A USB extension cable is included in the package to avoid interference caused by USB 3.0 ports.

Features

• Zigbee and Thread adapter -> based on USB 2.0
• Dual protocol set-up -> you can integrate with thousands of devices regardless of manufacturer
• Compatible -> Zigbee Works with Home Assistant and Zigbee2MQTT
• Future Proof -> Updatable Updates delivered via Home Assistant
• Over-The-Wire (OTW) -> update support via USB
• Reliable Range -> +20 dBm
• Zero Setup -> Plug and Play Automatically detected by Home Assistant
• Documentation -> https://skyconnect.home-assistant.io/documentation/

Concurrent Zigbee and Thread on a single chip

Out of the box the Home Assistant SkyConnect will support only Zigbee. We're working on a firmware update that makes it possible to run both Zigbee and Thread at the same time. Thread is the mesh networking protocol that powers Matter, the new standard for smart home devices.

Once available, Home Assistant SkyConnect will run part of the software that normally runs inside Zigbee and Thread chips inside Home Assistant add-ons. These add-ons will be installed and updated automatically without requiring user interaction.

We will make this multi-protocol set-up first available for Home Assistant OS installations. We will be looking into making this available for Home Assistant Supervised and Home Assistant Container installations afterwards.

Why include a USB extension cable?

USB 3.0 ports (the ones with blue on the inside) are known to cause significant noise and radio interference to any 2.4Ghz wireless devices. This includes Zigbee and Thread. If you do not use the extension cable, it may not work at all, and if it does, it could be flaky at best with intermittent problems (issues with pairing, device dropouts, unreachable devices, timeout errors, etc).

Specifications

Components

• Supply: 5V DC / up to 150mA
• Radio Chipset: Silabs EFR32MG21
• Frequency: 2.4GHz
• TX Power: up to +20dBm
• RX sensitivity: -104dBm (250kbps)
• Antenna: PCB
• Protocols: Zigbee 3.0, Thread (Matter)
• USB: 2.0 full-speed (12Mbps), Silicon Labs CP2102N USB-to-UART bridge
• Stack : EmberZNet serial protocol (EZSP)

Form Factor

• Width: 18 mm/0.7 inch
• Height: 4.5 mm/1.4 inch
• Depth: 38.5 mm/1.5 inch
• Weight: 4 g/0.14 oz

Package Contents

• 1x Home Assistant SkyConnect USB Adapter
• 1x USB extension cable