{"id":147896,"date":"2025-08-15T13:22:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T13:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/147896\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T13:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T13:22:15","slug":"hands-on-with-the-home-assistant-connect-zwa-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/147896\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands-on with the Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently installed the biggest smart home antenna I\u2019ve ever seen, and it helped open up new areas in my smart home, from the attic to the chicken coop. The towering 12-inch-tall Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2<\/a>, which launched this week for $69, plugs into any Home Assistant system via USB and can connect to any Z-Wave device<\/a>, including those using the new Long Range (LR) spec<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I hooked the ZWA-2 up to my Home Assistant Yellow hub<\/a> and, within minutes, it was controlling a plug all the way at the bottom of my garden. I\u2019ve struggled with connectivity issues in my garden for years. An Eero Outdoor 7<\/a> has been a good fix for W-Fi devices such as cameras and robot lawnmowers. Now Z-Wave LR, which uses the same 900MHz band as Z-Wave to connect devices up to a mile and a half away (in ideal conditions), opens the door to using sensors, locks, and other low-powered devices in further-flung corners of my property.<\/p>\n

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The antenna itself is almost comically large. To get the best performance, it needs to be out in the open, which means it\u2019s perched on a cupboard in my sitting room. The HA team says it is \u201ddesigned to blend into home decor. It not only resembles a candle, but it also lights up like one.\u201d Credit to them for avoiding the \u201cblack spider\u201d look, but it still sticks out like a glowing blue sore thumb.<\/p>\n

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While the ZWA-2 looks fancy, its limited placement options made it hard to fit into my home decor.<\/p>\n

That size, though, lets it pick up even the faintest Z-Wave signal and should help make your network more responsive and stable. Until now, Z-Wave antenna options in Home Assistant have been in third-party USB sticks about 3 inches long, and on other platforms, they\u2019re generally hidden inside hubs, which can limit their range.<\/p>\n

Setting up the ZWA-2 was easy. I screwed the stick into the base and plugged it into my Yellow using a provided USB A-to-C cable. Home Assistant instantly recognized it, creating a new network. If you already have a Z-Wave network on Home Assistant, a migration tool can move your devices over in a few minutes (I saw a demo that took under 5 minutes).<\/p>\n

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The ZWA-2 plugged into a USB-A port on my Home Assistant Yellow hub. \u2800<\/p>\n

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Setting up the antenna in the Home Assistant app was straightforward. \u2800<\/p>\n

For my first test, I used a Zooz Z-Wave LR smart plug<\/a> ($35) to control two fans in my chicken coop. The coop is located at the bottom of my garden, about 50 yards (150 feet) from the antenna, through two brick walls. I scanned the plug\u2019s QR code, selected the Z-Wave LR option (you can also choose traditional mesh; the antenna can do either), and it onboarded quickly. I then plugged it into an outlet in my garden shed near the coop and ran an extension cord to the fans. Even at that distance, the plug responded instantly to turn the fans on and off.<\/p>\n

Next, I set up a Zooz Z-Wave LR water leak sensor<\/a> ($39) in my attic, where my HVAC drip pan recently overflowed, leaving a nasty stain on my ceiling. The setup was similarly straightforward. Z-Wave LR is a good solution here because sub-GHz protocols draw less power than Wi-Fi, so the coin cell battery in the sensor should last longer. (There\u2019s no outlet near the unit for a plug-in sensor.)<\/p>\n

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I tested an indoor Zooz smart plug in my garden shed. \u2800<\/p>\n

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I set it up to control the fans in my chicken coop. \u2800<\/p>\n

If you use Z-Wave devices, which many Home Assistant users do<\/a>, and have had trouble with connections or want to automate more areas of your home \u2014 a mailbox sensor, a gate sensor, leak detectors in your basement, and so on \u2014 the ZWA-2 is an easy recommendation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve only been using it for a short while, so I can\u2019t comment on reliability, but so far, the devices I\u2019ve connected have done so smoothly in spots where I\u2019ve struggled to find good options. And while, despite Home Assistant\u2019s admirable efforts, the ZWA-2 really isn\u2019t a d\u00e9cor piece, the range gains are worth the trade-off.<\/p>\n

Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

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