Switching from SMLBZ06 to SMLBZ-MR2 – Zigbee2MQTT won’t start

[mariva]

Hi,

I tried switching my Zigbee coordinator from SMLBZ06 to SMLBZ-MR2 so I could use Matter and the stronger hardware.
Since both have the same chip, I wanted to migrate without re-pairing devices.

What happened:

• First attempt worked with same IEEE address, IP, and port – all devices were there.
• After a firmware update on the MR2, Matter worked again, but Zigbee2MQTT would no longer start.
• Errors in the log:
  1. Cannot set properties of undefined (setting 'extendedPanID')
  2. network commissioning timed out - most likely network with the same panId or extendedPanId already exists nearby
• Changing the PAN ID lets it start, but all devices are gone.
• Plugging the old 06 stick back in works instantly with no issues.

Questions:

• What’s the correct procedure to migrate from 06 to MR2 without re-pairing devices?
• Does the coordinator_backup.json need to be modified?
• How to avoid PAN ID conflicts during the switch?

Thanks for any tips!

[francisp (Francis)]

@mariva

How to avoid PAN ID conflicts during the switch?

Screw off the antenna for 15 minutes.

[mariva]

yes this is what i did last time, to get it work. but after the firmware update, first matter stopped working, then i updated matter firmware. matter worked again. then zigbee stopped working, i updated zigbee firmware with the same version as before. but i cant get it running.

always the same error with panId or something else.

and it seems the performance is pretty bad compared to the slzb06, i think its because of any kind of bad routing. i dont know.

is there nothing like backup → new hardware → import → done

its kinda fustrating, what if a device breaks.

and im wondering, after i messed up the firmware stuff on mr2 I tried the no power and 15min no antenna trick, nothing worked. so i took my old slbz06, powerd up and instant all fine. no antenna trick nothing.

[mariva]

i tried it again.

1. backup zigbee2mqtt
2. stopped service
3. unplugged slbz06
4. removed antenna slbz mr2
5. plugged in mr2
6. reflashed firmware with correkt IEEE adress of slbz06
7. try to run the service
   ERRORS

[2025-08-14 20:30:10] info:     zh:zstack:znp: Socket connected
[2025-08-14 20:30:10] info:     zh:zstack:znp: Socket ready
[2025-08-14 20:30:10] info:     zh:zstack:znp: Writing CC2530/CC2531 skip bootloader payload
[2025-08-14 20:30:11] info:     zh:zstack:znp: Skip bootloader for CC2652/CC1352
[2025-08-14 20:31:24] error:    z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
[2025-08-14 20:31:24] error:    z2m: Failed to start zigbee-herdsman
[2025-08-14 20:31:24] error:    z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions
[2025-08-14 20:31:24] error:    z2m: Exiting...
[2025-08-14 20:31:24] error:    z2m: Error: network commissioning timed out - most likely network with the same panId or extendedPanId already exists nearby (Error: AREQ - ZDO - stateChangeInd after 60000ms
    at Object.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/utils/waitress.ts:68:23)
    at ZnpAdapterManager.beginCommissioning (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/z-stack/adapter/manager.ts:362:31)
    at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5)
    at ZnpAdapterManager.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/z-stack/adapter/manager.ts:90:21)
    at ZStackAdapter.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/z-stack/adapter/zStackAdapter.ts:154:16)
    at Controller.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/controller/controller.ts:134:29)
    at Zigbee.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/lib/zigbee.ts:67:27)
    at Controller.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/lib/controller.ts:101:13)
    at start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/index.js:149:5))
    at ZnpAdapterManager.beginCommissioning (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/z-stack/adapter/manager.ts:364:23)
    at ZnpAdapterManager.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/z-stack/adapter/manager.ts:90:21)
    at ZStackAdapter.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/z-stack/adapter/zStackAdapter.ts:154:16)
    at Controller.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/controller/controller.ts:134:29)
    at Zigbee.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/lib/zigbee.ts:67:27)
    at Controller.start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/lib/controller.ts:101:13)
    at start (/opt/zigbee2mqtt/index.js:149:5)

[mariva]

Okay – and once again: now it works!

It seems you must re-enter the IEEE address every time you do a firmware upgrade, even if the correct IEEE is already shown.

My working steps:

1. Create a backup of Zigbee2MQTT (Proxmox)
2. Create a backup of Zigbee2MQTT (yes, twice – just to be safe)
3. Stop the Zigbee2MQTT service
4. Unplug the SMLBZ06 stick
5. Remove the antenna from the MR2 stick
6. Power off the whole house, or locate and unplug all Zigbee repeater devices
7. Wait a couple of minutes
8. Plug in the MR2 stick without the antenna
9. Restore the Zigbee2MQTT backup (Proxmox)
10. Wait and check if Zigbee2MQTT is running with all devices online
11. Attach the antenna to the MR2 while it’s running

[mariva]

Hi,

after switching to the SMLBZ-MR2 a few days ago, most things are working again, but I’ve noticed a new problem:
Some Zigbee devices take a very long time to respond – sometimes up to 5 seconds delay.
With my old SMLBZ06 this was not the case, devices reacted almost instant.

Does anyone know what could cause this or what I can do to improve the response times again?

[mariva]

if anyone struggels too.

ive resetted everthing and repaired. took me 2 hours but know it works.

First, remove some of the hue devices (repeater) so they are easy to rejoin.

Second, updated zigbee2mqtt , stopped service and changed config to:

advanced:
    network_key: GENERATE
    pan_id: GENERATE
    ext_pan_id: GENERATE

then i updated the MR2 Stick with latest Firmware.

                                 EFR32MG21     CC2652P       CORE
Firmware version:	20241105	20250325	v2.9.8

First Core Update, second Matter, third Zigbee Dev Firmware.

startet zigbee 2 mqtt service.

rejoined all devices, one by one.

Now it Works Fast as it should.

Im Running Zigbee on Channel 24.