If you found a Home Assistant SkyConnect recommendation in an older review, forum thread, or shopping list, stop before buying it. SkyConnect was renamed Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 in 2024, and Home Assistant later disclosed a hardware issue involving the ZBT-1’s voltage regulator, followed by a replacement program covering affected units for 60 months from purchase.[1][2] That is enough to change the buying advice for 2026: do not seek out a new SkyConnect or ZBT-1.
That does not mean the original idea was bad. An official Home Assistant radio made sense: fewer mystery chipsets, fewer half-updated product listings, less guessing about firmware support. The problem is that old “best dongle” trails do not expire neatly. A careful buyer can still land on a 2023-era Home Assistant SkyConnect recommendation and think it is the safe choice, when the current decision has moved on.
The short version is simple: skip SkyConnect/ZBT-1, consider the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 if you want the current official coordinator, and look hard at Sonoff or SMLight if price, transmit power, antenna placement, or PoE matters more than owning the official stick.
The 2026 Decision Snapshot
| If this is your situation | Start here | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You were about to buy a SkyConnect or ZBT-1 | Do not buy it new | SkyConnect was rebranded as ZBT-1, then ZBT-1 received an official voltage-regulator defect notice and replacement program.[1][2] |
| You want the current official Home Assistant coordinator | Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 | It uses an EFR32MG24 radio, USB-C, an external 4.16 dBi antenna, and a dual-chip EFR32MG24 plus ESP32-S3 design.[3] |
| You want the cheapest capable USB choice | Sonoff ZBDongle-E | It is listed at $29.95 in SmartHomeScene’s 2026 coordinator roundup and remains a serious budget option rather than a consolation pick.[4] |
| You want a stronger MG24 USB coordinator | Sonoff Dongle Plus MG24 or SMLight SLZB-07MG24 | These keep the newer Silicon Labs MG24 generation in view; the Sonoff Dongle Plus MG24 is listed at $42.95 with +20 dBm output.[4] |
| Your Home Assistant server sits in a cabinet, rack, TV stand, or other bad radio spot | SMLight SLZB-06MG24 or Sonoff Dongle Max | A network or PoE coordinator lets the radio live where the mesh needs it, not where the server happens to be.[4] |
If you want a longer product-by-product comparison after narrowing the field, the existing Zigbee coordinator comparison is the better place to keep digging. This guide is about the SkyConnect replacement decision: what to buy now that the old official dongle is no longer the answer.
Why SkyConnect And ZBT-1 Are Off The Shopping List
Home Assistant announced in June 2024 that SkyConnect was being renamed Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1. The stated reason was to make the product name fit its Zigbee and Thread role more clearly inside the Home Assistant Connect hardware line.[1] That alone would not make the hardware obsolete. Rebrands are annoying, but they do not automatically turn a coordinator into e-waste.
The real break came later. In October 2024, Home Assistant published a ZBT-1 issue and replacement notice, explaining that some units had a faulty voltage regulator and could fail after being connected to certain USB ports. Home Assistant opened a replacement program for affected devices, with coverage for 60 months from purchase.[2]
For someone who already owns one, that official notice is a support path. For someone buying in 2026, it is a stop sign. There is no good reason to pay new-dongle money for discontinued hardware with a documented defect history when the official successor and several mature alternatives exist.
The confusing part is that the old appeal was real. When SkyConnect launched, it was covered as Home Assistant’s own USB stick for Zigbee, with Thread support also part of the pitch at a time when Matter and Thread were gathering attention.[5] Older side-by-side comparisons also positioned SkyConnect against popular Sonoff sticks in a normal “which module fits you?” buying context.[6] Those sources explain why the name still shows up everywhere; they should not carry the 2026 verdict.
