I have been running zigbee2mqtt with a CC2531 and around 40 devices for quite some time and find that it is pretty stable despite my less than ideal location of the stick (right at one end of our apartment)
Every now an then I do get a slight delay with a light not coming on or not responding for a minute or 2. (Maybe a couple of times a week)
I have seen a few people on the forum have switched to the Conbee 2 despite it being closed source and not supporting as many devices as the zigbee2mqtt project.
I am now torn between getting a Conbee or CC26X2R1. I think zigbee2mqtt is probably the future at the rate its growing but would like something as stable as possible.
Have you added the Antenna mod to your CC2531? I got another module specifically to do the antenna mod to so I had a working backup if the new unit failed.
Made a massive difference to range. I have the my HA machine and antenna at one end of the house, and have no issues covering the whole of a 2 story, 3 bedroom house. Most items have a 60-70% connectivity.
I have been using a conbeeII for months now and have no issues with it. It is miles better than a Xiaomi Hub, Philips Hub and IKEA Hub (all the hubs that got replaced by this). I do have to mention that you are indeed right, z2m supports more devices, but all major brands are definitely supported by phoscon (conbee/deconz).
But since z2m released a pretty huge update not so long ago I might say to go for that instead, though I have no real experience with z2m, only with deconz which works like a charm.
i have tried both the cc26x2r1 and the CC1352P-2 using zigbee2mqtt and also the conbee II
The zigbee2mqtt using the newwer hardware was a lot faster responding to zigbee events then the cc2531/0
For me the conbee II on deconcz was far more stable.
In the end i flashed the cc26x2r1 and the CC1352P-2 using the generic router software from TI and they now are part of the zigbee network as routers in deconz.
The only upside to zigbee2mqtt would be the range of supported hardware, although i have not had any not recognized in deconz
I think if you are using mostly lights and switches then a conbee 2 with deconz is the most stable, and has some key advantages like easy pairing of switches and remotes directly to lights, and also support for light groups.
If you have a lot of sensors and ‘odd’ zigbee devices (smoke detectors, thermostats, etc) then zigbee2mqtt or native zha is the way to go.
I use a conbee 2 with deconz for about 30 lights, 5 switches / remotes, handful of motion sensors. But I still use 2 xiaomi hubs in different ends of the house for a large number of door and window sensors, temperature sensors, buttons and motion sensors. They are remarkably reliable through their own hubs, so I’ve been slow to move devices off the hubs and onto deconz. I’m also at risk of the overall device limit with the conbee 2 stick if absolutely every device is on it.
Ultimately I would like to obtain a USB stick with support for up to 200 devices (absolutely should never have more devices than this!) that runs using native zha in home assistant. Just in case deconz or the Xiaomi platform become abandoned or less open.
