🔍 Acxico 1Pcs USB CC2531 Sniffer Board: Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Zigbee Analyzer Module with External Antenna - Enhanced Connectivity and Monitoring Capabilities Review

I bought this because it had an antenna that still works pretty well. Works great with Zigbee2MQTT Home Assistant, but make sure you flash the firmware first, and you'll need either a Rasp Pi or a standalone debugger for that. It's relatively easy with a Rasp Pi, but you'll need to have a few jumpers to spare! If you can, buy a "bootloader cable" (search Amazon for "cc2531 Zigbee bootloader") or you'll break the replacement electronics (in my case, a small laser cat toy with motion detection…

Works great with my Zigbee2Mqtt setup. An antenna is almost necessary as it greatly increases the range. I tried the version without an antenna and it barely reached the Zigbee devices outside of my bedroom.

I bought two, flashed them with router firmware to increase the range in my house. And it was incredible. I also use them with Home Assistant. Flashing requires a bit of soldering (using a Raspberry Pi) or use clipper type jumpers if you don't want to solder.

I bought this to make sure my blinds would work with zigbee2mqtt and it's great. I'll probably upgrade to a more powerful device (CC2652P) for my coordinator, but I'll reflash it as a repeater to support my Zigbee network. works wonderfully.