Mine is failing over and over again... I'm following step by step and even deleted previous zigbee2mqtt & broker to follow your guide.... It is failing imminently
I'm using the SMLight SLZB-06 via PoE with Zigbee2MQTT. The Home Assistant ZBT-1 (Skyconnect) with ZHA. I'm slowly migrating everything over from ZHA over to Z2M, so that's the reason for running both. It also eliminates any downtime. Using a Sonoff dongle Plus-E, reflashed as a Thread Border Router. ZooZ ZST39 LR for Z-Wave. And lastly, a Bond Bridge for RF (ceiling fan). I think that the SLZB-06 is the best coordinator available for Zigbee. So many options and it's been rock solid. Thanks for another great video! 👍
I've used this Zigbee controller for over a year, almost no issues despite my very suboptimal setup and positioning. It's a good way to avoid interference from USB 3.0 ports, and allows you to have fallback if you're running HA in a virtual machine. Since it's not connected to one machine via USB, the Zigbee network stays up even if one of the cluster nodes running an HA instance goes down, as long as another one is up.
Nice! Thanks for this video. I’m planning my move from Hubitat to Home Assistant and this is definitely the Zigbee interface that I’ll be getting although I will look at the cost difference for the version with more memory because this is really cheap so I can’t imagine that future proofing it with more memory is going to push it out of my price range. I really like the Ethernet connectivity option, much neater than having a USB extender cable hanging off a mini PC or Raspberry Pi or whatever you’re using if you’re running Home Assistant on a standalone device that doesn’t have integrated Zigbee, or even messier in my opinion having a USB Zigbee dongle plugged directly into your home Assistant server. And to tidy up cabling even more the PoE option is nice. This video had a double benefit for me. Apart from convincing me that this is the Zigbee interface that I’ll be getting it also prompted me to look at PoE switches. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me but I’m sure that when I last looked, which was at least 5 if not 10 years ago, there was a big premium for PoE switches vs a basic consumer 5 or 8 way switch but looking just now they basically cost what I paid for my very basic 1Gbps Netgear unmanaged 8 way switch a few years ago so I’m definitely going to be swapping that out for a PoE enabled switch as well.
Thanks! I'm all-in on Ubiquiti UniFi networking gear for routing, switches, network management, etc. I did a video of that setup here if you're interested: ruclips.net/video/eHeJCtO8Krk/видео.html
Really nice explanation and walk-through, thank you. One suggestion for future videos, make the configuration walkthrough a bit slower. I had to rewatch it at half speed to capture the steps needed.
I have 3 - all doing POE> I'm trying to set up a SMLIGHT SLZB-06M to do Matter but am unable to get the Open Thread Border Router configured.... it just won't show up! Edit - thanks to you dude... I got it working! The second I have set up asa BT Proxy and BT beacon (for Bermuda). The 3rd I might try as both a BT proxy and and a ZHA router
@@michaelsleen what's the Thread range of the Antennae on these? Any Idea. Second Q. I also have an Amazon Alexa Echo showing up as a "other network border router". Do I just leave this alone? (And it performs like a thread router - mesh extender in my new configured HA border router)? I guess what I am saying has the Echo joined and is it extending my new HA Thread mesh ?
That is before you have experienced the ip network iterruption and discovered, that these turn unavailable till being rebooted physically... Find your self something more reliable if you do not want to freeze in the winter...
I'm not certain on the range. The Thread integration in Home Assistant will detect any available Thread Border Routers. Each border router (I.e., Apple TV, Amazon Echo, Google Nest) creates its own Thread network with different credentials, so devices cannot roam between them. You can select one border router as your Preferred Network in home Assistant, meaning Home Assistant has the credentials for that network and it will be used as the default network when adding Thread devices.
Oh man, this looks like a great way to solve a problem I'm "having." That of rapid recovery if my Home Assistant VM dies. The issue is that the USB Zigbee controller is married to the install, so I'd have to physically move both the config and the plug itself over to whatever I chose as my failover. This could do the trick for that. Thank you!
