Xiaomi without hub?

[Argo]

Hello. I am getting into xiaomi component, can’t understand if I can use zigbee stick and controll devices, or I have to buy xiaomi hub first? And how is it to work with xiaomi? Is it harder than z-wave?

[dgomes (Diogo Gomes)]

You can get away of buy the hub, just check this project:

GitHub - Koenkk/zigbee2mqtt: Zigbee 🐝 to MQTT bridge 🌉, get rid of your...

Also check the thread:

Zigbee2mqtt: getting rid of your proprietary Zigbee bridges (Xiaomi, Hue, TRADFRI)

Hi all, Because of the irritation I got from my Xiaomi Zigbee bridge (talking in Chinese, sending data to Chinese cloud and a bad app) I started to look if it is possible replace the Xiaomi gateway with a more open solution. I found that Andrew Linden had a proof of concept for this. It bridges events and allows you to control your Zigbee devices via MQTT. In this way you can integrate your Zigbee devices with whatever smart home infrastructure you are using. I found this idea very interestin…

[Pisupati (Ramana Kumar Pisupati Sai)]

Hey Argo,

I just got a bunch of Xiaomi sensors, I dont want to send my info to china, what did you end up doing?

[TheAK]

Not OP but I’m using zigbee2mqtt with a button and a motion sensor. It’s extremely reliable (I don’t think I’ve ever had problems with the connection between the devices and the gateway). It’s cheap too. I would definitely recommend it.

[Argo]

Hi. Right now I am still on hub. Yesterday I got needed devices for zigbee2mqtt from aliexpress, but I got issue with settings, so can not say anything meanful for you.
But I am sure, others can

[maxdaniel]

I definitely agree with @TheAK and use Zigbee2MQTT also but remember there is a limit on how many devices work with one Zigbee2MQTT usb stick and that limit is smaller than a Zigbee HUB limit.

[TheAK]

Yeah, from what I recall the limit is 15 devices. Can be increased by using extenders (most mains-powered devices e.g. light switches or smart plugs).