As expected, SONOFF has now launched the Dongle Max (also known as Dongle-M) Zigbee coordinator and Thread Border Router with Ethernet, WiFi, and USB connectivity.
The company also highlights PoE or USB power supply options, web console access, and support for advanced features such as Webhooks, MQTT, WireGuard VPN, and Turbo mode.
SONOFF Dongle Max specifications:
- Wireless SoCs
- Silicon Labs EFR32MG24
- MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 MCU @ 78 MHz
- Memory – 256 KB RAM (300% more RAM than ZBDongle-E)
- Storage – 1536 KB flash (twice the flash of ZBDongle-E)
- Radios/Protocols – 802.15.4, Matter, OpenThread, Zigbee 3.0, BLE, Bluetooth Mesh, Proprietary 2.4 GHz, Multiprotocol
- Espressif Systems ESP32-D0WDR2-V3
- MCU cores – Dual-core Xtensa LX6 32-bit microprocessor up to 240 MHz
- Memory – 520 KB SRAM + 2 MB embedded PSRAM
- Wireless – 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth: v4.2 + EDR
- Silicon Labs EFR32MG24
- Storage – 16MB flash for ESP32
- Wired networking – Ethernet RJ45 port with PoE support
- USB – 1x USB Type-C port
- Misc – Two antennas for WiFi and Zigbee
- Power Supply
- 5V/1A via USB Type-C port OR
- 48V/0.25A for PoE port
- Dimensions – TBD
- Temperature Range – -10°C to +60°C
The Dongle Max ships with a mounting bracket, double-sided tape, screw packages, two SMA antennas, a one-meter USB Type-C cable, and a Quick Guide. The features are somewhat similar ot the SMLIGHT SLZB-06M Zigbee 3.0 PoE adapter but with more recent chips, although I can see SMLIGHT has an updated model with the MG24 SoC.
The main advantages of the Dongle Max compared to the just-released Dongle Plus MG24 are the addition of WiFi and Ethernet connectivity besides just USB, PoE support, and a web console for easy configuration.
It still ships with EmberZnet (EZSP) Zigbee Coordinator firmware by default, but also supports Zigbee Router, Thread RCP, and MultiPAN (Experimental) firmware. It’s designed for integration with Home Assistant, Zigbee2MQTT, IoBroker, and OpenHab. You’ll find more details and instructions to get started on the documentation website.
Having said that, it has been pointed out to me that it is not recommended to use a Zigbee Coordinator via a Serial-to-IP bridge over WiFi or VPN due to reliability and stability issues, as highlighted on the Zigbee2MQTT and Home Assistant websites. So Ethernet is recommended in that case. As I understand it, Thread is not impacted by this issue.
The Dongle Max PoE-enabled Zigbee/Thread dongle is sold for $42.90 on the SONOFF store. As usual, you can get a 10% discount on any item there when using the coupon code cnxsoft. Paisit got a sample of the Dongle-M, so we should expect a review with Home Assistant in the next few weeks.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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