Zigbee pairing

Introduction

Zigbee devices need to be connected to a Zigbee orchestrator. Any communication received by that orchestrator can be read by the Zigbee2MQTT service. Zigbee2MQTT exposes information to HomeAssistant using MQTT discovery. Some devices also need to be calibrated.

Before purchasing a zigbee device, make sure to check whether it is supported by Zigbee2MQTT or HomeAssistant.

Prerequisites

• A working Zigbee dongle or hub
• ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT service running

Pairing (method: ZHA)

1. In the ZHA service, click on the Add Devices button
2. Plug in the device (light will be blinking)
3. Wait for a few seconds for the pairing to complete.

Pairing (method: Zigbee2MQTT)

1. In the Zigbee2MQTT service set the following setting in the root of configuration.yaml

permit_join: true

2. Plug in the socket (light will be blinking)
3. Wait for a few seconds for the pairing to complete.
4. Open configuration.yaml of the Zigbee2MQTT service and change the friendly name of the newly detected device like so:

devices:
  '0xa4c138053f778359':
-    friendly_name: '0xa4c138053f778359'
+    friendly_name: 'KitchenSpot1'

tip

Use a name that might be useful in phrases like "Hey Google, turn on <friendly_name> "

5. Restart the Zigbee2MQTT service.

note

In Zigbee2MQTT, the following setting allows HomeAssistant to discover the paired devices.

homeassistant: true

6. Inside HomeAssistant you should be able to see devices under the MQTT plugin

7. Verify that the device works as expected.

Troubleshooting

It is possible that compatible devices still not function as expected. You may need to calibrate the device. Worst case scenario you will have to send it back as defective.