Integrate Xiaomi things without gateway

Setup, Configuration and Use Installation
1

Hello all,

has anyone expirience with integration of xiaomi things (windows sensors, temperature etc.) into OH2 without using the xiaomi gateway? I have read that it is possible, because these things are communicate via Zigbee?!
Why I don’t want to use the gateway is due to security reasons…I do no like to use a chinese cloud :wink:

Thanks a lot.
Regards.
Alex

2

Hi,

What I understand of it is that it is a flavour of Zigbee so for most (indeed not all) sensors you need the gateway. The cloud is something different, you don’t need it. Its perfectly possible to use the gateway with blocked WAN access and have a full functional system.

3

as bartsnijder already mentioned, you can block the WAN-Access for the Gateway - but only after you added the sensors to the Gateway - and for that you need the MiHome-App. I also mistrust chinese servers, but you have to insert your Wifi credentials once for the start and to add the gateway to your network.
As said - after that you can block WAN-Access for the Gateway completely.

4

Yes is is possible but it involves a bit of diy:

5

Thanks all for you reply.
It is not also the wan access a problem… I’m Not a friend of adding one more “Box” to my Installation because I already use different Gateways (Homematic, Zigbee, Max!)

6

Yes as vzorglub said, definitely go with zigbee2mqtt. There are quite many of us running that with OH.

7

Hi.
Can someone tell me, how i can block the wan access in the app?
Or can i block the gateway in my fritzbox.
Thanks and greetings,
Markus

8

Give the gateway a fixed ip and block outbound traffic for that ip

9

Interesting bridge…
I only wonder about coverage. “normal” Zigbee makes a mesh network so a long I have enough devices all will be fine. I guess a lot of devices will not act as repeater, certainly when using different flavors of Zigbee.
What is the range such a setup?

10

Don’t know your Setup, but if you using a Fritz!Box and ask on blocking access:

  1. either a static IP - or a “dynamic” static, meaning you open the network list in Fritz.box and click “alwas assign same IP” for the device
  2. add a filter “blocked” (depending on Fritz!OS there should be already a blocked profile
  3. assign that filter profile to the device
  4. done

I’m using that for all that “IoT”-devices I use within OpenHAB like amazon dash buttons - or the Xiaomi Gateway.

11

I’m using the Xiaomi Gateway for my remote cottage wireless sensors setup. And yes - not one device acts as mesh. There’s either the normal gateway or a wireless webcam which act like a normal “zigbee mesh” (I don’t use zigbee, but from what I read most pure zigbee devices - at least those who have wired power do).
So yes, the problem is range, when you use a setup like zigbee2mqtt with flavored devices like the Xiaomi/Aqara ones. In my use case (all wooden 200 years old cottage) the range is limited for like 20m max depending on how much wood is blocking sight. I had to move one sensor which could not be found from the gateway - but was like 5m away from the next sensor (hum/temp/pressure).

12

Here is how I did it.

13

Besides the range, I believe the interference (same radio band with WiFi) can also play havoc on the sensors. If the sensors are on the edge of the network, it might work fine most of the time until one day there is interference or environment factors, and it can’t reach the CC2531 sniffer, and it then stops communicating. Then you have to manually bring it closer to the sniffer and re-pair it. Kind of a pain in the butt. I am buying more CC2531 to use as routers.

14

And then connect them to what? A PI for each CC2531 is going to be costly…

15

I am under the impression that once flashed, we just need to power that through the USB power plug. The router should just relay the message to the coordinator.

16

I use the already mentioned zigbee2mqtt, have a look here to integrate into openHAB2.

17

Thanks all for your reply.
I’ll try the zigbee2mqtt - way and have ordered the necessary devices/tools (CC2531, CC-Debugger …).
One question:
After flashing the CUL and config. it is enough to install zigbee2mqtt on the same PI whre OH2 is running?
Does it works with the MQTT binding directly or do I need to install a mqtt broker in between? (zigbee2mqtt and OH).

Thanks a lot!

18

Yes
See: MQTT Binding (v1.11) Getting Started 101

19

I have used a router firmware from this page:
http://ptvo.info/cc2531-based-router-firmware-136/

After flashing I was not able to integrate this device in my Zigbee network via openHAB. I then used Zigbee2mqtt on a spare PI to add the stick to the network. After that I just needed to plug the stick into a USB charger/port to power it and it would route.

Only challenge I had was that the firmware uses a precompiled network key (Xiaomi I believe). So I just used that one on my network and it worked. Yay

20

Make sure you are running stretch based debian, jessi does not work.

1 Like