The cool thing about these is they also have ESP32 chips which are one of the easiest I have found to configure for ESPHome. The devices themselves can also be flashed directly via USB AC via a PC (with the right drivers) and yaml can be uploaded easily 1st time via USB and they will boot up during the discovery when flashed without any fooling around with reset buttons or shorting jumpers on pins etc... There is also some great code in the online manual you can upload to run them as joint Zigbee or Matter devices as well as BT proxies or ESP32 devices. This can be easily set up first time via the main web interface. That is pretty cool. Though doing this memas the device control for everything appears in the ESPHome dashboard and you lose the original specific web interface..
SMLIGHT SLZB-06M (EFR32MG21) is considered stable. I would even argue that it is more stable. The only thing you have to make sure is to use the correct firmware/driver (Ember instead of EZSP with firmware version 7.4). The info about the "listed in the experimental section" isn't correct anymore.
Enter the IP address of your SMLIGHT device in a desktop browser, and you can update the firmware as described in the video. Also, you can visit: smlight.tech/flasher/.
I’ve noticed that your logs showed an error starting zigbee-herdsman 6:41. Which I’m currently facing. How were you able to fix that? I’m struggling to find a solution online.
The issue was one of two things as I recall: 1) Trying to connect before flashing the adapter to Zigbee coordinator mode, or 2) not having the port inputted correctly under Serial in the Configuration options for the Zigbee2MQTT add-on. The port should look something like port: tcp://192.168.x.xxx:6638 but using the actual IP of your adapter. Hope that helps, and thanks for watching!
If You didn't solve it yet or anyone also struggling with it, go to the local page of an adapter, then enter Z2M and ZHA on the left menu. There You can find "Zigbee2MQTT and ZHA Config generator" expand it and follow instructions. ( "Edit in YAML" Copy everything after serial: and paste it to that location)
I currently use Homeseer using zwave. The old version back from 2012 . Would like to update to new version not using z-trollers . If you have video on how to do this would be nice
Hi, I’m using sonoff dongle e; currently have 132 devices; this includes 50 routers and remaining are end devices. On a few devices it lags alittle. Do you know if this coordinator will help in speeding up the reaction time? Since I don’t have a poe switch, can this be power via usb c and connected via Ethernet? Thank you for your time.
I cannot say for certain how your network performance will change on the SMLIGHT vs the SONOFF. You can power the SMLIGHT via USB-C and/or plug it into Ethernet.
Thanks! I do not have personal experience with the ZB Bridge P, but some differences include the ability to use as a Thread border router or connect/power via PoE on the SLZB-06. I am also using the SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus Gateway, which has been great (amzn.to/3vqQfmP).
My main setup is using the SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus Gateway simply because I had it first and didn't want to take the effort to migrate my Zigbee network. Based on my testing of the SLZB-06 on my secondary server, I have no reason to believe it wouldn't work at least as well. If you're more interested in the SONOFF option, you can save 10% with code MICHAELSLESONOFF at go.michaelsleen.com/snzb-dongle-plus. It's also available at amzn.to/3vqQfmP, but I don't have a discount code for it on Amazon.
@5:57 you quickly glossed over the step for setting up the user. Why the rush in an 11 minute video my man? Can you explain what details should go in there? Isn't it recommended to set it for local access only? Some more details would be appreciated.
For the MQTT user, I gave it the user name "mqtt-user" plus a password, and toggled on Active and Local access only. I have Administrator privileges disabled. In the video description there is also a link to a written article of this guide on my website so you can more easily go at your own pace.
@@michaelsleen thanks for the quick reply Michael. The written guide repeats word for word what you said on the video. Perhaps you can update the guide page to include the details in your above comment. Many thanks for the video :-)
What if you want to use it as a zigbee router - I already have a sonoff P dongle and need it for upstairs. Do I just add it to my current zigbee network?
