Set up Zigbee2MQTT with a network or PoE coordinator (SLZB-06U or SLZB-06MG24U)

A Zigbee stick on the back of a server in the closet starts life in the worst spot in the house: metal, power bricks and USB 3 noise all around it. A network coordinator fixes that. It sits on your network instead of a USB port, so you can put it in the middle of the home and power it from one Ethernet cable.

Choose the SMLIGHT SLZB-06U for a Texas Instruments CC2652P coordinator, or the SLZB-06MG24U for a Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 that can also switch to Thread. Power either one from a TP-Link TL-SG1005P PoE port. Then point Zigbee2MQTT at it over TCP.

Specs come from SMLIGHT and TP-Link; setup follows the Zigbee2MQTT docs.

Pick the coordinator

Both are from SMLIGHT’s SLZB-06xU series: the same body with a different radio chip. Each runs SMLIGHT’s SLZB-OS for the web interface and firmware updates, has wired 10/100 Ethernet, and takes power from 802.3af PoE or USB-C. You switch between coordinator, router and Matter-over-Thread border router modes in the web UI, with no reflashing cable.

SLZB-06U: the TI pick. It uses the Texas Instruments CC2652P. In Zigbee2MQTT, that’s the zstack adapter type. A good fit if your existing network already runs on a TI coordinator.

SLZB-06MG24U: the Silicon Labs pick. It uses the EFR32MG24, which is the ember adapter type in Zigbee2MQTT. A good fit for a new network, or when you might want Thread from the same box later.

TP-Link TL-SG1005P: power and data on one cable. It has five Gigabit ports, four of which supply PoE from a 65 W total budget. That’s plenty for an 802.3af coordinator. It’s fanless, so it can sit anywhere. Skip it if your router or an existing switch already provides PoE.

	SLZB-06U	SLZB-06MG24U	TL-SG1005P
Radio	TI CC2652P	Silicon Labs EFR32MG24	—
Zigbee2MQTT adapter	zstack	ember	—
Power	802.3af PoE or USB-C	802.3af PoE or USB-C	4 PoE ports, 65 W total
Network	Wired 10/100 Ethernet	Wired 10/100 Ethernet	5 Gigabit ports
Modes	Coordinator, router, Thread border router	Coordinator, router, Thread border router	Fanless switch

For USB coordinators and more options, see the coordinator buying guide.

Wired, not Wi-Fi

Both coordinators also have Wi-Fi. Use Ethernet. The Zigbee2MQTT adapter docs warn that network adapters on Wi-Fi may be less stable, because the serial protocol can’t cope well with packet loss and latency.

How it reaches Home Assistant

1. The coordinator exposes its Zigbee radio over TCP on your network.
2. Zigbee2MQTT connects to it, runs your Zigbee network and publishes everything to an MQTT broker.
3. Home Assistant’s MQTT integration picks up every device through discovery.

Prefer to stay inside HA? ZHA can also use a network coordinator; run only one of ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT against a coordinator, never both.

Set it up

1. Power it. Connect the switch’s non-PoE uplink to your router and run a cable from a PoE port to the coordinator. Put the coordinator somewhere central and open, not in the server closet.
2. Give it a fixed address. Create a DHCP reservation for the coordinator on your router. Zigbee2MQTT connects to that address, so it mustn’t change.
3. Check its mode. Open the coordinator’s address in a browser. In SLZB-OS, confirm it’s in coordinator mode over Ethernet and install any firmware updates.
4. Install the broker and Zigbee2MQTT. Install the Mosquitto broker app and set up the MQTT integration. Then follow the Zigbee2MQTT app guide to add its repository and install Zigbee2MQTT.
5. Point Zigbee2MQTT at the coordinator. The adapter settings docs use tcp://ADDRESS:6638 for Ethernet adapters. Use your coordinator’s reserved address and the right adapter type:

homeassistant:
  enabled: true
serial:
  port: tcp://192.168.1.50:6638
  adapter: ember

Use zstack for the SLZB-06U, ember for the SLZB-06MG24U, and your own address. Start Zigbee2MQTT, check the log for a successful start, then pair your first device. Add powered router devices as you go: the mesh guide shows where.

Automation: tell me if the bridge drops

Zigbee2MQTT publishes online and offline messages for its bridge, and with HA discovery you get a bridge connection state entity. If a cable, switch port or the coordinator drops, this tells you.

alias: Zigbee2MQTT - bridge offline
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.zigbee2mqtt_bridge_connection_state
    to: "off"
    for:
      minutes: 2
actions:
  - action: persistent_notification.create
    data:
      notification_id: z2m_offline
      title: Zigbee is offline
      message: >
        Zigbee2MQTT has been disconnected for two minutes.
        Check the PoE switch, the cable and the coordinator.
mode: single

Check the entity ID on your Zigbee2MQTT bridge device and swap it in if yours differs.

Test it

1. In Developer tools → States, confirm the bridge connection state is on.
2. Stop the Zigbee2MQTT app. After two minutes, the Zigbee is offline card should appear.
3. Start the app again; the state goes back to on.

The short version: SLZB-06U for a TI network, SLZB-06MG24U for Silicon Labs with Thread options, TL-SG1005P to power either over one cable, and Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi. More local projects live on the Home Assistant hub.