It runs Z2MQTT out of the box :)

<section class="review-transcript"> <p><strong>Welcome back to Simon Says.</strong> Today we’re looking at something really exciting. <strong>SMLIGHT</strong> recently sent me a brand-new product called the <strong>SMHUB Nano Mg24</strong>.</p> <p>At first glance, it follows the same form factor as their well-known Zigbee devices, but internally it’s something completely different. This is a <strong>Linux-based system</strong> designed to host a wide range of smart home applications.</p> <p>Out of the box, it comes preloaded with applications like <strong>Zigbee2MQTT</strong>, <strong>Node-RED</strong>, <strong>Matter Bridge</strong>, an <strong>MQTT broker</strong>, and more. Essentially, this device can run many of the services you would normally run inside Home Assistant, which means it could act as an all-in-one smart home hub.</p> <p>It’s important to mention that this product is still under active development. SMLIGHT is very open about that, and you can see frequent updates and new services being added. That said, the core functionality is already working well.</p> <p>For transparency, SMLIGHT sent me this device free of charge for testing, but this is not a sponsored video and they have no influence over my opinions.</p> <p>If you’ve followed the channel for a while, you’ll know that SMLIGHT is a company from Ukraine that produces high-quality Zigbee and Thread radios. They’ve recently expanded their lineup with the SMHUB Nano Mg24, which takes things to a whole new level.</p> <p>Once powered on, the device exposes a web-based dashboard where you can manage all applications and system settings. There are three main ways to use it: as a standalone smart home hub, as a Matter bridge for Google Home, Apple Home, or Home Assistant, or as a remote coordinator for Home Assistant.</p> <p>One of the main goals of this device is to improve performance and reduce latency under load. This makes a lot of sense, especially if you’re running Home Assistant on lower-powered hardware like a Raspberry Pi. Offloading services such as Zigbee2MQTT to a dedicated device can significantly improve stability.</p> <p>Personally, I’ve had many issues getting Zigbee2MQTT running reliably inside Home Assistant, so I really like the idea of running it on a separate device. I know many people run it locally without problems, so my issues may simply come down to my own setup, but this approach solves those frustrations for me.</p> <p>After powering up the SMHUB Nano Mg24, I located its IP address on my router and accessed the dashboard. Right away, you’re presented with release notes and a quick start guide. You can clearly see that this is an early-access product with ongoing development.</p> <p>At the time of testing, the device already supports Zigbee2MQTT, a Mosquitto MQTT broker, Matter Bridge, and Node-RED. Future services are also planned and listed directly in the interface.</p> <p>Zigbee2MQTT is already running out of the box. Pairing a temperature and humidity sensor was as simple as pressing “permit join” and putting the sensor into pairing mode. The device exposes detailed sensor data such as battery level, voltage, temperature, humidity, signal strength, and calibration options.</p> <p>Connecting Zigbee2MQTT to Home Assistant was straightforward. I simply entered my Home Assistant MQTT broker details, restarted the service, and everything appeared instantly in Home Assistant via MQTT.</p> <p><strong>This, for me, is amazing.</strong> Having Zigbee2MQTT running on a separate device completely removed the stability issues I had before.</p> <p>The SMHUB Nano Mg24 also includes <strong>Matter Bridge</strong>, which allows Zigbee devices to be exposed to Matter ecosystems. This means you can share Zigbee devices with Apple Home, Google Home, or other Matter-compatible platforms.</p> <p>Node-RED is also available and runs directly on the device. After restarting the service, I had a fully functional Node-RED instance running locally. <strong>This completely blew me away.</strong></p> <p>In the system settings, you can configure networking (Ethernet and Wi-Fi), USB modes, potential LTE add-ons, MQTT credentials, radio configuration (EFR32MG24), firmware updates, and secure remote access using <strong>WireGuard</strong>.</p> <p>WireGuard support means the device can be deployed in a completely remote location, connect to Zigbee devices locally, and securely communicate back to Home Assistant over a VPN.</p> <p><strong>I’m genuinely blown away by what SMLIGHT is offering with the SMHUB Nano Mg24.</strong> This platform has enormous potential, and I’m very excited to continue testing it and see what future updates bring.</p> <p>If you enjoyed this review, please like and subscribe, and I’ll see you in the next video.</p> </section>