Z2M migrate from Sonoff to SLZB-MR1, Error starting zigbee-herdsman

Configuration Zigbee
1

Hi, I’m trying to replace the Sonoff Zigbee USB dongle with SLZB-MR1. I changed the configuration as guided on SLZB page but z2m failed to start.
HAOS: 2026.1.1
SLZB firmware:v3.1.4
Zigbee Coordinator firmware:20250220

z2m just won’t start, and keeps giving me the following error. But as long as I changed the port back to the USB dongle (/dev/ttyUSB0) it will work.

Log from z2m:

[14:01:10] INFO: Preparing to start...
[14:01:10] INFO: Socat not enabled
[14:01:10] ERROR: Got unexpected response from the API: Service not enabled
[14:01:10] ERROR: Failed to get services from Supervisor API
[14:01:10] INFO: Starting Zigbee2MQTT...
Starting Zigbee2MQTT without watchdog.
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	z2m: Logging to console, file (filename: log.log)
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	z2m: Starting Zigbee2MQTT version 2.7.2 (commit #unknown)
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	z2m: Starting zigbee-herdsman (8.0.1)
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	zh:ember: Using default stack config.
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	zh:ember: ======== Ember Adapter Starting ========
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	zh:ember:ezsp: ======== EZSP starting ========
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH Adapter reset ========
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Socket ready
[2026-01-17 14:01:11] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH starting ========
[2026-01-17 14:01:13] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH connected ========
[2026-01-17 14:01:13] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH started ========
[2026-01-17 14:01:13] info: 	zh:ember:ezsp: ======== EZSP started ========
[2026-01-17 14:01:13] info: 	zh:ember: Adapter EZSP protocol version (14) lower than Host. Switched.
[2026-01-17 14:01:13] info: 	zh:ember: Adapter version info: {"ezsp":14,"revision":"8.0.2 [GA]","build":397,"major":8,"minor":0,"patch":2,"special":0,"type":170}
[2026-01-17 14:01:14] error: 	z2m: Error while starting zigbee-herdsman
[2026-01-17 14:01:14] error: 	z2m: Failed to start zigbee-herdsman
[2026-01-17 14:01:14] error: 	z2m: Check https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/installation/20_zigbee2mqtt-fails-to-start_crashes-runtime.html for possible solutions
[2026-01-17 14:01:14] error: 	z2m: Exiting...
[2026-01-17 14:01:14] error: 	z2m: Error: [BACKUP] Current backup file is not for EmberZNet stack.
    at EmberAdapter.getStoredBackup (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/ember/adapter/emberAdapter.ts:1154:23)
    at EmberAdapter.initTrustCenter (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/ember/adapter/emberAdapter.ts:925:29)
    at EmberAdapter.initEzsp (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/ember/adapter/emberAdapter.ts:708:18)
    at EmberAdapter.start (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/adapter/ember/adapter/emberAdapter.ts:1538:24)
    at Controller.start (/app/node_modules/.pnpm/[email protected]/node_modules/zigbee-herdsman/src/controller/controller.ts:143:29)
    at Zigbee.start (/app/lib/zigbee.ts:70:27)
    at Controller.start (/app/lib/controller.ts:101:13)
    at start (/app/index.js:149:5)

The configuration file:

data_path: /config/zigbee2mqtt
socat:
  enabled: false
  master: pty,raw,echo=0,link=/tmp/ttyZ2M,mode=777
  slave: tcp-listen:8485,keepalive,nodelay,reuseaddr,keepidle=1,keepintvl=1,keepcnt=5
  options: "-d -d"
  log: false
mqtt: {}
serial:
  port: tcp://192.168.68.27:6638
  baudrate: 115200
  adapter: ember

Any ideas? Thanks!

2

You could try renaming the z2mqtt backup file, I think it does a test to see if it would be able to restore it. I think it is “coordinator_backup.json”, I had to rename mine when I got my zbt-2.

1 Like
3

What he said ^^. Rename or delete the Z2M backup file. It is loaded on Z2M startup and throwing an error because the backup config & the current config don’t match.

4

Thank you for helping. Renaming the file did solve the starting error. But after it started, all the devices were gone. I did clone the IEEE address from the Sonoff to SLZB before changing z2m configuration. Do you have any ideas about the migration? Thanks very much.

5

My migration to the new ZBT-2 wasn’t all that straightforward. I can’t remember how exactly I got it working. I know I had to restore my HA instance from backup, maybe after I did that I removed the Z2M backup file before I attempted it again.Sorry I have no definite steps for you.

6

Thank you anyway! I think I’ll try to transfer the contents in old backup.json and database.db to the new files. Since when I deleted the old backup and started z2m, there’s nothing left in the new generated files, and all the device information are gone.