My understanding is you can only have one Zigbee coordinator in a Zigbee network, but you can have multiple Zigbee networks. For example, two Zigbee2MQTT networks, or a Zigbee2MQTT and a ZHA network. Most people would rarely need multiple Zigbee networks. You can read how to run SLZB-06 as a Zigbee router here: smlight.tech/manual/slzb-06/guide/faq-and-lifehacks/faq-and-lifehacks.html#add-some-functionality. If you flash with the router firmware, it should show up in the device list in the Zigbee2MQTT interface.
@@PedroLiberal I cannot pair it, when I pair it goes offline very quickly. It worked when it was literally sitting 10cm from my coordinator. Not sure what the problem is.
I've just watched the video, I had already ordered the item and have Home Assistant green. I am beginning to think i should send it all back. It looks extremely complicated.Not sure i will be able to do it.
Hello Michel! Thank you for your video, its is o good opportunity to chnage my zigbee coordinator. I have the universal Dongle E (not sonoff) with ember firmware, but i have problem with lights with cct+rgb in my mesh zigbee(failed: 'Error: ZCL command 0xa4c138da8ba1b2d0/1 genOnOff.off({},). Witch version is better 06 / 06M / 06p7/ 06p10 ??
Thanks for the feedback. In the video, I walk through step-by-step how to set up and use the device as either a Zigbee coordinator or a Matter-over-Thread controller.
@@michaelsleen actually, you're going so fast at times that we can't even see what you're pressing to save, restart, or move-forward in some other way on the screen. If we can't see it, then it's not a great "tutorial" visual (video) to "follow along" with.
@@michaelsleen I contacted them, they said that my coordinator wont accept more devices which is completely false statement. the router dont even connect to any routers, it has 0 signal and drops. it's garbage quality control. I know you are probably sponsored but the support is awful.
To be clear, I am not sponsored by SMLIGHT and have zero incentive to only say nice things about them. Your experience with them has clearly been disappointing, and that is valid and I'm sorry to hear that. On this and on all of my videos, my goal is to provide an honest description of my experience with the product so that you as the viewer can make an informed decision, even if that means not buying or using the product.
This coordinator is a GARBAGE! It does not reconnect to the host if your ip network experienced interruption. Do this: connect it to the router via ethernet. Let it zha or z2m be started. Then power off the router for 2-3 minutes - done, your zigbee network is down untill you power on/off the coordinator. The implications of that are that you never know if your zigbee network is still alive if you use this scam...
👉 Let me know what controller you’re using for Zigbee or Matter-over-Thread, and how you think this device stacks up.
Mine is failing over and over again... I'm following step by step and even deleted previous zigbee2mqtt & broker to follow your guide.... It is failing imminently
I'm using the SMLight SLZB-06 via PoE with Zigbee2MQTT. The Home Assistant ZBT-1 (Skyconnect) with ZHA. I'm slowly migrating everything over from ZHA over to Z2M, so that's the reason for running both. It also eliminates any downtime. Using a Sonoff dongle Plus-E, reflashed as a Thread Border Router. ZooZ ZST39 LR for Z-Wave. And lastly, a Bond Bridge for RF (ceiling fan). I think that the SLZB-06 is the best coordinator available for Zigbee. So many options and it's been rock solid. Thanks for another great video! 👍
Sounds like we have a pretty similar setup. Thanks!
I've used this Zigbee controller for over a year, almost no issues despite my very suboptimal setup and positioning.
It's a good way to avoid interference from USB 3.0 ports, and allows you to have fallback if you're running HA in a virtual machine.
Since it's not connected to one machine via USB, the Zigbee network stays up even if one of the cluster nodes running an HA instance goes down, as long as another one is up.
Thanks for sharing your experience with it!
Nice! Thanks for this video. I’m planning my move from Hubitat to Home Assistant and this is definitely the Zigbee interface that I’ll be getting although I will look at the cost difference for the version with more memory because this is really cheap so I can’t imagine that future proofing it with more memory is going to push it out of my price range.
I really like the Ethernet connectivity option, much neater than having a USB extender cable hanging off a mini PC or Raspberry Pi or whatever you’re using if you’re running Home Assistant on a standalone device that doesn’t have integrated Zigbee, or even messier in my opinion having a USB Zigbee dongle plugged directly into your home Assistant server. And to tidy up cabling even more the PoE option is nice.
