ConBee II - Universal Zigbee 3.0 USB Gateway, incl. deCONZ & Phoscon App, Home Automation, Home Assistant, ioBroker, Zigbee2MQTT

update March 10 2024 - i am really quite happy because it does not ever cause problems, it just works. have used it every day since Jan 23rd 2022. original review June 17 2022 - here is some example python code to control zigbee devices via the conbee II deconz rest api - but first run the conbee II instlaller it will install the deconz app/service and the phoscon app import requests, pprint # ***** you must have the deconz app or service running for this to work ****** # - on windows: from start menu run the deCONZ app - it defaults to port 80 # - on pi from cmd line w/ ui: > /usr/bin/deCONZ --http-port=8008 runThis = 0 windows = 0 portWin = '80' portPi = '8008' if windows == 1: ipAddr = 'http : // <ip address here>:' + portWin key = 'A0xxxxxxEE' outlet1 = '1' else: ipAddr = 'http : // <ip address here>:' + portPi key = '7ExxxxxxA2' outlet1 = '1' if (runThis == 0): # ---------------- get api key # # 1) start the 'phoscon app' from the 'deconz app' ui # # 2) enable 'authenticate app' in 'phoscon app'-gateway-advanced # # 3) set runThisApi = 0 and run the code and you will receive an api key payload = {"devicetype": "my application"} r = requests.post(ipAddr+'/api/', json=payload) # [{'success': {'username': '4E2BA46CB6'}}] if (runThis == 1): # ---------------- turn socket on payload = {"on": True} r = requests.put(ipAddr+'/api/'+key+'/lights/'+outlet1+'/state', json=payload) if (runThis == 2): # ---------------- turn socket off payload = {"on": False} r = requests.put(ipAddr+'/api/'+key+'/lights/'+outlet1+'/state', json=payload) if (runThis == 3): # ---------------- light state r = requests.get(ipAddr+'/api/'+key+'/lights') pprint.pprint(r) pprint.pprint(r.json())

I originally purchased the Aqara Hub M2 for my Aqara sensors (window/door, temp, water, motion). Problem was that the Hub did not pass on my water sensors to Home Assistant. That was a deal breaker for me. I then tried the Sonoff stick, and had similar issues, except the Motion Sensor would not show any updates/changes and I had lots of troubles with pairing. I then tried the Conbee and everything showed up nicely! Setup was not super smooth (did not automatically get detected), but I eventually figured it out. Adding devices was pretty easy. The web UI is nice, but definitely needs some enhancements (annoying help pop ups always show up when you go into Conbee). Overall, I am happy because I accomplished my goal.

The ConBee II works flawlessly with my dedicated Home Assistant setup on a Dell 5050. Easy to set up, great range, and seamless integration with Zigbee devices using Zigbee2MQTT and deCONZ. Solid choice for smart home automation!

Nice little adapter for zigbee devices.. However, as everyone who buys this should know, is that you need a USB extension cable for it to work. Meaning if you plug it into your raspberry pi or laptop or nuc... It's not going to detect none of your zigbee devices... Something about interference with the signals coming from the pin or nuc or laptop. SO, WHY DON'T THEY PACKAGE WITH AN EXTENSION CABLE? Or make this adapter work "better" (as it should - meaning without the cable)? Anyway, once you get it connected a few feet away from your pi or laptop etc. It detects everything with problems... I connected an ikea bulb and aqara motion detector and everything is fine. I use home assistant and as a first time user it was tough getting deconz working (configuration). Sure all the info is there but these developers and hardcore diy home automation guys assume you know their lingo etc. Anyway it's working fine.. Will update after playing around more with it.

I used to have a diy zigbee adapter for a raspberry pi, but the bare pcb and connectors got damaged. I was setting up home assistant and decided to grab a ready to use offering. This was the reccommended choice and it didnt disappoint. It was immediately detected and I have had no issues adding zigbee devices all over the house.

I purchased this to flash it to a thread border router, and other than having to do it on an actual windows machine and not a VM, it worked well. Once I flashed it with the thread border router firmware, I plugged it into Home Assistant and set it up. All is working fine. If you are looking for instructions for flashing it, search for conbee II thread border router in your favorite search engine, you'll find instructions. This was the cheapest way to get a thread border router.

