/silabs-multiprotocol-firmware-zbgw04-usb

Multiprotocol/MultiPAN RCP Firmware for USB Dongles ZB-GW04 based on ZYZBP008 SM-011

ℹ️ IMPORTANT: Firmware in this repo is manually built, this is unreliable in terms of build reproducibility and will cause slower releases when a new version is required. I highly encourage you to use the following repos to get your firmware as they use the automated build system by Nabu Casa for several devices:

The latest firmware builds from darkxst can also be installed using this web flasher (chrome/edge only):

Multiprotocol/MultiPAN RCP Firmware for USB Dongles ZB-GW04 based on ZYZBP008 SM-011

This repository aims to provide firmware files for ZB-GW04 dongles that are compatible with Home Assistant's Silicon Labs Multiprotocol Addon.

Original firmware source: SiliconLabs Multiprotocol (OpenThread+Zigbee) RCP (rcp-uart-802154).

⚠️ DISCLAIMER: Use these firmware files at your own risk. I will upload them after testing them myself, however, I am not an expert on these devices.

I bought both my v1.1 and v1.2 at EasyIoT / eWeSmart Store Aliexpress store, but many other stores sell it, although the images in the ZB-GW04 listing shows hardware version v1.1 at the time of this writting (February 2023) they are selling hardware version v1.2 which is better as it supports hardware flow control.

Firmware configuration

ZB-GW04 hardware version ➡️
⬇️ Setting ⬇️		 v1.1
(Without Hardware Flow Control)		 v1.2
(With Hardware Flow Control)
Board Custom Board Custom Board
Target Device EFR32MG21A020F768IM32 EFR32MG21A020F768IM32
RAIL Utility, PTI: Selected Module None None
CPC Secondary - UART: Flow Control None CTS/RTS
CPC Secondary - UART: RX PB00 PB00
CPC Secondary - UART: TX PB01 PB01
CPC Secondary - UART: CTS None PD03
CPC Secondary - UART: RTS None PD04
CPC Security Disabled Encryption Disabled Encryption
High Frequency Crystal Oscillator (HFXO): CTUNE 128 128
LED (Not in use) PC00 PC00

Flashing instructions

Use universal-silabs-flasher as follows:

universal-silabs-flasher \
    --device /dev/ttyUSB0 \
    --baudrate XXXXXX \
    flash \
    --firmware FIRMWARE_FILE.gbl \
    --allow-cross-flashing

Set the baudrate parameter to the baudrate of the current firmware in the USB Dongle, from factory it comes with a 115200 baudrate firmware and here I build firmwares with 115200 or 230400, it is specified in the firmware file name.

If the wrong baudrate is used the flasher will fail with the message: Error: Failed to probe running application type.

Versions

The following table lists which firmware you should use based on Home Assistant's Silicon Labs Multiprotocol Addon version.

This table only lists versions that have introduced a required firmware change, this means that if you are using an intermediate version between two listed versions then you must use the firmware of the next lower version listed.

My recommendation is to always use the latest available version of the addon.

As I myself am the main user of these firmwares, I will try to have the firmware versions ready before the addon is updated. When an addon update is available check in the changelog if it mentions "Gecko SDK" updates, if so check this repository for the required firmware version.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Pick the correct firmware version for your dongle revision. Firmware with hardware flow control WON'T work in dongles that doesn't support it. So please check carefully which dongle revision you own.

Silicon Labs Multiprotocol Addon Version Gecko SDK Firmware Files
1.0.2 v4.2.2 ZB-GW04 v1.1 (w/o hardware flow control)
ZB-GW04 v1.2 (w/ hardware flow control)
0.13.0 v4.2.1 ZB-GW04 v1.1 (w/o hardware flow control)
ZB-GW04 v1.2 (w/ hardware flow control)
0.12.0 v4.1.4 ZB-GW04 v1.1 (w/o hardware flow control)
ZB-GW04 v1.2 (w/ hardware flow control)
0.11.0 v4.2.0 ZB-GW04 v1.1 (w/o hardware flow control)
ZB-GW04 v1.2 (w/ hardware flow control)
0.6.1 v4.1.2 -
0.5.1 v4.1.1 -
0.5.0 v4.1.0 -
0.4.0 v4.0.2 -
0.2.0 v4.0.1 -

Firmware file naming schema

ZB-GW04_vX.Y_GeckoSDK_vX.Y.Z_rcp-uart-802154_xxxxfc_115200.gbl
`-----´ `--´ `-------------´ `-------------´ `----´ `----´
   |     |          |               |          |       |
   |     |          |               |          |       '- Baudrate
   |     |          |               |          |
   |     |          |               |          |- nohwfc = No Hardware Flow Control
   |     |          |               |          |- hwfc   = Hardware Flow Control
   |     |          |               |          '- swfc   = Software Flow Control
   |     |          |               |
   |     |          |               |- rcp-uart-802154 = Multiprotocol (OpenThread+Zigbee) RCP Firmware
   |     |          |               '- ncp-uart-hw     = Zigbee NCP Firmware
   |     |          |
   |     |          '- Gecko SDK version X.Y.Z
   |     |
   |     '- Dongle Hardware Revision
   |
   '- Dongle Hardware Name

ℹ️ NOTE: NCP firmwares in this repo are not tested in depth, I only build them for ZigBee sniffing purposes using bellows dump. They are built with the default firmware source parameters (configuring the CTUNE and UART) and adding the Manufacturing Library (mfglib) for the sniffing capability.