UK users - where have all the cheap Zigbee smart switches gone?

Hardware
1

I was looking to buy a few more smart switches and was hoping to buy another 4 Pack of the SONOFF S26R2ZBTPG Mini Outlets. I bought these about a year ago and they have been absolutely brilliant.

Not only are these no longer available but there is much less choice for Zigbee smart switches, now, than when I was first looking some 12 months ago. Also, prices seem to have shot up as well.

What is going in? Are Zigbee devices falling out of favour or is it just the cost of living crisis? Or are people switching from these type of smart switches to something else?

2

I would be looking on Aliexpress. The last 2 orders I have placed for stuff has been delivered within a week, faster than ebay 90% of the time. Remember to add VAT to prices you see.

1 Like
3

Thanks, Arh - what sort of things do you last order?

I am a bit worried about using Aliexpress for anything that connects to my mains power supply. Do you think that that is unwarranted?

To be fair, I have bought a few sensors via Aliexpress and have never had any issues.

4

Sonoff have their own store on aliexpress i ordered i2s mic speakers and amps. Also.on monday i ordered 3 esp32 s3 n16r8. They are already in the country and should be delivered monday.

5

Not an unfounded worry at all! I also inherently mistrust a lot of these Aliexpress suppliers, especially when they claim CE adherence and it’s actually just the China Export logo.

6

Yes be careful but buying sonoff stuff from their own shop on aliexpress or from ebay or amazon in the uk is probably not going to burn your house down. After all, all the stuff you buy in the uk is made in china. But this argument has been done many times and its not worth doing it again.

7
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I bought these last year and they’ve been rock solid. Fully supported in z2mqtt too (with issues regarding incorrect power reading ironed out).

Less than €9 each for a 4-pack including shipping, power monitoring, has a 16A relay inside and they’re way less bulkier than the Sonoff ones (you can fit 2 side by side in a double gang switch).

I get it - ordering stuff from Ali is scary, but do you honestly think the stuff you’re buying from places like Amazon or ebay isn’t exactly the same + a hefty markup + shipping costs on top of that?

9

I had an electrical engineer look over my Tuya and Zigbee purchases from Aliexpress and they gave them the thumbs up.

You usually only have a problem if you buy something at a much lower price than you would expect. Like a $100 breaker set for $20.