This video had a double benefit for me. Apart from convincing me that this is the Zigbee interface that I’ll be getting it also prompted me to look at PoE switches. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me but I’m sure that when I last looked, which was at least 5 if not 10 years ago, there was a big premium for PoE switches vs a basic consumer 5 or 8 way switch but looking just now they basically cost what I paid for my very basic 1Gbps Netgear unmanaged 8 way switch a few years ago so I’m definitely going to be swapping that out for a PoE enabled switch as well.
Thanks! I'm all-in on Ubiquiti UniFi networking gear for routing, switches, network management, etc. I did a video of that setup here if you're interested: ruclips.net/video/eHeJCtO8Krk/видео.html
Really nice explanation and walk-through, thank you. One suggestion for future videos, make the configuration walkthrough a bit slower. I had to rewatch it at half speed to capture the steps needed.
Thanks for the feedback. You can also find a link to a written article in the video description.
AMEN!!! People act like they'll get a trophy for finishing quickly while leaving all of their viewers behind and frustrated.
Thanks for sharing. Hope the article helped.
I have 3 - all doing POE> I'm trying to set up a SMLIGHT SLZB-06M to do Matter but am unable to get the Open Thread Border Router configured.... it just won't show up! Edit - thanks to you dude... I got it working! The second I have set up asa BT Proxy and BT beacon (for Bermuda). The 3rd I might try as both a BT proxy and and a ZHA router
Glad you got it working!
@@michaelsleen what's the Thread range of the Antennae on these? Any Idea. Second Q. I also have an Amazon Alexa Echo showing up as a "other network border router". Do I just leave this alone? (And it performs like a thread router - mesh extender in my new configured HA border router)? I guess what I am saying has the Echo joined and is it extending my new HA Thread mesh ?
That is before you have experienced the ip network iterruption and discovered, that these turn unavailable till being rebooted physically... Find your self something more reliable if you do not want to freeze in the winter...
I'm not certain on the range. The Thread integration in Home Assistant will detect any available Thread Border Routers. Each border router (I.e., Apple TV, Amazon Echo, Google Nest) creates its own Thread network with different credentials, so devices cannot roam between them. You can select one border router as your Preferred Network in home Assistant, meaning Home Assistant has the credentials for that network and it will be used as the default network when adding Thread devices.
Oh man, this looks like a great way to solve a problem I'm "having." That of rapid recovery if my Home Assistant VM dies. The issue is that the USB Zigbee controller is married to the install, so I'd have to physically move both the config and the plug itself over to whatever I chose as my failover. This could do the trick for that. Thank you!
The cool thing about these is they also have ESP32 chips which are one of the easiest I have found to configure for ESPHome. The devices themselves can also be flashed directly via USB AC via a PC (with the right drivers) and yaml can be uploaded easily 1st time via USB and they will boot up during the discovery when flashed without any fooling around with reset buttons or shorting jumpers on pins etc... There is also some great code in the online manual you can upload to run them as joint Zigbee or Matter devices as well as BT proxies or ESP32 devices. This can be easily set up first time via the main web interface. That is pretty cool. Though doing this memas the device control for everything appears in the ESPHome dashboard and you lose the original specific web interface..
SMLIGHT SLZB-06M (EFR32MG21) is considered stable. I would even argue that it is more stable. The only thing you have to make sure is to use the correct firmware/driver (Ember instead of EZSP with firmware version 7.4). The info about the "listed in the experimental section" isn't correct anymore.
where is this firmware? thanks
Enter the IP address of your SMLIGHT device in a desktop browser, and you can update the firmware as described in the video. Also, you can visit: smlight.tech/flasher/.
Thanks for sharing.
I’ve noticed that your logs showed an error starting zigbee-herdsman 6:41. Which I’m currently facing. How were you able to fix that? I’m struggling to find a solution online.
