SMLIGHT
SMLIGHT SLZB-07
- Native integration
- Local control
- Zigbee
Prices verified September 2026
See more hubs & dongles picks on our Amazon storefront →Our verdict
SMLIGHT's USB dongle line, sitting below the Ethernet/PoE SLZB-06M and the MR2U router/border-router already in this list — same EFR32MG21 radio in an 18x54x10mm, 14g stick with a +20dB amp and rotatable external antenna. No extension cable in the box, just the stick, antenna, and a manual QR card — SMLIGHT says its four-layer PCB cancels host-side USB interference instead. Ignore "Thread/Matter" wording on some Amazon listings: treat the base SLZB-07 as Zigbee-only. Buy this over the 06M for a cheap, plug-and-play ZHA/Zigbee2MQTT coordinator on the HA machine itself; buy the 06M if you need it mounted away from the server, or the MR2U to extend mesh coverage instead.
What can Home Assistant control on the SMLIGHT SLZB-07?
| Control | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Radio signal | Sensor | Signal strength diagnostic reported by the coordinator's radio, useful for spotting a degraded USB link before joins start failing. |
| Firmware version | Sensor | Currently flashed firmware version, surfaced so version drift after a flasher update is visible in HA. |
| Zigbee channel | Sensor | Active channel the coordinator is operating on, diagnostic-only since it's set at network formation. |
| Uptime | Sensor | Time since the coordinator's radio last reset — a sudden reset to zero without a HA restart flags a USB power or driver issue. |
| Restart radio | Button | Soft-resets the radio without re-flashing firmware or dropping the paired network. |
Because ZHA talks to the SLZB-07 over a direct USB-serial link rather than EZSP-over-TCP, it sidesteps the firmware version-matching headaches flagged for the networked SLZB-06M — the device shows up as a stable serial path, not an IP+port pair that can silently drift out of sync. Firmware updates and radio-mode switching go through SMLIGHT's browser-based flasher, which relies on the WebSerial API and only works in Chromium browsers — Firefox and Safari simply can't see the device, so a no-device-found error is usually a browser problem, not a hardware one. SMLIGHT says its PCB shielding makes an extension cable optional, but if the dongle ends up seated directly in a USB3 port on the HA host, moving it to a USB2 port or a short hub cable away from the drive bay is still the first fix for random ZHA drops, since USB3's noise floor doesn't care about onboard shielding.
Specs
| chip | Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 |
|---|---|
| range | No metres/feet figure published by SMLIGHT |
| antenna | +3dB gain, rotatable in 3 axes |
| firmware | Ships pre-flashed, Zigbee 3.0 |
| included | USB stick, external antenna, QR-code manual card — no extension cable included; SMLIGHT says the PCB layout makes one unnecessary |
| amplifier | +20dB |
| dimensions | 18 x 54 x 10mm, 14g — SMLIGHT markets it as the smallest EFR32-based USB Zigbee dongle with an external antenna |
| connectivity | USB (external antenna) |
How does the SMLIGHT SLZB-07 compare?
| Product | From | Protocol | Local control | Integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMLIGHT SLZB-07 (this product) | £32.5 | Zigbee | Yes | Native |
| Aeotec Z-Stick 7 | £46.43 | Z-Wave | Yes | Native |
| Apple TV 4K (Wi-Fi + Ethernet, 128GB) | £249 | Thread, Matter, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Yes | Native |
| Aqara Hub M3 | £109.99 | Zigbee, Thread, Matter, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Yes | Native |
Frequently asked questions
- Does the SMLIGHT SLZB-07 work with Home Assistant locally?
- Yes. The SMLIGHT SLZB-07 is controlled locally in Home Assistant through a built-in Home Assistant core integration (zha), so it keeps working if your internet connection or the SMLIGHT cloud goes down. Control and state updates stay on your own network.
- Which protocol does the SMLIGHT SLZB-07 use, and do I need a hub?
- The SMLIGHT SLZB-07 uses Zigbee. To pair it with Home Assistant you need a Zigbee coordinator (for example a SkyConnect/ZBT-1 or Sonoff dongle) attached to your Home Assistant host. SMLIGHT's own hub is not required when you integrate through a built-in Home Assistant core integration (zha).
- How much does the SMLIGHT SLZB-07 cost in the UK?
- The lowest price we have listed for the SMLIGHT SLZB-07 is £32.50 at Amazon UK. Prices were last checked in September 2026 and change often, so confirm on the retailer's page before buying.