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November 11, 2025November 11, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Giveaway Week 2025 winners announced!

CNX Software’s Giveaway Week 2025 has just ended and we’ve now ready to announce the winners. We offered some of the review samples we tested, and three companies joined us offering new samples, namely Banana Pi with two router boards, VOIPAC with an industrial development kit, and RAKwireless offered two of their IoT development kits for the fifth year running. Besides the aforementioned prize, we also included an ESP32-P4 development kit, a dry switch from SONOFF, a Raspberry Pi CM4-based HMI with a 915MHz LoRa module, a 5-inch Raspberry Pi Touch Display, and two USB PD voltage indicators on both CNX Software “International” and CNX Software Thailand. You can see all prizes shown below. Without further ado, here are the seven winners of Giveaway Week 2025 on CNX Software (English): M5Stack M5Tab – Ed, Canada Elecrow Pi Terminal – Tom, Finland Banana Pi BPI-R4 Lite router board – Stef, Belgium […]

November 6, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 7 Comments

Review of SONOFF’s latest Matter Smart Switches – Basic Gen5 and Tx Gen2

Today, we’re about to review not one, but two new Matter devices: the SONOFF Basic Gen5 Smart Switch and the SONOFF Tx Gen2 Smart Wall Switch. Both are upgraded versions of their previous models, now adding support for the Matter protocol (over Wi-Fi). The Basic Gen5 is the fifth generation of the popular Basic series, known for being affordable and widely used in the market. It’s a Wi-Fi smart switch that can control all kinds of devices, such as lights or small electrical devices. Basically, anything within its 10A limit. What’s new compared to the previous BasicR4 is the addition of Matter and near-field control via Bluetooth. As for the Tx Gen2 (T6), it’s an upgraded version of the older T2/T3 lineup. Besides adding Matter, it also brings a few new features, like adjustable backlight brightness and the Detach Relay mode. Both models support voice control via Apple Siri, Google […]

September 17, 2025September 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

SONOFF Dongle Max (Dongle-M) – A PoE-based Zigbee/Thread gateway with ESP32 and MG24 chips

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 Storage – 16MB flash for ESP32 Wired networking […]

September 2, 2025September 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

SONOFF Dongle Plus MG24 – A Zigbee/Thread USB Dongle based on SiLabs EFR32MG24 SoC

SONOFF Dongle Plus MG24 laptop Raspberry Pi SBC

SONOFF Dongle Plus MG24, also called Dongle-PMG24, is a Zigbee/Thread USB dongle based on Silicon Labs’ EFR32MG24 wireless SoC, which offers the same features as the SONOFF ZBDongle-E with an EFR32MG21 SoC, but with “better performance”. SONOFF says the Dongle Plus MG24 comes with 300% more RAM (256KB) and 100% more flash (1536KB) than the ZBDongle-E/Dongle Plus E (I wish the company would just stop giving two names for each of its products…), offers a range of up to 200 meters with the provided 3dBi antenna. SONOFF Dongle Plus MG24 specifications: Wireless SoC – 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 (for the SoC, but only Zigbee is used here) Connectivity […]

August 31, 2025September 1, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 2 Comments

SONOFF CAM-PT2 indoor security camera review with eWeLink, ONVIF-capable NVR, Home Assistant

Today, we’ll do a quick review of the new SONOFF CAM-PT2 indoor camera, which is the third model after the Slim Gen2 (CAM S2) fixed-angle camera and the Slim camera, both of which we reviewed previously. The CAM-PT2 (CAM Pan-Tilt 2) supports Pan/Tilt/Zoom functions. Its main features are quite similar to the CAM S2, including 1080p resolution, Motion Detection/AI Human Detection, and Privacy Zone support. In addition to Pan/Tilt, it adds new features such as the ability to set Preset Points to remember specific camera positions. It’s also the first SONOFF camera to support ONVIF, on top of RTSP, which has been available since the CAM S2. Let’s take a closer look at the details. SONOFF CAM-PT2 unboxing Inside the white box, you’ll find the camera itself, a mini manual, a USB-C cable, wall plugs with screws, a drilling sticker, and a camera holder. If you want other types of […]

June 18, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 16 Comments

SONOFF iPlug S60 Zigbee Smart Plug (S60ZBTPF) review with eWelink and Home Assistant

Sonoff iPlug S60 Zigbee S60ZBTPF smart plug review

At the end of 2023, CNX Software covered the SONOFF iPlug S60 Wi-Fi Smart Plug, the first model out of the S60 series. Recently, SONOFF has released a Zigbee version, and the company’s sent us a review sample of the SONOFF iPlug S60 (S60ZBTPF). The S60ZBTPF is the successor of SONOFF S31 ZB (2019) and SONOFF S40ZBTPB Lite (2021), and adds energy monitoring capability, making it the first Zigbee smart plug from SONOFF with a power meter function. It also works as a Zigbee Router to extend your Zigbee network coverage at home. SONOFF iPlug S60 Zigbee unboxing Inside the box, you’ll find just the smart plug itself and a quick guide manual. The unit we received is a Type E/F plug. As of the time of this review, only two versions are available on the market. That’s Type E/F for Europe and Type G for the UK. We believe […]

April 15, 2025April 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

SONOFF SNZB-02LD and SNZB-02WD IP65-rated Zigbee LCD Smart thermometers work with liquids or outdoors

SONOFF SNZB-02LD IP65 Zigbee LCD Thermometer

ITEAD has introduced two new SONOFF devices: the IP65-rated SNZB-02LD and SNZB-02WD Zigbee 3.0 LCD Smart thermometers designed to work in liquids or enclosed spaces such as bathtubs or refrigerators, or outdoors in gardens or other humid environments, respectively. Both devices look similar and can measure temperature with +/- 0.5°C accuracy, but the SONOFF SNZB-02LD model ships with a 1.5m long probe to measure the temperature of liquids in a pool, a bathtub, or fermentation vessel (for beer or wine making), as well as in refrigerators. On the other end, the SNZB-02WD features a built-in temperature and humidity sensor. SONOFF SNZB-02WD/LD specifications: MCU – Telink TLSR8656F512ET32 (part of the TSL8656 family – See PDF datasheet ) Zigbee/RF4CE SoC with 32-bit RISC MCU, 64kB SRAM, 512kB internal Flash Display – 2.2-inch LCD Wireless – Zibgee 3.0 (802.15.4 radio on TSL8656) Temperature and Humidity sensor SNZB-02WD (internal) Temperature Range – -20°C to […]

February 12, 2025February 16, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 10 Comments

SONOFF ZBM5 Review – A 3-gang Zigbee Smart Wall Switch tested with eWeLink and Home Assistant

We will be reviewing a smart home device from SONOFF that we recently received right after the New Year, the SONOFF SwitchMan Zigbee Smart Wall (ZBM5). This is SONOFF’s first Zigbee-enabled Smart Wall Switch. In addition to functioning as a smart wall switch, it can also act as a Zigbee Router, making it easier to expand your Zigbee network at home in one shot. One of the key features of the SONOFF ZBM5 is that it can either operate in with-neutral (N) or without-neutral (N) wiring setups. Typically, in the market, we see these as separate models: one for with-neutral and another for without-neutral. This feature adds more flexibility for users, especially those with wiring constraints in their homes. Let’s dive into the details. SONOFF ZBM5 Unboxing Inside the box, you’ll find a user manual, wall plugs, and the switch itself. The model we received has a rectangular shape (120mm) […]