ZBT-2 Is The Official Successor, Not A Magic Placement Fix
The Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 is the cleanest replacement if what you wanted from SkyConnect was the official path. SmartHomeScene’s review lists it at $48.99 and documents the parts that matter for an actual installation: Silicon Labs EFR32MG24, USB-C, an external 4.16 dBi antenna, and a dual-chip architecture using EFR32MG24 plus ESP32-S3.[3]
Those details are not just spec-sheet decoration. The move to MG24 puts ZBT-2 in the newer generation of Silicon Labs coordinators. USB-C is less fiddly than the old tiny adapter era. The external antenna gives the radio a better physical starting point than a small internal antenna buried behind a server. The separate ESP32-S3 also explains why the hardware feels more ambitious than a plain serial USB stick.[3]
The caveat is important: SmartHomeScene’s review states that ZBT-2 cannot run Zigbee and Thread simultaneously.[3] If your real project is Thread, do not buy a Zigbee coordinator and hope the details sort themselves out later. Start with the site’s Home Assistant Matter dongle guide or the Thread border router guide instead. This article is mainly about choosing the right Zigbee coordinator after SkyConnect/ZBT-1.
ZBT-2 makes the most sense when your Home Assistant machine can put a USB radio in a sane location: on a short extension cable, away from USB 3.0 noise, not trapped behind a metal case, and not hidden in the worst corner of the house. If your server is already central and accessible, the official successor is a reasonable default.
If your server lives behind a TV, inside a cabinet, in a rack, or next to a nest of power bricks, ZBT-2’s official status does not repeal physics. A better USB stick in a bad location can still behave like a bad coordinator.
The Sonoff And SMLight Alternatives That Actually Matter
The useful alternatives are not “anything that says Zigbee” on a marketplace listing. In 2026, the serious comparison is about cost, chipset generation, antenna and output characteristics, firmware ecosystem, and whether the coordinator can be placed where the mesh needs it.
Sonoff ZBDongle-E: the budget pick that still deserves respect
The Sonoff ZBDongle-E is the obvious budget counterweight to ZBT-2. SmartHomeScene’s roundup lists it at $29.95, well below the ZBT-2’s $48.99 price.[3][4] For a small or moderate Zigbee network, or for a buyer who just needs a capable coordinator without paying official-hardware pricing, that difference matters.
It should not be dismissed as the cheap fallback. The more honest question is whether your setup benefits from spending more. If your Home Assistant box is in a decent spot, you can use a USB extension cable, and your Zigbee mesh has enough mains-powered routers, the ZBDongle-E may solve the actual problem for less money.
Sonoff Dongle Plus MG24: when newer Silicon Labs hardware and output power matter
The Sonoff Dongle Plus MG24 is the more direct “new-generation USB stick” alternative. SmartHomeScene lists it at $42.95 and notes +20 dBm output.[4] That puts it close enough to ZBT-2 on price that the decision becomes less about saving money and more about which radio package you trust for your placement and mesh.
Higher output is not a substitute for a healthy mesh, and it does not fix every interference problem. It can matter, though, when you are choosing between USB coordinators and want a stronger radio profile without jumping to a network coordinator.
SMLight SLZB-07MG24: compact MG24 without making the dongle the whole project
The SMLight SLZB-07MG24 belongs in the same practical bucket: a current MG24-based USB coordinator option for buyers who want newer Silicon Labs hardware without treating the official Home Assistant device as mandatory.[4] It is the kind of product to compare when you already know USB placement will work and you are choosing between coordinator designs rather than trying to move the radio across the house.
SMLight SLZB-06MG24 and Sonoff Dongle Max: when the server is the problem
Some Zigbee problems are coordinator-shopping problems. Many are coordinator-location problems. If the Home Assistant machine is shoved behind a television, mounted in a rack, sitting beside USB 3.0 devices, or parked at one edge of the home, a PoE or network coordinator can be the cleaner answer.
