Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

[zuru]

I've decided to give Zigbee a try, so I'm a total newbie on this front. I run Domoticz 2025.1 (2025-05-05: ditched the upgrade because of new requirements on my Limux box) on Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS.

DM has been running for over a decade , interfacing with a bunch of stuff I kept adding.

I need advice; I don't want to turn this into a time sink activity (I have enough of those ):

Which controller to buy. Is Sonoff OK? Amazon has 2 versions:
Based on EFR32MG21: cheaper
Based on TI CC2652P + CP2102N

And they have different firmwares...Etc.

1. Will either one work?
2. Will I have to flash some firmware?
3. What's the easiest to get going with needed software? This is what I gathered :

Zigbee2MQTT: https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/instal ... linux.html
Mosquitto: https://randomnerdtutorials.com/how-to- ... pberry-pi/
ZigBeeForDomoticZ : https://zigbeefordomoticz.github.io/wik ... g-on-linux

Do I need all this stuff? If yes, it's a lot, especially worrying about dependencies, different forms of installation, permissions, etc.

Thanks!

[BazemanKM]

My advise:

use a SLZB-06 https://smlight.tech/product/slzb-06

with Zigbee2MQTT in Docker

[waltervl]

Whatever is supported by the zigbee2mqtt or zigbee4domoticz hardware gateways. The Sonoff USB zigbee 3.0 sticks are very popular and reliable.

[zuru]

My advise:

use a SLZB-06 https://smlight.tech/product/slzb-06

with Zigbee2MQTT in Docker

Can you expand more?
1. this adaptor is 2X the price of a Sonoff.
2. I've been using Linux for decades and never had to install Docker. Can you educate me as to the advantages of installing it? What do you do after installing Zigbee2MQTT?

[zuru]

Whatever is supported by the zigbee2mqtt or zigbee4domoticz hardware gateways. The Sonoff USB zigbee 3.0 sticks are very popular and reliable.

There are 2 versions (se my original post) any opinions? Also, can the be used right out of the box or do I need to flash another firmware?

[waltervl]

It does not matter what you buy is my humble advise as long as it is supported.
Zigbee2mqtt is the biggest supported open source zigbee controller and needs an MQTT broker. The zigbee4domoticz is purely python. But the installation has become quite complex due to all python requirements. But the way the integration with Z4D works better with Domoticz then Z2M with Autodiscover as it creates more smarter (and less) Domoticz devices.

If you feel comfortable with using docker you can run everything in a docker container (also latest stable Domoticz 2025.2 on your Ubuntu 22)

[zuru]

....

If you feel comfortable with using docker you can run everything in a docker container (also latest stable Domoticz 2025.2 on your Ubuntu 22)

I tried that version but failed on gcc version....So I downgraded again.

[waltervl]

....

If you feel comfortable with using docker you can run everything in a docker container (also latest stable Domoticz 2025.2 on your Ubuntu 22)

I tried that version but failed on gcc version....So I downgraded again.

When Domoticz 2025.2 runs in a docker you can run it on Ubuntu 22 https://wiki.domoticz.com/Docker