I’ve over 40 zigbee devices and am currently using ZHA but keep seeing people recommending using zigbee2mqtt. But I can’t work out if it’s worth the time re-importing all the devices or not.
What are the benefits of using zigbee2mqtt over ZHA and is it easy to move over if that’s the best way to go?
Zigbee2MQTT supports more devices, and has better support for some devices that ZHA only has basic support. For example I have some vibration sensors which ZHA supports for basic vibration detection, but Zigbee2MQTT can set vibration sensitivity levels as well as detect vibration.
Zigbee2MQTT also has a more advanced interface with more configuration options, displays more information, and has better network visualisation.
Another advantage is that Zigbee2MQTT can be run on a different system from Home Assistant. That way the Zigbee coordinator can be placed in optimal location of the home, while the Home Assistant can be located elsewhere.
If you are already comfortable with using ZHA I there isn’t much need to switch, unless you need support for devices only supported in Zigbee2MQTT or really need to relocate your Zigbee coordinator. Migrating a whole Zigbee network can be a bit of a pain. If you are curious about it you could always buy second Zigbee coordinator and run both.
For the Aquara vibration sensors, there is a way to set the sensitivity using Zha. It’s not the most intuitive thing, though. There are a bunch of variables that aren’t well named, and you just have to know what value to set. I don’t have the info at my fingertips, but it is available on the web somewhere.