The issue was one of two things as I recall: 1) Trying to connect before flashing the adapter to Zigbee coordinator mode, or 2) not having the port inputted correctly under Serial in the Configuration options for the Zigbee2MQTT add-on. The port should look something like port: tcp://192.168.x.xxx:6638 but using the actual IP of your adapter. Hope that helps, and thanks for watching!
If You didn't solve it yet or anyone also struggling with it, go to the local page of an adapter, then enter Z2M and ZHA on the left menu. There You can find "Zigbee2MQTT and ZHA Config generator" expand it and follow instructions. ( "Edit in YAML" Copy everything after serial: and paste it to that location)
I currently use Homeseer using zwave. The old version back from 2012 . Would like to update to new version not using z-trollers . If you have video on how to do this would be nice
Unfortunately, I don't have a tutorial specifically for HomeSeer. Thanks for watching!
Hi, I’m using sonoff dongle e; currently have 132 devices; this includes 50 routers and remaining are end devices. On a few devices it lags alittle. Do you know if this coordinator will help in speeding up the reaction time?
Since I don’t have a poe switch, can this be power via usb c and connected via Ethernet?
Thank you for your time.
I cannot say for certain how your network performance will change on the SMLIGHT vs the SONOFF. You can power the SMLIGHT via USB-C and/or plug it into Ethernet.
Great video! How does this compare to the Sonoff ZB Bridge Pro?
Thanks! I do not have personal experience with the ZB Bridge P, but some differences include the ability to use as a Thread border router or connect/power via PoE on the SLZB-06. I am also using the SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus Gateway, which has been great (amzn.to/3vqQfmP).
Can I use two of them? A SMLIGHT SLZB-06 for Zigbee2Mqtt and a SMLIGHT SLZB-06M for Matter-over-Thread?
Yes, that should work.
Is this or the sonoff zigbee dongle better?
My main setup is using the SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus Gateway simply because I had it first and didn't want to take the effort to migrate my Zigbee network. Based on my testing of the SLZB-06 on my secondary server, I have no reason to believe it wouldn't work at least as well. If you're more interested in the SONOFF option, you can save 10% with code MICHAELSLESONOFF at go.michaelsleen.com/snzb-dongle-plus. It's also available at amzn.to/3vqQfmP, but I don't have a discount code for it on Amazon.
Thanks for the insyructions. Unfortnunately I could not start Zigbee2MQTT. The log shows:
[2024-12-27 12:52:59] info: z2m: Logging to console, file (filename: log.log)
[2024-12-27 12:52:59] info: z2m: Starting Zigbee2MQTT version 1.42.0 (commit #unknown)
[2024-12-27 12:52:59] info: z2m: Starting zigbee-herdsman (2.1.9)
[2024-12-27 12:53:00] info: zh:zstack:znp: Opening TCP socket with 10.0.0.14:6638
[2024-12-27 12:53:00] info: zh:zstack:znp: Socket connected
[2024-12-27 12:53:00] info: zh:zstack:znp: Socket ready
[2024-12-27 12:53:00] info: zh:zstack:znp: Writing CC2530/CC2531 skip bootloader payload
[2024-12-27 12:53:01] info: zh:zstack:znp: Skip bootloader for CC2652/CC1352
[2024-12-27 12:53:19] error: z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
In your log I could see it should "Wrote coordinator backup to /.....json"
Fixed: on the SLZB-06 page I have to confirm the "Zigbee Coordinator option" - even though the switch was already in the coreect position
Glad you got it sorted out!
@5:57 you quickly glossed over the step for setting up the user. Why the rush in an 11 minute video my man? Can you explain what details should go in there? Isn't it recommended to set it for local access only? Some more details would be appreciated.
For the MQTT user, I gave it the user name "mqtt-user" plus a password, and toggled on Active and Local access only. I have Administrator privileges disabled. In the video description there is also a link to a written article of this guide on my website so you can more easily go at your own pace.
@@michaelsleen thanks for the quick reply Michael. The written guide repeats word for word what you said on the video. Perhaps you can update the guide page to include the details in your above comment. Many thanks for the video :-)
@@zq_77 Thanks for the feedback and for watching. I added this extra detail to the written guide to help others.