My biggest concern was the range. I was using the Mijia hub before this to connect to Home Assistant using the Xiaomi custom addon but the range was very limited. I had to have line of site or close to it in order for things to work. I considered getting additional hubs and just adding them to each room where I would like to have zigbee sensors and switches but quickly realized that would be an expensive solution. So, I figured I'd try this and wow, the stick was easy to set up and the range is excellent. My Home Assistant server is approximately 4 walls between my bedroom and I am able to connect my smart switches. I even took them outside and the signal was able to reach. I saw little to no delay either at each distance I tested. Worth the price if you're on the fence about it and want wireless sensors and switches. Another huge plus is I can disconnect the mijia hub from my wifi.

Easy setup with home assistant, worked well for pairing a few aqara devices thus far.

If you have Home Assistant, then adding Zigbee devices, after all your Tasmota'd or ESPHome stuff, is the next evolution. Albeit that Zigbee requires you to learn an addition concept of connection. As to why this is probably the best option out there I will explain further. I started with the Conbee II running on a Raspberry PI Home Assistant OS install, this offered a good solution but initially being green with it, I was using the DeConz add on to Home Assistant to control it, which really isn't bad other than the fact that every time you start it that annoying "Add A Light" mimic page appears which you have to dismiss every time... I like to run Home Assistant as lean as possible with the least amount of add-ons that I can get away with, so I exchanged the Conbee II for a Tasmota'd Sonoff Zigbee Bridge, which uses a TCP port via Tasmota to connect to the Zigbee Gateway, utilising ZHA. This seemed to work adequately enough with my Aqara Motion Sensors and Leak Detectors. When I started adding Blind Motor Controllers, things started getting a little chaotic, which devices starting to drop off the Mesh at an alarming rate with me using up time trying to get them to work. Ultimately I think I was asking too much of the Wifi to TCP to Zigbee box, and it just isn't capable of managing all those devices. I had sold the original ConBee II stick so I bought another. This time, I no longer was using the Raspberry PI for home assistant, but a Home Assistant Blue, and no longer using the DeConz Add in, but set up with ZHA. This combination of a cabled device with HAB, provides much more reliability and also a noticeably faster speed of operation with the Zigbee devices, along with the IKEA Tradfri repeater unit that I have located the other side of my house, it appears to have made the entire Zigbee setup a whole lot more resilient. Yes, the ConBee II is expensive for what it is but it seems to offer the best most robust solution to adding Zigbee Networking to Home Assistant.

Nice, small, works perfectly

Integrates well with ZHA + home assistant in raspberry PI

Der Phoscon ConBee II ist eine großartige Zigbee-USB-Bridge, die sich hervorragend für die Verwendung mit zigbee2mqtt eignet. Die Einrichtung und Integration in mein Smart Home war einfach und reibungslos. Durch den ConBee II erhalte ich eine stabile Verbindung zu verschiedenen Zigbee-Geräten und kann diese problemlos mit meiner Home Assistant-Instanz steuern. Ein großer Vorteil des ConBee II ist seine Vielseitigkeit – er unterstützt eine breite Palette von Zigbee-Geräten von verschiedenen Herstellern, was es mir ermöglicht, mein Smart Home-System flexibel und kostengünstig zu erweitern. Die Reichweite des ConBee II ist ebenfalls sehr gut, sodass ich auch Geräte in weiter entfernten Bereichen ohne Probleme ansteuern kann. Die Kommunikation über zigbee2mqtt funktioniert hervorragend, und die Geräte lassen sich direkt über MQTT in Home Assistant integrieren. Dank der stabilen Verbindung und der zuverlässigen Leistung hat der Phoscon ConBee II meine Erwartungen erfüllt und stellt eine sehr empfehlenswerte Lösung für alle dar, die ein Open-Source Zigbee-Setup mit Zigbee2mqtt aufbauen möchten. Insgesamt bin ich mit dem Phoscon ConBee II sehr zufrieden. Er bietet eine robuste und vielseitige Lösung für Zigbee-Geräte und arbeitet nahtlos mit zigbee2mqtt zusammen – eine klare Empfehlung für alle, die in einem smarten, offenen System auf Zigbee setzen!

La mejor descripción sería - pasan los años y sigue funcionando. Llevo con el conbee más de 4 años y sigue funcionando como el primer día, despreocupado total de él, allí está haciendo el trabajo que se le pidió en su momento, coordinador toda mi red zigbee. No puedo comparar con otros cordinadores que han salido con los años porque tampoco he tenido la necesidad, sencillamente funciona.