OTBR no serial device for network matter device

[fueltank34]

Describe the issue you are experiencing

When I try to setup my SLZB06-MR3 over PoE

1. No serial device is selectable in the UI (as expected)
2. Switching to yaml and manually specifying /dev/null or anything else does not bypass the serial check

Request:
If user enters in /dev/null in device AND supplies a valid network device address, please let it save the configuration.

What type of installation are you running?

Home Assistant OS

Which operating system are you running on?

Home Assistant Operating System

Which add-on are you reporting an issue with?

OpenThread Border Router

What is the version of the add-on?

2.15.3

Steps to reproduce the issue

1. RPI4 with NO USB devices attached, running SSD
2. Switch to OTBR config tab
3. Switch to yaml
4. Set device: to /dev/null or /dev/tty01
5. Enter in network_device as tcp://192.168.X.XXX:6639
6. Click Save configuration

Failed to save add-on configuration, Device '/dev/tty01' does not exist in OpenThread Border Router (core_openthread_border_router). Got {'device': '/dev/tty01', 'baudrate': '460800', 'flow_control': True, 'otbr_log_level': 'notice', 'firewall': True, 'nat64': False, 'network_device': 'tcp://192.168.1.118:7638'}

Failed to save add-on configuration, Device '/dev/null' don't match the filter subsystem=tty! in OpenThread Border Router (core_openthread_border_router). Got {'device': '/dev/null', 'baudrate': '460800', 'flow_control': True, 'otbr_log_level': 'notice', 'firewall': True, 'nat64': False, 'network_device': 'tcp://192.168.1.118:7638'}

...

System Health information

System Information

version	core-2026.1.2
installation_type	Home Assistant OS
dev	false
hassio	true
docker	true
container_arch	aarch64
user	root
virtualenv	false
python_version	3.13.11
os_name	Linux
os_version	6.12.47-haos-raspi
arch	aarch64
timezone	Australia/Sydney
config_dir	/config

Home Assistant Community Store

GitHub API	ok
GitHub Content	ok
GitHub Web	ok
HACS Data	ok
GitHub API Calls Remaining	5000
Installed Version	2.0.5
Stage	running
Available Repositories	2659
Downloaded Repositories	3

Home Assistant Cloud

logged_in	false
can_reach_cert_server	ok
can_reach_cloud_auth	ok
can_reach_cloud	ok

Home Assistant Supervisor

host_os	Home Assistant OS 17.0
update_channel	stable
supervisor_version	supervisor-2026.01.1
agent_version	1.8.1
docker_version	29.1.3
disk_total	116.7 GB
disk_used	31.7 GB
nameservers	54.91.208.60, 8.8.4.4, 8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1
healthy	true
supported	true
host_connectivity	true
supervisor_connectivity	true
ntp_synchronized	true
virtualization
board	rpi4-64
supervisor_api	ok
version_api	ok
installed_addons	Tailscale (0.26.1), Terminal & SSH (9.22.0), Mosquitto broker (6.5.2), Zigbee2MQTT (2.7.2-1), UniFi Network Application (5.0.0), Get HACS (1.3.1), Samba share (12.5.4), ESPHome Device Builder (2025.12.7), Matter Server (8.1.2), OpenThread Border Router (2.15.3)

Dashboards

dashboards	4
resources	1
views	3
mode	storage

Network Configuration

adapters	lo (disabled), end0 (enabled, default, auto), docker0 (disabled), hassio (disabled), veth69de428 (disabled), veth37ee2f0 (disabled), vethe4b8cee (disabled), vethcac281c (disabled), veth268831e (disabled), veth136df0e (disabled), vetha1fd350 (disabled), veth92f3e50 (disabled), veth3ffb6b7 (disabled)
ipv4_addresses	lo (127.0.0.1/8), end0 (192.168.1.100/24), docker0 (172.30.232.1/23), hassio (172.30.32.1/23), veth69de428 (), veth37ee2f0 (), vethe4b8cee (), vethcac281c (), veth268831e (), veth136df0e (), vetha1fd350 (), veth92f3e50 (), veth3ffb6b7 ()
ipv6_addresses	lo (::1/128), end0 (fe80::3b9c:e2ef:2a58:ca41/64), docker0 (fe80::54bb:bcff:febc:cad8/64), hassio (fe80::b4dd:80ff:fe2d:a5b4/64), veth69de428 (fe80::8af:f0ff:fe7f:1718/64), veth37ee2f0 (fe80::704b:98ff:fe91:9714/64), vethe4b8cee (fe80::4c49:b1ff:fe8c:b4c3/64), vethcac281c (fe80::8fb:dcff:feba:e6b4/64), veth268831e (fe80::f81e:91ff:fe28:c079/64), veth136df0e (fe80::5450:76ff:fed5:3210/64), vetha1fd350 (fe80::1c9d:24ff:fe69:2c12/64), veth92f3e50 (fe80::9035:65ff:fe55:42/64), veth3ffb6b7 (fe80::30ef:19ff:fe8b:1e15/64)
announce_addresses	192.168.1.100, fe80::3b9c:e2ef:2a58:ca41

Recorder

oldest_recorder_run	January 9, 2026 at 12:22 AM
current_recorder_run	January 20, 2026 at 11:18 AM
estimated_db_size	278.49 MiB
database_engine	sqlite
database_version	3.49.2

Anything in the Supervisor logs that might be useful for us?

Anything in the add-on logs that might be useful for us?

Additional information

If it can check network_device is supplied and then ignore the device value, that would let network devices to be added.

[AJJK8]

I have the same issue

[floli]

Setting enable_uart=1 in the config.txt of the Raspberrys boot configuration fixed it for me, i.e. made it possible to select some (dummy) device.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/config_txt.html#enable_uart

(workaround, no fix!)

[svasek]

I have the same issue.
It looks like it was introduced in HAOS 17.0.

Related to/duplicate of: #4296

[svasek]

FYI: Re-flashing the Matter-over-Thread firmware (20241105) on my SLZB-06M device fixed the issue.

[pop3ye]

i have the same issue.

[buentead]

I have the same issue. Hence, I had to buy an USB to serial converter (nothing connected to it) in order to get a suitable tty device to save the configuration.

[hosswald]

By chance, I stumbled over this fork: https://github.com/GollumDom/addon-repository/tree/master/core_openthread_border_router
It's available (after adding the repository) in the HA Apps/Addon store as "OpenThread Border Router (Network device)" and does not require a serial device. Worked for me as a drop-in replacement for the other addon.

[shoarma4life]

Same issue here. Bought the SLZB-MR2U with the intent of hosting zigbee + matter. native network support would be great in the OpenThread Border Router.

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

[zeratul021]

Is there any way we can help prioritize this feature request? It seems to be very basic seeing as the network coordinators are increasingly more popular.

[Shepzors]

Same issue here with SLZB-MR5U using POE. The amount of posts across various forums on this same topic without a proper solution is embarrassing.