ZBDongle-P vs ZBDongle-E vs Lidl Gateway

Hardware
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Hi all,

I want to expand my HA system with Zigbee devices. Until now I have only used WiFi based sensors.

I’ve narrowed my search down to the three devices in the title. I hope you guys can help me choose which one to buy. I intend to use Zigbee2MQTT, but only because from what I’ve read it’s a little bit more customizable compared to ZHA.

  1. Sonoff ZBDongle-P
    This seems like the most secure/reliable/mature choice. The only potential downside would be that it will not support Thread / Matter in the future (am I correct?). From what I understand, Thread / Matter will replace Zigbee at some point. But what is “some point”? Months, years? Should I care about that downside at all?

  2. Sonoff ZBDongle-E
    So this is the successor or Dongle-P, based on a different chip. The disadvantage is it’s still labeled “experimental” on the Zigbee2MQTT website. The only advantage I see compared to the P-version, is that it will probably support Matter in the future. But when I do a search about it on the forum, all I find is “help, problems/issues with my Dongle-E” like topics.
    Since things move fast in HA world and most of these posts are 1-2 months old, I wonder if these problems still exist. Or if they have (mostly) been fixed by now.

  3. The Lidl/Silvercrest Gateway is on sale now for €12,50. But it seems like a newer version compared to the one from the “lidl hack” topic. I have not been able to find any info on whether this new gateway will work with HA.

So the main (2) questions basically are:

  1. Is the ZBDongle-E still problematic and should I therefore pick the ZBDongle-P? Or have most of these problems been fixed and is there no reason not to get the -E version?

  2. Is the Lidl Gateway a comparable alternative, or should I just get a Sonoff dongle?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I also intend to add some BLE sensors at some point. I feel like it would be best to use a separate Bluetooth dongle for this as opposed to a 2in1 dongle to prevent potential interference between the two RF signals. Am I right with this way of thinking?

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Pretty good guide here Supported Adapters | Zigbee2MQTT

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Thanks. I’ve indeed read that page.

It says the ZBDongle-E is still “experimental” and therefore (officially) not recommended.

My question is mainly “how experimental is it?”. Is it (in practice) almost stable and about to be added to the “recommended” list? Or does it still have a (long) way to go until its considered just as stable as the P variant?

And also, to possible evade this whole dilemma and just get the -P variant:
Does it make sense to risk headaches, problems and hours of tinkering with the -E to be prepared for Matter one day? Or should I just get the P now and buy something else when Matter becomes more relevant?

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For z2m, between the “E” and “P” dongles, get the ZBDongle-P (or other TC CC2652P based stick) and never look back.

The ezsp support in z2m has come a long way, but I believe is still missing a few things like backup/restore.

More importantly, the main z2m developer uses the TI CC2652P chip himself, and maintains the most popular community firmware for the TI family zigbee chips. It will likely be the best supported z2m chip for a long time.

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Thanks! I just ordered the P variant. =)

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