[SOLVED] ConBee III won't start up on Raspberry Pi

YamiYukiSenpai · May 14, 2025, 4:33am

I have an 8GB Raspberry Pi 4, running on Ubuntu Server. I’m using the ConBee III as the receiver

ConBee III keeps on errorring out when plugged into the Raspberry Pi.

I also updated its firmware (deCONZ_ConBeeIII_0x26540900.bin.GCF) from here.

Tried with Docker (snap):

$ docker compose -f /home/docker/zigbee2mqtt/docker-compose.yaml logs -f
zigbee2mqtt  | Using '/app/data' as data directory
zigbee2mqtt  | Starting Zigbee2MQTT without watchdog.
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:03:57] info:      z2m: Logging to console, file (filename: log.log)
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:03:58] info:      z2m: Starting Zigbee2MQTT version 2.3.0 (commit #aec59cb774aa09a793ae41cd60e6a5cef15b293c
zigbee2mqtt  | )
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:03:58] info:      z2m: Starting zigbee-herdsman (4.0.0)
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:03:58] info:      zh:adapter:discovery: Matched adapter: {"path":"/dev/ttyUSB0","manufacturer":"dresden elektronik","serialNumber":"DE03317044","pnpId":"usb-dresden_elektronik_ConBee_III_DE03317044-if00-port0","vendorId":"0403","productId":"6015"} => deconz: 3
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:08] error:     z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:08] error:     z2m: Failed to start zigbee-herdsman
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:08] error:     z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:08] error:     z2m: Exiting...
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:08] error:     z2m: Error: TIMEOUT
zigbee2mqtt  |     at Driver.processBusyQueue (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:525:28)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at Timeout._onTimeout (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:162:46)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at listOnTimeout (node:internal/timers:594:17)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at processTimers (node:internal/timers:529:7)
zigbee2mqtt exited with code 0
zigbee2mqtt  | Starting Zigbee2MQTT without watchdog.
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:13] info:      z2m: Logging to console, file (filename: log.log)
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:13] info:      z2m: Starting Zigbee2MQTT version 2.3.0 (commit #aec59cb774aa09a793ae41cd60e6a5cef15b293c
zigbee2mqtt  | )
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:13] info:      z2m: Starting zigbee-herdsman (4.0.0)
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:14] info:      zh:adapter:discovery: Matched adapter: {"path":"/dev/ttyUSB0","manufacturer":"dresden elektronik","serialNumber":"DE03317044","pnpId":"usb-dresden_elektronik_ConBee_III_DE03317044-if00-port0","vendorId":"0403","productId":"6015"} => deconz: 3
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:24] error:     z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:24] error:     z2m: Failed to start zigbee-herdsman
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:24] error:     z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:24] error:     z2m: Exiting...
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:24] error:     z2m: Error: TIMEOUT
zigbee2mqtt  |     at Driver.processBusyQueue (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:525:28)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at Timeout._onTimeout (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:162:46)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at listOnTimeout (node:internal/timers:594:17)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at processTimers (node:internal/timers:529:7)
zigbee2mqtt exited with code 0
zigbee2mqtt  | Starting Zigbee2MQTT without watchdog.
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:28] info:      z2m: Logging to console, file (filename: log.log)
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:29] info:      z2m: Starting Zigbee2MQTT version 2.3.0 (commit #aec59cb774aa09a793ae41cd60e6a5cef15b293c
zigbee2mqtt  | )
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:29] info:      z2m: Starting zigbee-herdsman (4.0.0)
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:29] info:      zh:adapter:discovery: Matched adapter: {"path":"/dev/ttyUSB0","manufacturer":"dresden elektronik","serialNumber":"DE03317044","pnpId":"usb-dresden_elektronik_ConBee_III_DE03317044-if00-port0","vendorId":"0403","productId":"6015"} => deconz: 3
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:39] error:     z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:39] error:     z2m: Failed to start zigbee-herdsman
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:39] error:     z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:39] error:     z2m: Exiting...
zigbee2mqtt  | [2025-05-11 23:04:39] error:     z2m: Error: TIMEOUT
zigbee2mqtt  |     at Driver.processBusyQueue (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:525:28)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at Timeout._onTimeout (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:162:46)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at listOnTimeout (node:internal/timers:594:17)
zigbee2mqtt  |     at processTimers (node:internal/timers:529:7)
zigbee2mqtt exited with code 0

And non-containerized:

