Not sure if this is an eWeLink issue, a Sonoff hardware/firmware issue, or simply a misunderstanding on my part but I can’t get my Sonoff ZBDongle-E, flashed in router mode, to pair with my Zigbee Bridge Pro (ZBBridge-P), even though everything appears up to date:
Dongle flashed with the latest Router firmware (v8.0.2)
Bridge Pro on latest firmware v3.3.0
eWeLink Android app on latest version v5.26.0
Wifi on 2,4GHz
According to the Bridge Pro firmware changelog, router-mode dongle recognition should be supported since v2.3.0: 【Zigbee Bridge Pro】Firmware Changelog
Despite this, the dongle is never detected when trying to add it as a sub-device from the bridge’s “Add Device” button in the eWeLink app.
Has anyone gotten this combination working? Any known compatibility issue or specific pairing steps I might be missing?
If I remember a nearly identical case from the past correctly, the situation looks like this: even though the Bridge Pro firmware changelog claims it supports “router‑mode dongle recognition”, that support only applies to Sonoff dongles that implement a full Zigbee router profile (Dongle‑P, Dongle‑M, R5). The ZBDongle‑E uses a minimal router firmware with no fingerprint, no Identify cluster, and no Basic cluster, so the Bridge Pro cannot detect it or pair with it. This isn’t a user mistake or a dongle malfunction — the Bridge Pro simply isn’t compatible with the Dongle‑E in router mode, and there’s no workaround to make it pair.
It sucks, I know
Thank you for your response. Just for information, I flashed the router with an older version (via the online tool sonoff-dongle-flasher): the dongle was properly recognized as a router with version 6.10.3.
However, this firmware version seems a bit old and I won’t use it. Instead, I’ll prefer purchasing a mains-powered device (a ZBMINIR2) to play the role of the missing router (I’m a beginner and I discovered the limit of 10 end devices).
