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Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Sunday 02 November 2025 17:15
by 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!

Re: Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Sunday 02 November 2025 22:12
by BazemanKM
My advise:

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

with Zigbee2MQTT in Docker

Re: Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Sunday 02 November 2025 22:38
by waltervl
Whatever is supported by the zigbee2mqtt or zigbee4domoticz hardware gateways. The Sonoff USB zigbee 3.0 sticks are very popular and reliable.

Re: Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Sunday 02 November 2025 22:50
by zuru
BazemanKM wrote: Sunday 02 November 2025 22:12 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?

Re: Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Sunday 02 November 2025 22:53
by zuru
waltervl wrote: Sunday 02 November 2025 22:38 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?

Re: Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Sunday 02 November 2025 23:04
by 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)

Re: Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Tuesday 04 November 2025 4:15
by zuru
waltervl wrote: Sunday 02 November 2025 23:04 ....

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.

Re: Advice on which controller to buy, Zigbee software, etc

Posted: Tuesday 04 November 2025 10:08
by waltervl
zuru wrote: Tuesday 04 November 2025 4:15
waltervl wrote: Sunday 02 November 2025 23:04 ....

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