AliExpress 11.11 Singles Day Sale Picks and Suggestions

Every year in November, AliExpress is running a sale called Singles Day or Bachelors’ Day, a shopping festival to celebrate people who are not in a relationship. Apparently, the date 11.11 was chosen since the number resembles a bare stick, a Chinese slang for a single man who “does not add to the family tree.” TIL.

AliExpress 11.11 Singles Day Sale
Start: Nov 11, 2023 12:00:00 AM
Ends: Nov 17, 2023 11:59:59 PM
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This is the biggest sale of the year on AliExpress, with the the best discounts and lower limits on discount codes. In this article, I’m sharing a few smart home device suggestions that I think you should consider during the 11.11 sale as well as promo codes you can use to get the most out of it.

AliExpress 11.11 Sale Discount Codes

The following discount codes can be applied at the checkout page once you’ve passed the order threshold. Shipping cost is not included in the order total. Per AliExpress, these codes are valid in all countries, except: RU, AE, UZ, BH, KR, AM, KW, FR, SA, ES, KZ, QA, BR, TJ, BY, MD, AZ, TM, KG, GE, OM, US

Zigbee Presence Sensors

For the past year or so, mmWave-based presence sensors have been slowly replacing traditional PIR sensors in the home automation world. And for a good reason – see this simple explanation I wrote a while back. If you are hunting for some, you need to be mindful of the current state of cheap Tuya presence sensors.

While most of them work as they should, almost all of them flood your Zigbee network hard. They push their payload several times in a short period, some of them even a few times a second. This is not good for your mesh network and can easily crash it if several are deployed. The only one I have found to not spam is the MTG075-ZB-RL Presence Sensor with a built in relay, so this is my only and only recommendation at the moment.

Zigbee Coordinators

Zigbee coordinators have been very popular lately, even with Thread and Matter gaining traction. This is because at the moment, Matter has not brought anything meaningful to the table, it has not created any incentive for people to replace Zigbee with Thread.

My recommendation for a Zigbee coordinator at the moment is the ZigStar UZG-01 Universal Gateway. It’s an extremely flexible, PoE coordinator based on the CC2652P7 module. This is officially supported in both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT, I wrote a review about the device recently.

The Sonoff ZBDongle-E version (based on the EFR32MG21) is my current daily driver and it can be flashed with a MultiPAN firmware to be used in both Zigbee and Thread networks. Unlike the UZG-01, its on AliExpress:

Zigbee Climate Sensors

I’ve been constantly testing Zigbee climate sensors in Q3 of this year, check out my summary article: Best Zigbee Temperature And Humidity Sensors With Display. From my tests, and within those criteria, here are my top 3 recommendations:

If you happen to own the LYWSD003MMC Xiaomi BLE Sensor, you can now flash it to Zigbee!

Zigbee Energy Meters

Non-invasive energy meters work by attaching a CT Clamp(s) to your live wire, to meter and measure energy consumption. I’ve talked about these in several occasions, most recently testing the Tuya Zigbee Bi-Directional Energy Meter For Solar Panels PJ-MGW2201. I would recommend looking into the Zemismart SPM01 for single phase and the Tuya PC321-Z-TY for 3-phase energy metering:

For monitoring energy consumption and controlling high power appliance by attaching a relay, take a look at the Colorock CR-MNZ1 Energy Metering Switch:

Zigbee Signal Repeaters

By using dedicated Zigbee signal repeaters, you can easily boost and solidify your mesh network. These operate as Routers and have no other function, so their purpose is to simply repeat and route Zigbee packets. They are very cheap, here’s one that I can recommend:

Mini PCs

If you search for Mini PCs on AliExpress, you are going to get a headache. There are literally thousands of different makes and models with various specification options. It would be stupid to talk and suggest those that I have no clue if they are good or not. But I do own two Beelink Mini PCs, which have been really great as Homelab servers.

I use the EQ 12 Pro with the Intel N305, which is a huge overkill for most use cases. However, the N100 is a great pickup for running Proxmox and several VMs and Containers.

