Usually, to pair an Aqara device (Zigbee) with your hub, you need to press the reset button until it starts flashing (usually 5 or 8 seconds depending on the model). However, often, nothing happens, and your hub will report that the pairing failed, even though you were close to the hub and made sure there were no Bluetooth devices communicating in the nearby area.

In such cases, after the reset (explained above), press and release immediately the reset button once every 5 seconds. This will keep the device awake and maximize the chance of a successful pairing.

Notice: Aqara devices are built by Lumi United Technology. Lumi is also producing the devices of Xiaomi. So, this trick is valid for most of them (and most ZigBee devices on battery)

First, be sure that openhabian can access the serial ports. The easiest is to configure that via openhabian-config > System Settings > Serial Port:

sudo openhabian-config 

You can also do it with raspi-config > Interfacing Options > Serial :

sudo apt-get install raspi-config
sudo raspi-config

> Would you like a login shell accessible over serial? → No
> Would you like the serial port hardware to be enabled? → Yes

 

Next, check that the sticks are well plugged with the command:

lsusb

You should see something like

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 011: ID 1cf1:0030 Dresden Elektronik ZigBee gateway [ConBee II]
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0658:0200 Sigma Designs, Inc. Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5 (ZW090) – UZB
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 2109:3431 VIA Labs, Inc. Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

In order to always have the USB sticks mounted on the same “port”, instead of being assigned once on /dev/ttyACM0, once on /dev/ttyACM1, … create a UDEV Rule file:

sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-usb-serial.rules

Type the following, using the ID of the USB sticks found above, in this file:

SUBSYSTEM==”tty”, ATTRS{idVendor}==”0658“, ATTRS{idProduct}==”0200“, SYMLINK+=”ttyUSB-ZWave”, GROUP=”dialout”, MODE=”0666″
SUBSYSTEM==”tty”, ATTRS{idVendor}==”1cf1“, ATTRS{idProduct}==”0030“, SYMLINK+=”ttyUSB-ZigBee”, GROUP=”dialout”, MODE=”0666″

If you didn’t prepare openhabian for ZigBee via sudo openhabian-config > System Settings > Serial Port, grant the following access for openhab :

sudo adduser openhab dialout
sudo adduser openhab tty

Now, reboot (sudo reboot) and test if symlink was created with the command :

ls /dev/tty*

You should see

/dev/ttyUSB-ZigBee
/dev/ttyUSB-ZWave

Add edit openhab config file to add the symlinks to the PATH variable for Java (NB: for openhab 2, the file is namge openhab2 !!):

sudo nano /etc/default/openhab

Search the line with EXTRA_JAVE_OPTS and modify accordingly to complete the parameter ‘Dgnu.io.rxtx.SerialPorts’:

EXTRA_JAVA_OPTS=”-Xms192m -Xmx320m -Dgnu.io.rxtx.SerialPorts=/dev/ttyUSB-ZWave:/dev/ttyUSB-ZigBee“

Now, reboot again (sudo reboot) and install Phoscon, the application to manage the ZigBee devices. The easiest is to install it (on port 8081 as recommended) via openhabian-config > Optional Components > deCONZ:

sudo openhabian-config

You can also look here on the phoscon website for a manual setup

If you have a RPI 4B, also update the WiringPI like this:

cd /tmp
wget https://project-downloads.drogon.net/wiringpi-latest.deb
sudo dpkg -i wiringpi-latest.deb

You can now open phoscon to login and search for ZigBee devices on http://<your RPI IP>:8081

If after a reboot, this UI is not available, then enable manually the service:

sudo systemctl enable deconz

If you want to change the port of Phoscon, edit the parameter ‘http-port’ in this file:

sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/deconz.service

 

Finally, install the following addons (Bindings) in OpenHab :

• “Dresden Elektronik deCONZ Binding”
• “Z-Wave Binding”

The ConBee gateway will be detected automatically by OpenHab and appear twice in the ‘Inbox’: once as Deconz and once as Hue (indeed, it emulates a Philips Hue Bridge). If it was not detected automatically, open the Phoscon UI > Gateway > Advanced (Gear Icon at the bottom of the page) and CLick on “Authenticat App”. Then add the Thing manually into OpenHab using the Scan button of:

OpenHab UI > Administration > Parameters > Things > + (Add Thing) > Dresden Elektronik deCONZ Binding

 

The Zwave gateway will only appear if you add it explicitly into OpenHab:

OpenHab UI > Administration > Parameters > Things > + (Add Thing) > Z-Wave Binding > Z-Wave Serial Controller

In the field Serial Port, type manually ‘/dev/ttyUSB-ZWave’ (without the quotes) and click ‘Create Thing’

Wait for about 10 seconds and the gateway will soon become online.

Et voilà.

I am using a Zigbee USB key Conbee II from Dresen Eletronik.

It is plugged into the Raspberry Pi with a USB cable extension to put it away from the other keys used on this RPi, like my Sigma Z-Wave controller.

I am sing OpenHab 3 (previously OpenHab 2).

Opposite to the Sigma Z-Wave USB key, there is not mount issue after a reboot due to the usb port id increasing… (See also a solution in French).

I am using the Phoscon App to connect and manage devices via the Conbee II key. The App is accessible on the http port 80 of the Raspberry.

To connect a new Xiaomi Aqara device,

1. “Add a Sensor” or a “Add a Switch” within Phoscon. Pick the type “Other”.
2. Press the reset button for 5 sec. The blue led should turn on and start blinking after 5 sec. Release the button immediately when it starts blinking. The led will then turn on for 2 or 3 sec and then blink 3 times. It means that the connection is established.
3. A few second later, the device will appear in Phoscon.

To get the Things into Openhab, Add the Binding “Dresen Eletronik DeCONZ Binding” and “Scan” for devices.

I am using with success:

• Multi Sensors : with values for Temperature, Humidity and Pressure
• Door and Window Sensors: with Status Opened / Closed
• A Cube : with events Pushed (various direction), Rotation, Shacked
• Wireless Mini Switch : One Button Control with 4 events: Single Press, Double Press, Long Press and Long Press Release

 

Notice: 

• after a few month using the Door Sensors on my Garage Door, it stopped to send events… The problem was that the captor part was attached on a metal upright which ended to be magnetized by the magnet part moving around…