In "Pages", no temperature is shown ("Null")

Setup, Configuration and Use Beginners
1

Hi,
I just add my first 3 ZigBee devices in OH3, under “Things” they are green.
These are Aquara devices.

Now I add them (simple) into the “Pages” to see values and test the page-designer,
but only the contact is shown the actuall status (on, off),
both temeprature sensores provide only a “Null”.
Are there additionally steps needed, because what I see they are green, has channels, …

4xzigbee-green
4xzigbee-green936×405 39.3 KB

Simple Test-Page:
temp-null

Channels:

channels
channels894×361 41.8 KB

2

Let’s work backwards.

The UI only shows the state of Items.

Item get a state a number of ways but in this case it gets it through a link to a Channel.

Channels are properties on a Thing and represent a single sensor value or single actuator (thing you can command) on a given device.

A Thing represents a single device and will have one ore more Channels.

The status of a Thing indicates that the communications path between OH and the device is working. It may not have anything to do with the actual status of the device. For some technologies like Zigbee, battery devices can be particularly difficult to determine if they are offline because they only wake up periodically to report a sensor reading. It could be days between reports for some types of sensors and devices.

So the data flow would be:

  1. Device publishes sensor reading
  2. Binding receives sensor reading and pass it through the Channel
  3. The Channel is linked to an Item and the new sensor reading is passed through that link to the Item
  4. The Item’s state updates.

Given this data flow, I would guess that this device is battery powered and perhaps it simply hasn’t reported a temperature reading yet. Or the device might not be working correctly or it might not be fully supported. Looking at the Zigbee binding docs there are known issues with the Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor.

3

Hi Rich,
thx for your answer.
This Device was before running in my Openhab2, but using the Xiaomi Gateway (not the ZigBee Stickt).
The device is a Aquara Mijia device (https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32870614227),
I think they should work (“standard, cheap sensor”, or?)
After 3 hours still no temperature or humidity data.

4

From the Zigbee binding docs:

Xiaomi/Aqara devices are not fully ZigBee compliant, and are known to suffer from multiple problems.

5

OK, maybe this is the issue :frowning:

The ZigBee USB-Stick(s), it seems they can be flashed with Zigbee2mqtt, can this “solve” the issue?
If the ZigBee Stick “see” the temperature from the Aqara-device, the temperature will be send periodically by MQTT ? And than OH can use this data …
Or is there a misunderstanding from my side?

6

That’s not how it works.

You can flash some Zigbee coordinators with updated or alternative firmware.

There is one coordinator built on the CC2530 chip which has a custom firmware that makes that coordinator compatible with Zigbee2MQTT.

Zigbee2MQTT is completely separate software that doesn’t have anything to do with openHAB which you’ll have to set up and run along side openHAB.

But yes, if you do all that you can subscribe to an MQTT topic using the MQTT binding in OH to get the sensor readings.

7

Hi,
yes, I use lot of SmartSwitches (on old running OH2 installation), communicating wit MQTT.
So MQTT broker will be also installed soon on the Raspberry /OH3 installation!

So if the ZigBee Stick is flashed with Zigbee2mqtt, will be this a solution for me?
About my “Sonoff ZigBee 3.0”, I find this information, whatever it means:

ITEAD has launched a new Zigbee dongle with the Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus powered by Texas Instruments CC2652P wireless MCU which follows the company’s Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle based on Silicon Labs EFT32MG21 Cortex-M4 microcontroller.

The dongle is pre-flashed with Z-Stack 3.x.0 coordinator firmware which enables ZHA in Home Assistant or Zigbee2MQTT compatibility.
8

If it’s a CC2530 Zigbeee controller. If not :man_shrugging: The model numbers are close but Zigbee2mqtt isn’t associated with openHAB. It’s its own project and I know nothing about it.

9

  1. Your picture shows an ember thing type installed with the name CC2531. Is that a mistake? A CC2531 will not work if setup as an ember as they are different brands.

  2. What coordinator do you actually have and have you updated its firmware, if so what version firmware?

  3. Regarding Aqara devices, my opinion is don’t buy them unless you want to run them on the aqara hub and have a separate zigbee stick for other devices. They will only work if you are very careful about what other devices that you purchase that act as routers. See this post to learn more and this applies even if you use zigbee2mqtt…

Easiest way to ZIGBEE! - Setup, Configuration and Use / Beginners - openHAB Community

I have a range of devices to test what is reliable and the aqara is only reliable IF it does not connect through any other router devices that don’t play well with that brand. I have sonoff and blitzwolf sensors and they both work fine in my limited testing. Sonoff are cheaper then the Aqara and dont seem to have the same compatibility issues.

  1. I found I sometimes get null readings until i push REFRESH on the web broswer. Updating to 3.2 milestone 4 seems so far to have fixed this. So give the refresh a push and see if that is the issue then upgrade if not on the latest milestone.
10

Seems there was naming mistake on my side,
it’s a Ember with 3587.
I remove the (not working) Aquara things and also the ZigBee Stick,
add new, including channels, and now: Working !?
TemperatureSensor, magnet-contact and the switch.

So fight will go on (understand the “Model” princip", MQTT addon, …)

Thx!