Zigbee 4.0 Brings Security, Commissioning, and Efficiency Improvements

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has announced the release of Zigbee 4.0, a major milestone in the evolution of the Zigbee wireless mesh standard. Zigbee 4.0 enhances reliability, streamlines large-scale deployments, and introduces advanced security and commissioning capabilities designed for today’s connected environments.

Zigbee 4.0: Key Enhancements Bring Higher Levels of Security and Usability

Zigbee 4.0 introduces a significantly strengthened security architecture built around several new and enhanced mechanisms.

Dynamic Link Keys (DLK) provide secure key negotiation during onboarding and enable key rotation after upgrades, protecting the network from passive attacks. This capability is reinforced by a new device-interview process that allows the Trust Center to examine a device’s capabilities, endpoints, and supported clusters before granting network access.

Resilience is further improved through APS frame-counter synchronization, which helps devices recover from network resets or power cycles and protects against replay attacks. In addition to these new security features, a new Tag-Length-Value (TLV) data-encoding format modernizes how information is carried in both new and legacy frame structures. This increases flexibility without breaking backward compatibility.

Zigbee 4.0 also introduces Smart Energy Authentication Level Control. This ensures Zigbee devices with sufficient levels of security can share a network with Smart Energy devices while giving each device the ability to determine whether it wants to communicate with others based on their security level and ecosystem policy.

Network managers gain greater authority through secured channel and PAN ID change controls, which help prevent unnecessary or unauthorized network modifications. A new Restricted Mode further safeguards devices by ensuring that only the Trust Center can alter their operational state. To simplify network maintenance, the new Trust Center Swap-Out feature allows a network’s primary controller (such as a hub, smart speaker, or smart meter) to be replaced without forcing all connected devices to be recommissioned.

Finally, Zigbee 4.0 delivers standardized and default-enabled network-level retries, more reliable data polling for sleepy end devices, and broader use of APS acknowledgements (including during DLK and device-interview exchanges). Enhanced routing protections also eliminate loops, reduce unnecessary traffic, and improve overall stability.

Together, these improvements reinforce Zigbee’s long-standing reputation for secure, robust, low- power, and scalable deployments.

Zigbee 4.0: Improved Power Efficiency, Device Responsiveness, and Simplified Commissioning at Scale

Zigbee 4.0 introduces unsynchronized Coordinated Sample Listening (CSL), allowing battery-powered end devices to sleep longer without losing synchronization reliability. This feature significantly improves power efficiency for sensors and end nodes.

New commissioning features streamline setup for installers and integrators:

• Batch Commissioning: Add and configure large groups of devices simultaneously - ideal for commercial lighting or smart building projects.
• Zigbee Direct: Enables commissioning and control via Bluetooth LE, allowing smartphones and tablets to interact directly with Zigbee devices without a hub.

Zigbee 4.0: Backward Compatibility and Ecosystem Continuity

Zigbee 4.0 remains fully backward compatible with Zigbee 3.0 and Smart Energy profiles, ensuring existing devices can interoperate seamlessly. The certification program for Zigbee 4.0 is already open, while Zigbee 3.0 will remain valid for at least the next 18 months to ensure a smooth transition for customers and partners.

Silicon Labs and Zigbee 4.0

Silicon Labs has been a leading contributor to the Zigbee ecosystem and continues to advance technology with full support for Zigbee 4.0. Silicon Labs has successfully passed Zigbee 4.0 script validation and is Zigbee 4.0 ready. Additionally, the Zigbee 4.0 feature set will be included in the 2025.12.0 SiSDK release coming in January 2026.

Silicon Labs support includes all new 4.0 features, and devices built on Silicon Labs’ Zigbee 4.0-ready SDKs can pursue CSA certification under the Zigbee 4.0 program starting today. Zigbee 3.0 certification remains available for legacy products during the transition period. Zigbee 4.0 represents a robust, future-ready upgrade path for developers and OEMs. With stronger security, faster commissioning, and better energy performance, it provides the foundation for next-generation smart-energy, lighting, and automation solutions while preserving backward compatibility and interoperability.