In the meantime, we recommend the Home Assistant Yellow which has Zigbee on board, the SONOFF Zigbee Dongle E adapter which features the same chipset, comes with an external antenna, and is available for only $29.95, or the Zooz Z-Wave Dongle 800 for only $26.95.

The Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 (formerly known as SkyConnect) is designed to be a perfect match for Home Assistant Users. The device provides an easy connection with Zigbee and will support Matter specifications in the future with a firmware update from Home Assistant*. The product supports Over-The-Wire (OTW) Firmware Update via the USB interface, which allows easy and quick firmware updates for both protocols.

The device is an EFR32 Series 2 (Silicon Labs EZSP v8) adapter that will transmit at a power of +20 dBm. The drive supports full-speed USB 2.0 when plugged into the included USB extender.

Home Assistant will soon add Thread support; allowing your Home Assistant ZBT-1 to be used to connect to Thread-based Matter devices

The USB Stick will be Plug and Play, tightly integrated with the Zigbee Home Automation integration allowing for a beginner-friendly experience.

* The ZBT-1 will not run Matter immediately on launch, but when using Home Assistant, the firmware will be updated to enable Matter when it is finished being developed. This is due to the Matter protocol not being finalized and released until November (not all of the protocol specifications are currently available). Home Assistant is already working on the Matter implementation, but more information will come after November.

FEATURES

• 2.4GHz Multi-Protocol USB
• Transceiver
• Zigbee 3.0; Thread (Matter) via firmware update
• USB v2.0 full-speed
• TX power up to +20dBm
• Silabs EFR32MG21 Wireless SoC
• Over-The-Wire (OTW) update support
• Runs 2 Protocols Simultaneously
• Dual-Protocol operation (Zigbee, Matter)
• Made for Home Assistant, adaptable for any case
• Futureproof Wireless Transceiver
• Low-risk bundle device for Gateway

INCLUDES

• Connect ZBT-1 USB Device
• USB Extension Cable (50cm/19.6in.)

SPECIFICATIONS

• Support for Zigbee 3.0;Thread (Matter) via firmware update
• Over-the-wire (OTW) firmware updates
• USB v2.0 full-speed 
• Supply : 5V DC / up to 150mA
• USB: v2.0 full speed (12Mbps)
• Bridge: USB to UART, Silabs CP2102N
• Transceiver: Silabs EFR32MG21
• Frequency: 2.4GHz
• Antenna: PCB
• TX Power : up to +20dBm
• RX sensitivity : -104dBm (250kbps)
• Protocols: Zigbee 3.0; Thread (Matter) via firmware update
• Stack: EmberZNet Serial Protocol (EZSP)
• Dimensions (LxWxH) : approx. 38.5 x 18 x 4,5mm
• Weight: 4g

LINKS

• EU CE Declaration of Conformity: https://skyconnect.home-assistant.io/resources/SkyConnect_DoC_EU_CE.pdf