SMLIGHT SLZB-06M – A Zigbee 3.0 to Ethernet, USB, and WiFi Adapter with PoE Support, Works with Zigbee2MQTT, Home Assistant, ZHA

Purchased this device to act as a Zigbee coordinator integrated with Home Assistant via Zigbee2MQTT. Device arrived quickly, was easy to configure with HA and Z2M and has been working great running 24/7. According to my UDM-SE, it draws about 0.96W from the PoE port and occasionally goes up to 1.49W with ~15 Zigbee devices connected.

I originally bought a ZBDongle-E to be my coordinator and it gave me nothing but issues despite upgrading and downgrading firmware. On top of that I could only get 2 devices before problems came up. Bought this instead and its been flawless. Easy to setup and got it up and running in short time.

Works great with home assistant OS, I have not tried out router mode or beta software but just as a coordinator it works amazing, way better than the skyconnect or regular zigbee usb dongles, I’m not sure if it’s better signal or better chipset but for example the battery devices have no issue interviewing ect even from decently far awayYou can remote update regardless of which ZHA or MQTT you’re using which was the whole reason I got the sky connect in the first place but you’re locked into ZHA with the skyconnectSo far AMAZING quality very happy

I've been using the SMLIGHT SLZB‑06p7 as a Zigbee 3.0 gateway for a few weeks now and it’s been rock solid. Setup was a breeze—plug it in via Ethernet or PoE, and it’s pre-flashed to go. In Home Assistant, it auto-connected, and the web dashboard makes firmware updates and protocol switching super easy.

Purchased SLZB-06M and set it up as a router, but have not been able to get a consistent connection on Home Assistant (Zigbee/ZHA). Every few days to a week, it drops from the Zigbee mesh and then it takes several tries for me to either reconnect it or reset/repair it. All of my other zigbee devices are connected with no issues; this is the only device that has a problem. I've sent 2 tickets through the manufacturer and received no response. I've tried getting help via public forum but no luck there either.

I'm using this PoE as my Home Assistant ZHA coordinator. It's great. Every device from SONOFF, Tuya, Sengled, Aqara, MOES, Inovelli and Ewelink that I have connected to/through it is working great. I did get two powerstrips from Jinvocloud and only one of them would pair, but I suspect that's more on the powerstrip than the coordinator.Radio signal is strong, these devices can also be re-configured for use with Zigbee2MQTT and as Zigbee signal repeaters. I haven't tried the Bluetooth repeater function, yet, but it has one. The web interface is snappy, software updates go quickly and smoothly. All told, it's just a great hub / device.

I had issues with this working with Home Assistant and Zigbee2Mqtt using the Ethernet connection. It would lose connecting after a few days and need to be reset. The USB connection has been perfect so far. I didn't need it to be connected using Ethernet so has worked well for me once on USB. It is a little more involved updating the software since you need to switch it back to Ethernet to use the web configuration but should have to do that too often.

Pros:* POE makes positioning these a breeze. No more "dead zones."* Rock-solid in both Zigbee coordinator and router roles.* Role for Matter/Thread is currently in beta, which may offer a bit of future proofingCons:* A bit pricey (purchased 3 at ~$65 each).* These are not "plug and play" like a USB coordinator, you need some IT/HA/Z2M experience to get them configuredLocations:* The coordinator is located roughly in the center of the primary floor.* One router in the basement on one end of the house.* One router in the upstairs hallway on the opposite end of the house.Technology Environment:Home Assistant OS virtualized on Proxmox with ZigBee2MQTT integration.Experience:These devices are not for someone looking for an "it just works" Zigbee installation, however, the complexity gives you the power to build the foundation for an extremely strong mesh. Changing roles requires flashing between different firmwares, which if that is something you have never done before, may be a bit confusing though it is all possible from a WebUI hosted on the device itself accessible through LAN/WiFi. If you are already familiar with Z2M, especially if your current coordinator is already not direct-attached USB, getting these devices deployed and configured should be well within your reach. I completely re-built my mesh after installation and fortified even more with some router-capable devices like smart plugs. We now have coverage to practically every square foot of our home.