Looping onto Oneself

Most of my home automations are on YoLink. LoRA was the only thing that actually worked end-to-end so I went with it first. However, I do have a small Zigbee network for sensors. And connectivity in small networks without many (if any repeaters) is the reason I recommend SmLight’s MR4U.

Having MR4U brings a “standard” benefit of moving radios from computer. However, if you have only Zigbee network, it brings another unexpected benefit - extra router. My setup uses CC2674P10 as a Zigbee coordinator and EFR32MG26 as a Zigbee router.

I decided to use CC2674P10 as a Zigbee coordinator because I wanted to “reserve” EFR32MG26 for future Thread-over-Matter devices. However, since I don’t have any Matter devices and my network is small, in meantime I flashed Zigbee router firmware on it. That way I got two antennas to play with. I can setup my coordinator antenna to one orientation while my router on the opposite side can be oriented independently. If you have devices on the edge, antenna orientation helps a lot. Having two antennas is priceless.

Now, as your Zigbee network expands with more router capable devices (e.g. wall switches, outlet plugs, etc.) this becomes superfluous. A router at another location will always beat one router next to another. However, i a small networks as mine, your edge devices will be thankful.