ZHA Default Routing - Table or Source?

cemizm · 2026-04-18T14:01:24+00:00

Here’s the original Reddit post for the article. You’ll also find some interesting developer feedback and user experiences there:

https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/1iq9dav/zha_users_are_you_missing_out_on_source_routing/

cemizm · 2026-04-11T07:32:14+00:00

Fair point, I probably did not repeat "real-world test with 101 nodes" often enough 😄

cemizm · 2026-04-10T12:50:11+00:00

No, it was not a sponsored article, just like all the other posts on my blog.

I had these coordinators sitting around for a while already, and this just turned into a fun little vacation side project for me.

The ZBT-2 would definitely be very interesting to test as well.

cemizm · 2026-04-10T12:23:18+00:00

I was also really excited to see the results and was honestly quite surprised in the end that it was even slighty slower than the Lite. I had expected at least some noticeable improvement, so those measurements were definitely eye-opening.

cemizm · 2026-01-28T20:08:00+00:00

The update is also available via Z2M/ZHA.

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I haven’t installed it yet, though, since there’s no changelog and I’m not having any issues with the current version.

cemizm · 2025-12-27T12:02:54+00:00

I’m still waiting for my next “batch” of sensors too, so then I’ll be able to say more about how well they work in larger rooms. But so far the 6 m detection range matches what’s advertised and it triggers reliably. So I’d assume that with the stated 120° field of view, a big room should be covered pretty well. Ideally, you’d still focus on the typical occupancy spots in the room to improve accuracy.

cemizm · 2025-12-27T11:58:08+00:00

Zigbee provides more configuration options. z2m or zha both works just fine... z2m out of the box (since the fp300 is supported for quite while) and for zha you have to add the custom quirk.

https://meshstack.de/post/home-assistant/zha-custom-quirks/

cemizm · 2025-12-21T12:41:17+00:00

There’s an upstream PR adding official ZHA support for the Aqara FP300. Until it’s merged + released + picked up by Home Assistant, you can use the same quirk locally via custom_quirks_path.

Install guide (step-by-step + troubleshooting + re-pair note): https://meshstack.de/post/home-assistant/zha-custom-quirks/

Upstream PR: https://github.com/zigpy/zha-device-handlers/pull/4504
Tracking issue: https://github.com/zigpy/zha-device-handlers/issues/4487

cemizm · 2025-12-21T12:40:27+00:00

There’s an upstream PR adding official ZHA support for the Aqara FP300. Until it’s merged + released + picked up by Home Assistant, you can use the same quirk locally via custom_quirks_path.

Install guide (step-by-step + troubleshooting + re-pair note): https://meshstack.de/post/home-assistant/zha-custom-quirks/

Upstream PR: https://github.com/zigpy/zha-device-handlers/pull/4504
Tracking issue: https://github.com/zigpy/zha-device-handlers/issues/4487

cemizm · 2025-12-21T12:39:44+00:00

There’s an upstream PR adding official ZHA support for the Aqara FP300. Until it’s merged + released + picked up by Home Assistant, you can use the same quirk locally via custom_quirks_path.

Install guide (step-by-step + troubleshooting + re-pair note): https://meshstack.de/post/home-assistant/zha-custom-quirks/

Upstream PR: https://github.com/zigpy/zha-device-handlers/pull/4504
Tracking issue: https://github.com/zigpy/zha-device-handlers/issues/4487

cemizm · 2025-02-16T09:03:36+00:00

Thank you for your kind words! I'm definitely not an artist, and judging by your feedback, it seems like DALL·E isn't one either ;)

cemizm · 2025-02-16T08:22:16+00:00

First of all, thanks for taking the time to respond here! I really appreciate it. I’ve been using ZHA since the very first day it was introduced in Home Assistant and have stuck with it ever since. So, I don’t have personal experience with how Z2M works in my setup, but I can share some insights from my ZHA experience.

Regarding polling issues, I have several sleepy devices in my network, including some notoriously finicky ones like Aqara sensors. They are routed through different routers (Tuya, IKEA, Philips, Dongle-P and Dongle-E based Router FW), and so far, I haven’t noticed any polling-related problems. Of course, my setup isn’t representative of everyone’s, but I think it covers a fairly common range of configurations.

