Zooz 800 Series Z-Wave Long Range GPIO Module ZAC93 LR (Use with Home Assistant Yellow or Raspberry Pi)

Installed to RPi5 for HA. Set up according manual, no complications.

I had high hopes for this module, to upgrade and replace an Aeotec Gen500+ USB stick in a HA Yellow (as it says its designed for). Migrating a 66 node network in HA JSUI directly, or via nvmedit convert. Early firmware versions caused lockups/transmit errors, and caused my perfectly functioning network to collapse, even close mains devices were unpingable/dead. Had to revert to Aeotec, and all was fine again. Tried more than 1 of these modules. Zooz support (very responsive and helpful) tried, but had no answers. Last ditch I bought the Zooz ZST39 USB stick and updated to v1.4 as well. World of difference!! The network came back up as it should, and lightning fast. My mesh has now recalculated and has less hops/more direct node connections than before. I'm now running 100% on the Zooz USB stick. I'm not sure if its because the GPIO is shielded by the HA yellow case, or if it isn't as good on transmit generally (although Zooz advised they are the same capability), but I had a disaster with the GPIO and total success with the USB stick, changing nothing else. I don't have a small z-wave network, but be warned on the performance. I'll be buying another ZST39 as backup and getting rid of the Aeotecs now. The GPIO 'may' be better if you only plan on using it with LR devices, yet untested by me. (use simplicity studio with usb to ttl adapter for GPIO) or update with no nodes added, or you risk bricking the device - happened to me. Zooz couldn't fix it). Check this before you do anything else, start with at least v1.4 before adding nodes. Looks like v1.5 of firmware will be released soon, and Silicon Labs claim all transmit lockups are fixed in that versions release notes. I see them rarely now on v1.4 and it's not bad like it was, so doesn't damage damage the mesh/automations reliability

Super fonctionne parfaitement sur ma Box Yellow Home Assistant

It works, and it's cheaper than the USB stick. Slightly tricky to get it working but there's plenty of help online. One thing I found is that the electronic noise from the Pi makes it quite deaf. So it works fine for a door lock 5 m away, but for one 10 m away downstairs, it's very unreliable. I have no other always-on devices to make a mesh. I solved this by adding an external antenna, micro soldering not for the inexperienced. So if this is your only node, perhaps opt for a USB one that can be easily moved away from the Pi.

Everything worked perfectly. To be clear, it’s not a simple solution when using it with home assistant yellow. It takes root access and config file changes. But if you’re comfortable making those changes, it is a beautiful fit and does a great job. By the way. Many say that you have to disable Bluetooth to use it. When using it with the yellow and pi 5, that is not the case. I have zwave, zigbee, and Bluetooth all active and encased within the yellow’s case.

Very easy installation with Home Assistant. Plug into a USB port, add the integration, and start adding devices. I've been using it for over 6 months and no issues.

Tout est bien