What if you want to use it as a zigbee router - I already have a sonoff P dongle and need it for upstairs. Do I just add it to my current zigbee network?
My understanding is you can only have one Zigbee coordinator in a Zigbee network, but you can have multiple Zigbee networks. For example, two Zigbee2MQTT networks, or a Zigbee2MQTT and a ZHA network. Most people would rarely need multiple Zigbee networks. You can read how to run SLZB-06 as a Zigbee router here: smlight.tech/manual/slzb-06/guide/faq-and-lifehacks/faq-and-lifehacks.html#add-some-functionality. If you flash with the router firmware, it should show up in the device list in the Zigbee2MQTT interface.
yes you can, but I tried to use it as a router along with my zigstar and it is not very stable. I will try flash another firmware....
Im currently using it as router, its working fine. @rodrigo what do you mean by unstable?
@@PedroLiberal I cannot pair it, when I pair it goes offline very quickly. It worked when it was literally sitting 10cm from my coordinator.
Not sure what the problem is.
so it cant be used as zigbee and matter cordinator same time?
Correct, you must choose one.
I've just watched the video, I had already ordered the item and have Home Assistant green. I am beginning to think i should send it all back. It looks extremely complicated.Not sure i will be able to do it.
I think you should give it a try! If it proves too challenging, I recommend this Zigbee adapter: amzn.to/3vqQfmP?ref=michaelsleen.com
Hello Michel! Thank you for your video, its is o good opportunity to chnage my zigbee coordinator. I have the universal Dongle E (not sonoff) with ember firmware, but i have problem with lights with cct+rgb in my mesh zigbee(failed: 'Error: ZCL command 0xa4c138da8ba1b2d0/1 genOnOff.off({},). Witch version is better 06 / 06M / 06p7/ 06p10 ??
If you're using Zigbee2MQTT, I recommend the 06. If you're using ZHA, I recommend the 06M.
@@michaelsleen thanks for this explanation. I didn't know aɓout it. I use zigbee2mqtt and dongle with ember. Thank you !!
Can it be used as zigbee coordinator and matter over thread in Parallel?
Technically it (SLZB-06M only i think) can (by using RCP Multi-PAN), but it's not recommended.
No, they cannot be used in parallel. You must pick one.
Your video is very high level and not for someone new to HA. Not much explaining.
Thanks for the feedback. In the video, I walk through step-by-step how to set up and use the device as either a Zigbee coordinator or a Matter-over-Thread controller.
@@michaelsleen actually, you're going so fast at times that we can't even see what you're pressing to save, restart, or move-forward in some other way on the screen. If we can't see it, then it's not a great "tutorial" visual (video) to "follow along" with.
Got it, appreciate you sharing.
cannot use this as router, it has really por signal I dont know why but I cannot pair it from my zigstar from 3 meters away.... it's useless
That should not be the case. SMLIGHT has excellent customer service so I suggest contacting them.
@@michaelsleen I contacted them, they said that my coordinator wont accept more devices which is completely false statement. the router dont even connect to any routers, it has 0 signal and drops. it's garbage quality control. I know you are probably sponsored but the support is awful.
To be clear, I am not sponsored by SMLIGHT and have zero incentive to only say nice things about them. Your experience with them has clearly been disappointing, and that is valid and I'm sorry to hear that. On this and on all of my videos, my goal is to provide an honest description of my experience with the product so that you as the viewer can make an informed decision, even if that means not buying or using the product.
This coordinator is a GARBAGE! It does not reconnect to the host if your ip network experienced interruption. Do this: connect it to the router via ethernet. Let it zha or z2m be started. Then power off the router for 2-3 minutes - done, your zigbee network is down untill you power on/off the coordinator. The implications of that are that you never know if your zigbee network is still alive if you use this scam...
Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with it.
I don't experience the issue you mention.
My SLZB-06 reconnects just fine to Z2M when I power down the router or disconnect the ethernet cable(s).