$ pnpm start

> [email protected] start /opt/zigbee2mqtt
> node index.js

Starting Zigbee2MQTT without watchdog.
[2025-05-11 23:40:55] info:     z2m: Logging to console, file (filename: log.log)
[2025-05-11 23:40:55] info:     z2m: Starting Zigbee2MQTT version 2.3.0 (commit #unknown)
[2025-05-11 23:40:55] info:     z2m: Starting zigbee-herdsman (4.0.0)
[2025-05-11 23:40:56] info:     zh:adapter:discovery: Matched adapter: {"path":"/dev/ttyUSB0","manufacturer":"dresden elektronik","serialNumber":"DE03317044","pnpId":"usb-dresden_elektronik_ConBee_III_DE03317044-if00-port0","vendorId":"0403","productId":"6015"} => deconz: path=/dev/ttyUSB0, score=3
[2025-05-11 23:41:06] error:    z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
[2025-05-11 23:41:06] error:    z2m: Failed to start zigbee-herdsman
[2025-05-11 23:41:06] error:    z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions
[2025-05-11 23:41:06] error:    z2m: Exiting...
[2025-05-11 23:41:06] error:    z2m: Error: TIMEOUT
    at Driver.processBusyQueue (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:525:28)
    at Timeout._onTimeout (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/deconz/driver/driver.ts:162:46)
    at listOnTimeout (node:internal/timers:588:17)
    at processTimers (node:internal/timers:523:7)
 ELIFECYCLE  Command failed with exit code 1.

I tried various USB ports, and all give the same issue

xyz · May 14, 2025, 1:48pm

I would try another USB cable.

Per their documentation this appears to be common issues with timeouts:

Error: regular crashes with timeout errors or failure to start after the serial port is opened

These errors may occur when the serial communication between the ZigBee dongle and Zigbee2MQTT unexpectedly stops working.

Possible reasons that may cause this error:

?1. The hardware connection between the host computer and the ZigBee dongle is unreliable. In the following example a cheap USB cable causing unreliable connection is compared with a good USB cable:
good-vs-bad-usb-cable1815×950 543 KB
With such cheap cable it is enough to touch the cable to cause USB disconnections.

Zigbee2MQTT is running in a Virtual Machine and the USB passthrough between the host and the VM is unreliable. This can be caused by the virtualization environment, the USB hardware or a combination of both. If these error appear, we can do something to reduce the complexity of the setup, improve stability and help investigating the usb connection with the host. Instead of passing through to the VM the full USB device we passthrough the serial device. The VM configuration changes from host-(USB passthrough)->VM->USB-serial->serial(for Zigbee2MQTT configuration) to host-(serial passthrough)->VM->serial(for Zigbee2MQTT configuration)

As an example, this is the procedure to passthrough the serial device to a Proxmox Home Assistant OS installation:

Add a serial0 (or serial1 or 2 or 3) to the proxmox VM hardware
By default the serial port is a socket in the Proxmox hardware VM config (“serial0: socket”) so we have to change this parameter in the VM configuration file /etc/pve/quemu-server/{VMID}.conf to point to the real serial device, for example: “serial0: /dev/serial/by-id/usb-ITEAD_SONOFF_Zigbee_3.0_USB_Dongle_Plus_V2_20240122184528-if00”

Free up the ttyS0 serial port from getty in Home Assistant OS
In the VM this serial port passed through is recognized as ttyS0, but the Home Assistant OS systemd by default is spawning an agetty on /dev/ttyS0, in factin the file /mnt/boot/cmdline.txt kernel commandline parameters the ttyS0 is set as console (content is “console=ttyS0 console=tty0”). We have to change this cmdline.txt file in the VM so that systemd leaves ttyS0 alone without spawning agetty, therefore we remove the ttyS0 part and the cmdline.txt becomes “console=tty0”.

Now Zigbee2MQTT is able to reach the dongle through /dev/ttyS0 which is a “real” serial port inside the VM. Any issue with the USB device is logged by the host kernel and can be easily spotted with dmesg in this way we isolate them from the issues on the serial device.

MetalizeYourBrain · May 14, 2025, 10:17pm

Try to deploy an older version of Zigbee2MQTT, like the 2.2.0.
They’re having lots of troubles with the 2.3.0 release. I kept mine at the 2.2.0 until all the issues are ironed out in the next release.
Let me know if an older version works for you.

YamiYukiSenpai · May 19, 2025, 7:23pm

Didn’t work

I also read somewhere (trying to find it) that having my boot device on the M.2 SATA plugged to a USB might cause some interference, so I removed it, and plugged in a 128GB SD card, but still no dice

YamiYukiSenpai · May 19, 2025, 9:03pm

Resolved

worked after I set the default baudrate as per this guide

serial:
  port: /dev/ttyUSB0
  adapter: deconz
  baudrate: 115200