Hey all,
Looking for some advice before I start pulling things apart.
Most of my smart home is Aqara devices currently paired to M2 and M100 hubs, then exposed into Home Assistant via Matter. It works, but I’m starting to lean toward simplifying everything and running a single Zigbee network directly in HA instead of relying on multiple hubs.
I’m planning to test this properly before buying new hardware. I already have a ZBT-1 that I’m going to reflash from Thread to Zigbee and run as the coordinator to see how the network behaves.
For routing, I’ve got four IKEA plugs on the way, and I also have several Aqara devices that should function as repeaters (T1 light strip, T2 bulbs, etc.), so the mesh shouldn’t be completely bare.
My rack lives in the loft of a well-insulated 2020 UK bungalow, so signal through the ceiling is my main concern. The initial plan was to buy a PoE coordinator like the SMLIGHT SLZB-06MU so I could place it more strategically, but I’d rather avoid spending the money if the ZBT performs well enough.
Long-term goals:
• Potentially migrate Aqara devices off the Aqara hubs and pair directly to HA (likely Zigbee2MQTT)
• Reduce dependency on Matter bridges where possible
• Build a stable mesh with enough mains-powered routers
• Only upgrade the coordinator if real-world performance demands it
A few things I’d really appreciate input on:
- Has anyone successfully run a coordinator from a loft/attic without coverage issues, assuming a decent router spread below it?
- Do IKEA plugs behave well as routers with Aqara devices in mixed meshes?
- Any major gotchas when moving Aqara devices off their hubs, aside from losing OTA updates?
Trying to approach this logically rather than just throwing hardware at the problem, so I’d rather test with what I already own before committing to a PoE coordinator.
Appreciate any real-world experiences.