Why indeed – Sonoff will release the new ZBMiniR2 (Extreme) on 19th September 2024 – the last one I owned was (is) the ZBMini L2 – this new device is named ZBMini Extreme on the top of the box and ZBMiniR2 on the side).
So what’s new – and why have they apparently gone backwards, requiring a neutral wire while the ZBMini L2 does not (Max 6A load at 240v – LED resistive load 150W – no idea why the two specs). I love the L2 and have several controlling standard non-smart LED lights – the L2 devices are sited in standard wall switches which have no neutral wire available – the new unit required neutral BUT is THINNER than the L2 – the latter only JUST fits into my typical wall boxes at 39mm * 32mm *15.5mm whereas the new EXTREME is 36mm * 30mm * (importantly) and the latter measurement could make all the difference. Overall, the company say this say this totals a 40% size reduction compared to the original ZBMini. For power, the claim this time is 10A max at 240v.
They’ve upgraded to an EFR32MG21 chip which is claimed to have significantly enhanced communication capabilities and unlike the L2, the new device acts as a Zigbee repeater (as do most mains-powered Zigbee devices and they claim it can extend to 64 Zigbee end devices. Importantly, the L” which needs no neutral, does NOT act as a router (I didn’t know that).
Recommended Sonoff Gateway models include ZB-Bridge-P, NSPanel Pro, iHOST and ZB-Bridge-U – but of course I’m testing with my Raspberry Pi using Zigbee2MQTT instead, as usual – so here goes:
I plugged the ZBMiniR2 into power and introduced it to my Zigbee2MQTT – immediately recognised with the repeater (router) function clearly recognised – though in the Zigbee2MQTT webUI, the ZBMiniR2 shows up as white with an orange wiring panel like the L2 (and 4 connections) whereas in fact the ZBMiniR2 is white with a dark grey panel and 6 connections – a minor detail but confusing.
I checked the state in Zigbee2MQTT and sure enoughZigbee2MQTT can turn the device on and off, so the device is already supported. Apparently by design, the green indicator on the ZBMiniR2 is not affected by on-off status, hence there is no visual indication of the latter (you can of course hear the relay click on change). Like most Zigbee switch devices, the ZBMiniR2 can be set to retain status on power up – or stay off, or on as required.
Below we see the new R2 (grey section, 6 connectors) and the older L2 (orange section, 4 connectors) – a shame about the neutral as the smaller size would be welcome in my UK and Spanish wall boxes where size is at a premium and neutral is usually unavailable, but a welcome addition anyway.
On adding the ZBMiniR2 to Home Assistant (device called zbminir2) a load of entities magically appeared including:
delayed power on state
delayed power on time
detach relay mode
external trigger mode
power-on behaviour
turbo mode
firmware
...
start-up behaviour
switch
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Excited for this being available in the UK. I have some of the original ZBMINI and they work great, but only fit in a couple of my back boxes. This new model might squeeze into a few more.
Yes, it is a little smaller and competes well for size with the smaller Shelly products – but honestly – all manufacturers need to put more innovation into the size of these things – I’ve tried fitting Sonoff and Shelly devices into Spanish switch boxes – ok if you remove the original switch – no problem but no way will either fit into the limited space on either side of the box with a standard spanish switch inside – and as for typical Smartplugs – I almost always end up using every alternative output on a standard extension – the exception being that in Spain, light duty plugs (lamps etc) invariably are 2-pin – so it isn’t always encessary to waste every other socket.