SmartHomeScene’s coordinator roundup includes network and PoE-oriented options such as the SMLight SLZB-06MG24 and Sonoff Dongle Max.[4] Their advantage is not that Ethernet magically improves Zigbee. It is that Ethernet lets the coordinator sit in a better radio location while Home Assistant stays wherever the server belongs.
That distinction matters. A USB extension cable can move a coordinator a short distance away from electrical noise. A PoE coordinator can move it to the hallway, ceiling area, utility closet edge, or other central point that makes sense for the mesh. If placement is already the suspicious part of your setup, read the USB Zigbee dongle vs PoE coordinator guide before spending money on another stick.
Older Coordinators Are Not Automatically Bad, But They No Longer Lead
There is no need to turn this into a legacy-hardware trial. A working ConBee II or older coordinator does not need to be ripped out just because newer chips exist. If your devices are stable, automations fire, and joins are predictable, stability has value.
For a new purchase, though, the center of gravity has moved. SmartHomeScene’s comparison favors newer coordinator options built around current Silicon Labs MG24 hardware over older-generation recommendations.[4] That does not prove every old stick is unusable; it does mean an old coordinator should not sit at the top of a 2026 shopping list unless there is a specific reason.
The same applies to old SkyConnect praise. Much of it was written before the rename, before the ZBT-1 defect notice, and before the ZBT-2 existed as the successor path. The date on the recommendation matters.
How To Choose Without Overthinking It
Start with placement, not branding. If your Home Assistant host is in a reasonable location and you can put the coordinator on a short extension cable, a USB coordinator is still the simplest route. If the host is in a radio-hostile location, do not make a second bad placement decision just because a USB stick looks tidy in product photos.
- Buy ZBT-2 if you want the official current Home Assistant coordinator, like the EFR32MG24 hardware direction, and can place a USB radio properly.
- Buy Sonoff ZBDongle-E if budget matters and your setup does not require the newest MG24-based option.
- Buy Sonoff Dongle Plus MG24 or SMLight SLZB-07MG24 if you want a newer MG24 USB coordinator and are comparing radio design rather than solving a server-location problem.
- Buy SMLight SLZB-06MG24 or Sonoff Dongle Max if the coordinator needs to live somewhere your Home Assistant server does not.
- Do not buy SkyConnect or ZBT-1 new in 2026, even if an old article still makes it sound like the default official choice.
There is one longer-term wrinkle that occasionally comes up in community discussion: future vendor and supply-chain uncertainty around radio chipmakers. The sourcing behind that chatter is not strong enough to turn it into buying advice. For today’s purchase, documented product status, hardware generation, placement, and support path matter more.
So the practical verdict is narrow and blunt: Home Assistant SkyConnect and ZBT-1 belong in the “do not buy new” pile. ZBT-2 is the official successor to consider first if USB placement works. Sonoff and SMLight are not second-class answers when price, transmit power, or network placement is the thing that will actually decide whether your Zigbee mesh behaves.
References
- Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1: SkyConnect is now Connect ZBT-1, Home Assistant, June 13, 2024
- Connect ZBT-1 issue and replacement: Connect ZBT-1 issue and replacement, Home Assistant, October 2, 2024
- Home Assistant ZBT-2 Zigbee and Thread Coordinator Review: Home Assistant ZBT-2 Zigbee and Thread Coordinator Review, SmartHomeScene
- Best Zigbee Coordinators for Home Assistant: Best Zigbee Coordinators for Home Assistant, SmartHomeScene
- Home Assistant’s SkyConnect is a tiny USB stick that brings Zigbee and Matter support: Home Assistant’s SkyConnect is a tiny USB stick that brings Zigbee and Matter support, The Verge
- SkyConnect vs Sonoff: Which Zigbee Module is Right for You?: SkyConnect vs Sonoff: Which Zigbee Module is Right for You?, ameriDroid
Updates & Corrections
Protocol specifications and platform features change rapidly — especially with Matter version evolution. Report version changes, certification count updates, or platform policy changes that have occurred since the last editorial review.
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