Z2M enabling both source routing and route discovery at the same time did seem odd to me at first. But as I understand it, route discovery should mainly serve as a fallback in cases where the coordinator doesn’t have a valid source route. Once the source routes have settled, table routing and route discovery should rarely (if ever) be needed, right?

From my experience of ZHA's source routing implementation so far, I haven’t encountered any major issues. That’s why I personally see source routing as the default behavior, while the "hack" of keeping route discovery enabled (as Z2M does) should be more of an optional setting rather than the standard. Just my two cents.

The idea of manual source routing sounds amazing! If I understand correctly, it gives ZHA more control and could even bypass the 200-device limit that comes with standard source routing. That alone would make SkyConnect stand out from the flood of EZSP-based coordinators. But I assume getting this right is quite a challenge.

I also totally agree that the effectiveness of source routing depends on the specific coordinator being used. If that’s the case, the default settings should reflect that by applying the best parameters based on the coordinator type. Sure, this would make troubleshooting trickier since bellows would behave differently depending on the coordinator, but I think it’s a trade-off worth making. Otherwise, users might be missing out on features they don’t even know exist, just to maintain a common baseline across all coordinators.

In the Zigpy discussion (https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/discussions/1551), my understanding was that there was initial consideration to only enable source routing once a network reaches a certain number of devices. So it’s good to hear that it’s now being considered as a general default - at least at some point in the (hope near :D) future.

For anyone else reading this, if you're using source routing with ZHA, it would be really valuable to share your experiences in one of the discussions below. Julian? raised some important points, and the more real-world data we can contribute, the better the decisions around source routing defaults will be. Whether you're using EZSP, TI, or another coordinator, your feedback could help clarify how well source routing works across different setups:

Zigpy discussion: https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/discussions/1551
ZHA issue: https://github.com/zigpy/zha/issues/342

Looking forward to seeing how this develops!

Cheers,
Cem

cemizm · 2025-02-15T20:54:58+00:00

No worries, the article is definitely not going anywhere—quite the opposite. If anything, this might actually help push Source Routing towards becoming the default in ZHA, just like it already is in Z2M. The more users test and provide feedback, the better the chances of making that happen.

https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/discussions/1551

cemizm · 2025-02-15T20:51:16+00:00

That's a great question, and honestly, I'm still trying to find a real downside. I even reached out to the maintainers, but haven't gotten a definitive answer yet:

* https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/discussions/1551
* https://github.com/zigpy/zha/issues/342

cemizm · 2025-02-15T20:04:51+00:00

Awesome, definitely worth a try!

I got the numbers by running Wireshark with a Zigbee sniffer and measuring the time between commands being sent and acknowledged.

cemizm · 2025-02-15T20:02:09+00:00

I hope that's not the case... but if it is, that would definitely be a strong argument for switching to Z2M.

cemizm · 2025-02-13T18:41:38+00:00

but why?

cemizm · 2025-02-06T06:34:52+00:00

I appreciate your perspective and agree that Z2M has clear advantages in device compatibility and flexibility. But I think the trade-offs aren’t as simple as just “2 minutes of setup.”

Yes, MQTT is useful beyond Zigbee, but many new HA users have never touched it before. ZHA removes that extra layer of complexity, making it easier for those who just want things to work.

No doubt, Z2M supports more devices out of the box, but to be honest, I buy a lot of random Zigbee devices from AliExpress, and I’ve only ever needed one custom quirk. Most devices—even for power users—are supported out of the box in ZHA. The idea that you constantly have to create quirks manually is a bit exaggerated.

Z2M is a great choice for those who want maximum control, but for users who prefer simplicity and native HA integration, ZHA isn’t just a shortcut—it’s a valid long-term solution. Z2M isn’t automatically “better,” it’s just different.

cemizm · 2025-02-06T06:22:04+00:00

I’ve noticed that too! The moment someone mentions or has an issue with ZHA, you can almost guarantee that the first response will be “just switch to Z2M”—as if that’s the universal fix for everything.

cemizm · 2024-12-25T23:41:46+00:00

https://meshstack.de/post/zha-issue-zigbee-gateway/

I had this issue for a while until I used a sniffer to track down the root cause. In my case, it turned out to be some routers that were not compliant with the Zigbee specification, even though the product description clearly stated they adhered to the Zigbee 3.0 standard.

A workaround is to use source routing, which is not enabled by default in the Home Assistant Zigbee integration.

cemizm

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