The following additional hardware is required in order to flash the CC2531: Name
Be careful when using the CC2531 in association with an ESP8266 (as if it were the CC2530): the onboard USB power supply may not be able to power an additional ESP8266 without overheating/failing. NOTE 3: The CC2531 USB dongle can be flashed also with the CC2530 firmware to be operated via the P0.2/P0.3 serial pins (which are the first one and the second one of the IO expansion port).
This firmware has a limiation of 5 direct children so make sure to have enough routers in your network. For larger network (20+) or when experiencing stability problems the source routing firmware is recommended. NOTE 2: In this tutorial we will flash the default firmware. NOTE 1: In case you are already running a Zigbee network: reflashing does not require repairing of all devices, see What does and does not require repairing of all devices? Information about these methods can be found here: Alternative firmware flashing methods. However, you can also use a Raspberry Pi or a MCU like the Arduino Uno or the cheap ESP8266 with four dupont cables and optionally a downloader cable. The easiest but most expensive option is with the CC Debugger from Texas Instruments, which is described on this page. The firmware can be flashed with multiple devices. Flashing the CC2531 USB stick | zigbee2mqtt.io zigbee2mqtt.io 📘 Zigbee2mqtt documentation View on GitHub
