I’ve been exploring the integration of Zigbee and MQTT in OpenHAB, and I wanted to share my journey and findings. For those who might be interested, I’ve been migrating from the native Zigbee binding to Zigbee2MQTT for better device support and configuration options. However, I’ve noticed a significant difference in how feedback is handled between the two setups.
With the Zigbee binding, I’ve always appreciated the immediate and reliable feedback when controlling devices. For instance, when I send an ‘On’ command to a PowerOutlet, the interface updates to reflect the status change, and if the command fails, the device goes offline, which is a clear indicator that something’s amiss. This level of feedback is crucial for ensuring that my automation scripts are working as intended, especially for devices that are not easily accessible.
Switching to MQTT, I’ve noticed that the feedback mechanism is less straightforward. While commands are executed, there isn’t an immediate confirmation of success or failure. This can be a bit disconcerting, as it leaves me wondering whether the device actually received and acted upon the command. I’ve observed that the MQTT binding doesn’t wait for a confirmation from Zigbee2MQTT, which means that the interface might show the device as ‘On’ even if it hasn’t responded. This is a bit concerning, especially for critical devices.
I’ve reached out to the community to see if there’s a way to configure Zigbee2MQTT or the MQTT binding to provide synchronous feedback. The ability to have the system confirm whether a command was successful would add a layer of reliability that’s essential for a seamless smart home experience. If anyone has insights or workarounds, I’d be thrilled to hear about them!
In the meantime, I’m continuing to experiment with different configurations and scripts to find a balance between the flexibility of MQTT and the reliability of the native Zigbee binding. It’s a fascinating challenge, and I’m hopeful that with some tweaking, I can achieve the best of both worlds.
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to any feedback or suggestions you might have!