ITead’s “Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus V2” (model "ZBDongle-E") based on Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 radio SoC/MCU

Configuration Zigbee
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Answers:

  1. Both are supported by HA’s ZHA integration → https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/zha
  2. Both work great with the ZHA integration, but you should always use them through a powered USB 2.0 hub (via a long USB extension cable) if you computer does not have USB 3.0 ports as using those directly will cause interference, read → https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/wiki/Generic-best-practice-tips-on-improving-Zigbee-network-range-and-general-stability
  3. For now they work equally great with Home Assistant’s ZHA integration today, however, you could maybe speculate that support for Silicon Labs based adapters like the ZBDongle-E might perhaps indirectly become better integrated in the future if prioritized by Nabu Casa’s own developers only because it uses the same Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 SoC chip as the upcoming official Home Assistant SkyConnect USB Stick

Note ZBDongle-P is better supported in Zigbee2MQTT today if want to use that instead of Home Assistant’s ZHA integration, this is as Zigbee2MQTT’s zigbee-herdsman library’s support for EZSP adapters is experimental, for details see ongoing development there → https://github.com/Koenkk/zigbee-herdsman/issues/319

Also note that if you are using the ZHA integration today then it is now very easy to migrate back and forth between ZBDongle-E and ZBDongle-P (via ZHA integration’s built-in backup, restore, and migration features).

In addition, remember that you can always convert ZBDongle-E and ZBDongle-P adapters into dedicated Zigbee Router devices that can work as stand-alone Zigbee signal repeaters and range extenders if used in USB charger for power to achieve better coverage in large homes.

A tip is therefore to buy both a couple of ZBDongle-E adapters and a couple of ZBDongle-P adapters then reflash the one you are not using as a Zigbee Coordinator with Zigbee Router firmware and use those as dedicated stand-alone signal-repeater/range-extender if simply plug into a USB charger for power. This follows best practices → https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy/wiki/Generic-best-practice-tips-on-improving-Zigbee-network-range-and-general-stability

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