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Zigbee devices Switches and relays

Alab alab.switch

Four channel relay board with four inputs. Works with Zigbee2MQTT with no vendor hub or cloud: it pairs with a Zigbee stick and shows up in Home Assistant.

Vendor
Alab
Model
alab.switch
Type
Switches and relays
Power
mains: usually a router that extends the mesh
Firmware updates (OTA)
no

Find it in shops: AliExpress

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What it exposes

FeaturePropertyValuesControl
On / off (l1)state_l1—settable
On / off (l2)state_l2—settable
On / off (l3)state_l3—settable
On / off (l4)state_l4—settable
Input state (in1)input_state_in10…1settable
Input state (in2)input_state_in20…1settable
Input state (in3)input_state_in30…1settable
Input state (in4)input_state_in40…1settable
Action (button press)actionon_l1, on_l2, on_l3, on_l4, off_l1, off_l2, off_l3, off_l4 …read only

MQTT: state and commands

Zigbee2MQTT publishes the device state to zigbee2mqtt/my_device (my_device is the name you give the device). An example message:

{
  "state_l1": "ON",
  "state_l2": "ON",
  "state_l3": "ON",
  "state_l4": "ON",
  "input_state_in1": 1,
  "input_state_in2": 1,
  "input_state_in3": 1,
  "input_state_in4": 1,
  "linkquality": 120
}

Send commands to zigbee2mqtt/my_device/set:

mosquitto_pub -t zigbee2mqtt/my_device/set -m '{"state_l1":"TOGGLE"}'
mosquitto_pub -t zigbee2mqtt/my_device/set -m '{"state_l2":"TOGGLE"}'
mosquitto_pub -t zigbee2mqtt/my_device/set -m '{"state_l3":"TOGGLE"}'
mosquitto_pub -t zigbee2mqtt/my_device/set -m '{"state_l4":"TOGGLE"}'

Watch the topics live from the browser: MQTT client.

Home Assistant automation example

Zigbee2MQTT creates Home Assistant entities from the device name. If it is called my_device, an automation in automations.yaml can look like this:

- alias: "Off at night"
  mode: single
  triggers:
    - trigger: time
      at: "23:30:00"
  actions:
    - action: switch.turn_off
      target:
        entity_id: switch.my_device_l1

Check the YAML: YAML checker.

How to pair it

  1. In Zigbee2MQTT click Permit join.
  2. Put the device in pairing mode: usually a long press of the reset button (5–10 s) until the LED blinks; bulbs: switch the power off and on 5–6 times.
  3. Keep the device close to the coordinator or a router while pairing.
  4. Give it a clear name: MQTT topics and Home Assistant entities are built from it.

Exact procedure and model notes: the device page in the Zigbee2MQTT docs. No coordinator yet: coordinator picker.

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