Model: Beelink EQ 12 Pro
CPU: Intel N100/N305
RAM: 8GB/16GB DDR4
SSD: 128/256/512GB
Connectivity: Wi-Fi6

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A more budget friend version is the Firebat T8 Pro, also based on the N100.

Model: Firebat T8 Pro/Plus
CPU: Intel N5095/N100
RAM: 8GB/16GB DDR4
SSD: 128/256/512GB
Connectivity: Wi-Fi5

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Matter/Thread Picks

Matter and Thread devices are rare on AliExpress, but they do pop up on my feed from time to time. I’ve tested several cheap Matter-enabled devices, I suggesting getting one of these to dip into Matter:

Model: Qingping Thread Thermometer
Connectivity: Matter-over-Thread
Screen: E-Ink
Battery: CR2430 
Requires: HomeKit Thread Border Router

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Other 11.11 Sale Picks

The Loratap Zigbee 4-button remote is a great way to control lights and different automations. It supports Zigbee direct binding too.

These dry contact relays can be used in various home automation scenarios, to simulate button presses, control blinds, thermostats or anything that you don’t want to pass current to.

The Tuya HHCCJCY10 is the most recent version of the Xiaomi MiFlora Plant Soil sensor. This one is an improvement over previous versions, you can differentiate it by it’s specific pink color.

Installing these cheap kitchen under cabinet lights boosted my WAF significantly. They are cheap, easy to mount and work with Home Assistant through ZHA and Z2M.

The Zigbee IR Blaster Remote ZS06 is a capable IR blaster control through Zigbee2MQTT. It can clone traditional remotes for ACs, TVs and other electronics to be used on demand through Home Assistant.

The GXM-01 Plant Soil sensor was a hit and miss when I tested it initially, read up on the latest developments in my article. It’s quite big, so be mindful of it’s size if you decide to get one.

The Anker PowerConf S330 can be used in Home Assistant as a local voice assistant. This is the conference speaker HA devs used to test wake words in Chapter 4.

Model: Anker PowerConf S330
Connectivity: Zigbee
Interface: USB
Range: 85dB
Output: 6W

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I’ve picked up this adjustable DC power supply to test all those DIY projects I never have time to actually do.

Model: WPS605H 60V 5A
Voltage Range: 30-160V
Amps Range: 2-10A
Voltage stability: 0.1%±3mV
Current stability: 0.1%±3mA

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This Zigbee Moes thermostat is probably the best looking in their line-up. I’ve tested the BHT-002 in a review a while back, one thing that bothered me is the high brightness of the display. This one is neater, cleaner and supported in ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT.

Model: Moes Zigbee Thermostat
Connectivity: Zigbee
For: Water/Gas/Electric Heating
Works With: ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT
Programable: Yes

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Reolink PoE Doorbell is also a great pickup here, code 11SMART08 works for an additional $8 discount.

Model: Reolink PoE Doorbell
Connectivity: Wi-Fi
Cam Resolution: 2K
Features: Night vision, 2-way audio,
chime, built-in storage

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Ever since SwitchBot made the original finger bot, seems like it took forever for a Zigbee version to appear on the market. Well here it is, cheap and affordable.

Model: Zigbee Fingerbot
Connectivity: Zigbee
Battery: CR2 3.0V
Maximum arm movement: 12mm
Works With: ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT

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This is a new Zigbee button by Sonoff with tripple action: single press, double press and hold. I’ve got it in my drawer, I intend to test it out and write a review soon.

Model: SNZB-01P
Connectivity: Zigbee
Actions: Single, Double, Hold
Battery: CR2477
Works With: Zigbee2MQTT

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Another interesting Zigbee scene switch that I’ve talked about in the past, the Moes ERS-10TZBVK-AA Smart Knob. Can be used to dynamically change brightness of several lights, supports direct binding.

Model: Moes Smart Knob
Connectivity: Zigbee
Battery: CR2032
Works With: ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT
Read full review

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