SMHUB Nano MG24 Vorstellung/Einrichtung/Anleitung mit Zigbee2MQTT

<section class="review-transcript"> <p>I have something new to show you today: the <strong>SMHUB Nano Mg24 by SMLIGHT</strong>. This device can function either as a <strong>Zigbee coordinator</strong> or as an <strong>OpenThread Border Router</strong> — but you must choose one mode. It has a single antenna, not two.</p> <p>The special feature of this hub is that <strong>Zigbee2MQTT (Z2M) runs directly on the device</strong>. That means Zigbee2MQTT is no longer installed as an add-on inside Home Assistant. Instead, it runs independently on the SMHUB Nano Mg24, and devices are paired through the hub’s own web interface.</p> <h3>Why this is interesting</h3> <p>If Home Assistant stops working but the hub remains powered, <strong>Zigbee devices can continue operating</strong>. Of course, Home Assistant automations would not run in that case. However, direct Zigbee bindings (for example, a Zigbee switch directly controlling a Zigbee light) would still function.</p> <p>This separation between Home Assistant and Zigbee2MQTT is what makes the concept exciting. It effectively offloads Zigbee management to a dedicated Linux-based hub.</p> <h3>Initial setup process</h3> <p>The installation was done on a test Home Assistant instance. First, a backup of the existing Zigbee2MQTT configuration was created. The Zigbee2MQTT add-on was then removed from Home Assistant to allow the hub to take over.</p> <p>The SMHUB Nano Mg24 was powered via USB-C and connected via Ethernet (PoE is also supported, depending on setup). After locating the IP address in the router, the web interface was accessed.</p> <p>A firmware update was performed first. Time zone and hostname were configured. Zigbee2MQTT was already pre-installed as an app on the hub.</p> <h3>MQTT configuration</h3> <p>To connect Zigbee2MQTT on the hub with Home Assistant:</p> <ul> <li>The IP address of the Home Assistant MQTT broker was entered.</li> <li>MQTT username and password were configured.</li> <li>Home Assistant integration settings were enabled.</li> </ul> <p>After restarting both the hub and Home Assistant’s MQTT integration, the bridge connected successfully.</p> <h3>Pairing Zigbee devices</h3> <p>Device pairing is done directly in the SMHUB Nano Mg24 web interface under Zigbee2MQTT. The process is identical to using the Zigbee2MQTT add-on inside Home Assistant:</p> <ul> <li>Enable permit join.</li> <li>Put the Zigbee device into pairing mode.</li> <li>The device appears in the interface.</li> </ul> <p>After pairing, the device was automatically discovered in Home Assistant via MQTT. Link quality and responsiveness were comparable to the previous coordinator.</p> <p>Initially, there was a short delay before availability status updated correctly, but after about a day of operation, everything worked reliably.</p> <h3>Overall impression</h3> <p>The idea of running <strong>Zigbee2MQTT directly on the SMHUB Nano Mg24</strong> instead of inside Home Assistant is compelling. It reduces coupling between systems and may simplify setup for beginners who previously struggled with configuring Zigbee2MQTT and coordinators.</p> <p>From a usability standpoint, the pairing process feels identical to the familiar Zigbee2MQTT interface — just relocated to a dedicated hub. The concept of separating Zigbee from Home Assistant adds resilience and flexibility to the smart home architecture.</p> <p>Future testing may include running the device as an OpenThread Border Router, but as a Zigbee2MQTT hub, it already demonstrates a stable and promising approach.</p> </section>