I will be testing all present and future [[PoE]] Zigbee coordinators on the market and will report my results here. Note my tests are long term and as I have a lot of hardware deployed on different locations, I hope I can offer valuable feedback, especially long term, compared to the superficial and inaccurate reviews on [[YouTube]]. If you would like to send me a message please do so through [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/habitatstech). Please note I use the following specific setup, because reliability is my number one priority, while cost is the last concern. Not wasting my time on trivial tasks is of the utmost importance as well. - [[HW]] - [[Zigbee]] Coordinator: UZG-01, SLZB-06p7 - [[Ethernet]] [[PoE]] - [[SW]] - [[MQTT]] Broker: [[Mosquitto]] - [[PVE]] [[LXC]] - [[Debian]] 12 - [[SW]] - [[Zigbee]] Server: [[Zigbee2MQTT]] (no [[Docker]], just straight [[Linux]] install) - [[PVE]] [[LXC]] - [[Debian]] 12 - [[node.js]] 20.15 # ZigStar UZG-01 My experience with UZG-01 is a bit mixed. Although I like the [[HW]], I am undecided how reliable this solution is. For starters the [[FW]] does not update from the [[webUI]]. The [[ESP32]] [[FW]], depending on version it might update on some versions, fail on other versions, and the only alternative left, which works without issues, is manual [[FW]] update. The [[Zigbee]] [[FW]] always fails to update from the [[webUI]], and as there is no option to manually update the [[FW]] from the [[webUI]], I need to resort to using their Windows tool (ZigStarGW-MT.exe). ZigStarGW-MT.exe is also a mixed bag as it requires a clean installation of Windows 10 or Windows 11 (I found 10 a more reliable option to 11 for the ZigStarGW-MT.exe software). One more point of concern is that the UZG-01 will not stay connected to [[Zigbee2MQTT]] in a reliable way. On some setups the UZG-01 [[Zigbee]] will stay connected up to 100 seconds, on other setups only days. So far I have been unable to have the UZG-01 connect to [[Zigbee2MQTT]], without [[Zigbee2MQTT]] losing connection at some point. So far, I am uncertain if the issue is with [[Zigbee2MQTT]] or with UZG-01. I have used several UZG-01 and the [[FW]] and connectivity issues are the same on all of them. On a specific setup UZG-01/[[Zigbee2MQTT]] using channel 20 for [[Zigbee]], the UZG-01 would remain connected for approximately 100s. I then decided to reinstall [[Zigbee2MQTT]], this time using channel 25. The 100s disconnection issue was solved, by just reinstalling [[Zigbee2MQTT]], although I am uncertain if the channel change (from 20 to 25) had anything to do with it. The UZG-01 can export its status directly to an [[MQTT]] broker. I have noticed a disconnection to the [[MQTT]] broker, but forgot to check if it was at the time the [[Zigbee]] connection was also lost. Will update once I have more data on this. # SMLIGHT SLZB-06M The SLZB-06p7 [[HW]] is almost identical to SLZB-06p7, with the exception of the [[Zigbee]] chipset which is from Silicon Labs instead of Texas Instruments. See dashboard screenshots further below for a visual comparison to similar products. # SMLIGHT SLZB-06p7 The SLZB-06p7 [[HW]] is almost identical to UZG-01, with the exception of the ESP32 [[MCU]]. See below dashboard comparison for more details (visual comparison). The SLZB-06p7 seems more responsive to the UZG-01, I assume due to a faster [[ESP32]] [[MCU]]. I setup each unit to connect to a [[Zigbee2MQTT]] server, which was setup on the same [[PVE]], using identical configuration, even at the [[Zigbee]] channel level. The units are at the same elevation level, 20cm apart. Over the next couple of weeks, towards the end of Jul 2024, I will provide an update. # SLZB-06p7 v UZG-01 > SLZB-06p7 has a better layout [[IMHO]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-00.png]] [[ESP32]] temperature calibration is a nice feature. However, it is only partially useful because the SLZB coordinators do not expose their properties through [[MQTT]] to [[HA]], like UZG-01 does, and therefore this feature cannot be fully explored. ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-01.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-02.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-03.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-04.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-06.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-05.png]] > UZG-01 can connect to an [[MQTT]] broker to report its status ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-07.png]] > Because UZG-01 exposes its sensors to [[HA]] through [[MQTT]], all sorts of things are possible (alerting, controlling, monitoring). ![[zigbee2mqtt-uzg-01-ha-0.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-08.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-09.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-10.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-11.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-12.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06P7-UZG-01-13.png]] ## [UZG-01 FW update failure] This is an example of a [[Zigbee]] [[FW]] update (from 20240315 to 20240710) failing on UZG-01, which is disappointing because the update should be painless taking less than a minute to complete. ![[zigbee2mqtt-uzg-01-fw-error-0.png]] Additionally while the SLZB-06p7 has not disconnected from [[Zigbee2MQTT]] following [[FW]] update, the UZG-01 has disconnected requiring manual intervention. ![[zigbee2mqtt-uzg-01-fw-error-1.png]] Now if you attempt to manually start [[Zigbee2MQTT]] it will fail because the [[FW]] on UZG-01 is in some undetermined state (notice the version number is italicised). Soft or hard reboot of UZG-01 does not resolve the issue. ![[zigbee2mqtt-uzg-01-fw-error-2.png]] The only way to resolve this issue is to try to update the UZG-01 [[FW]] until it succeeds. If you are in a critical situation you can attempt a manual [[FW]] update using [ZigStar GW Multi tool](https://github.com/xyzroe/ZigStarGW-MT). The Texas Instruments download requires email registration which I am not a fan of. The issue with the ZigStar tool is that it will not work on some [[Windows]] systems. The UZG-01 [[FW]] will fail at random percent, sometimes around 20%, sometimes around 50%, rarely on 60+%. When it fails the UZG-01 reboots (you know it because the red LED stating [[FW]] flash status goes off). # SLZB-06M v SLZB-06p7 v UZG-01 ![[zigbee-slzb-06M-06P7-UZG-01-00.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06M-06P7-UZG-01-01.png]] ![[zigbee-slzb-06M-06P7-UZG-01-02.png]]