I am wanting to switch my Zigbee devices from ZHA to Z2M. Currently my network is running with one Sonoff Dongle-E as the coordinator, and one Sonoff Dongle-E as a Router. I have about 20 devices currently with at least another 2 devices about to get added. The main reason I am switching is to get more/easier control of device parameters. I have quite a few Aqara devices, and there are some device parameters that I just cannot get to change in ZHA.
I want to do the switch gradually (i.e. one sensor at a time) so that I lose as little of my smart home functionality as possible. My new coordinator will be a SMLIGHT SLZB-06. After much research, my current plan is to add the SMLIGHT coordinator using Z2M. I plan on using the same Zigbee channel that I am using now. I will then switch devices over one at a time till they are all on the new Zigbee network.
In my research I see that I should be ok with different PAN IDs on the two networks, but it is suggested to have them on different channels. Since I am just switching things over to Z2M, can I get away with different PAN IDs while doing the switch, or will I really need to put the SMLIGHT on a different channel?
Also, if anyone has any better suggestions, feel free to shoot them my way.
The easiest way with around 20 devices is to remove all devices from ZHA and re-pair them under Zigbee2MQTT, keeping the same names. If you give them different names, you’ll need to update your automations accordingly.
I re-added 120 devices and finished in a few hours.
Thanks. That is basically my plan, but I would like to be able to move them and keep the functionality in place. Sometimes things come up and I get sidetracked with something else and I don’t get back to the home automation for several days. Of course, I could always just do it an hope for the best. Of course, I would remove the devices from the ZHA network before adding to the Z2M network.
I don’t think you’re going to be able to do that - you’ll have two separate networks and the new one will not have the same topography as the old one until all your devices have been transferred over.
You can move gradually. I did it. Same channel for relatively short term should be fine. I wouldn’t keep it that way long term, but for only 20 devices there shoudl be enough bandwidth during transition. I have a couple of zigbee test nets running on the same channel without issue.
Biggest issue may be your router device/end device mix. If you have range issues, you’ll need a stable enough router mesh to support both nets during transition. Worst case you might need something like a second Sonoff Dongle as a router, but my guess is it wouldn’t be needed with a little planning.
Thanks for the help everyone. I am going to give the two networks a try. I am confident enough that it will work. If it doesn’t, then I will have a project for at least a half day on a Saturday or Sunday.