So day 1 has not exactly gone so well. So I could do with a little advice please, before going any further. I’m coming from a messy smart home, with very little integration between products. Hence, I’m hoping Homey will to bring everything together. I tried Smartthings a few years ago to do this & never really managed it.
I’ve got Homey 2026 installed & working, rooms set up within Homey. Philips Hue bulbs added via the Hue bridge. Thought at this point I was winning. 
I’d picked up a couple of the new Ikea Bilresa buttons & a couple of the scroll wheel versions. They were cheap & I thought it would be a great way to try & learn some automations without destroying my current smart home setup. I’ve no other Ikea devices, so no hub. After trying to pair these & getting the “setting up Thread network” stage before failing every time, I’ve given up on them. This brings me to my first question, is it worth getting the Ikea hub to make these reliable or just cutting my loses & trying again with someone like Aqara? Frankly, I like the simple life & I’m disappointed these are supposed to run directly using Homey as the hub & they just do not work.
Not to be put off, I moved on to my Tapo plugs. Foolishly I expected these to turn up in the Homey, once I’d installed the Tapo app. It then dawned on me they will not, as unlike my Hue stuff, there’s no bridge (I know, school boy error). So second question… As I pair these with my Homey Pro, will loose control of them withing the Tapo app on my Android phone? That’s fine in the long run, but seeing as the Tapo sensors I have appear not to work with Homey either, there’s further work to be done there first.
I had questions about Smartthings as well, but I think that’s just going to prove too much hassle. I’d have liked the Virtual Switches from there to use as Homey triggers, as I can use my watch to toggle them, but I’m lacking in effort following the Ikea mess.
Anyways, so for the long first post, it’s just not been the start I was hoping for. 
No, you will still be able to control them via the Tapo mobile app, the Homey doesn’t connect directly to them, it uses the cloud instead
The Tapo sensors aren’t supported
You can use the Virtual Devices app:
Thanks for the reply, I think I was a little exasperated last night with it all & just needed to vent. 
It’s a good point you raise on the Tapo plugs connecting via the cloud. I didn’t think of that. I need to add them first I guess & see how it goes, although I couldn’t work how to even do that last night.
I’ve some new Matter enabled ones coming this week (P110M), so hopefully I can get them working locally by adding as a Matter device & start to replace my oldest plugs over time with these, once I get some sensors to drive them! I was hoping to use these new units with the Ikea switches to learn Homey flows.
The virtual switches need to be on Smarttings directly to use with my watch, so I don’t think the Homey virtual switches can help, but thank you for the info. I guess I could use the smartthings switches to trigger something within Smartthings, that Homey can connect to. It’s a job for much further down the line though. Basics first, since at the minute all I have is my Hue bulbs on Homey & no devices to control them with!
The cloud is IMO far more stable than Matter, so I would recommend to use the cloud connection.
It’s not as dead easy as Matter ads want you to believe; Matter is still beta and far from user friendly →
While it sounds like you didn’t:
do yourself a favor and read the knowledge base articles, in order to understand the various ways of setting up your Thread network:
https://support.homey.app/hc/en-us/articles/12934291420060-Connecting-a-Matter-or-Thread-Device
When it still doesn’t work
If these Ikea devices are true Matter enabled devices, it should work.
BUT, to make stuff “not easier”, certain Matter devices need to bee supported by an app, because of non-by-default-supported function(s).
So I used the search function of the homey.app store, and discovered you’ll need to INSTALL the ‘official’ Ikea app AS WELL:
When it still still doesn’t work
Please report to Athom per homey.app/support
That’s not possible AFAIK, it’s only for ZigBee/ZWave devices. Matter drivers are just icons and pairing instructions, no real code.
You know what, I give up on this Matter misery.
It’s the weirdest en most unclear protocol out there.
Hi all
Thanks for the replies. I had a read of the “Connecting Matter/Thread Device”, but it appears I was doing it right. I’ve had another go tonight adding the switches as an Ikea device & as a matter device. Same result, connects, connects to Thread, then gets to the “Reading Device Data” and hangs. After a good few minutes it crashes out. I read these new switches were also Zigbee enabled & managed to put them into Zigbee mode. Still would pair for me though, although I’ve read a few have managed it as it comes through as one of the old Ikea Zigbee switches on H.A. Think I’m done with these.
Made some progress though, I’ve got the Tapo plugs connected now, although I didn’t realise how old most of them are & 3 are new enough to be compatible.
I’ve also manage to connect an old Smartthings motion sensor as an Aeotec motion sensor & it brings through movement & temp, so that’s a win. This has also allowed me to set up my first real flow, motion sensor turns a light on, then off 20 seconds after there’s no motion. I know it’s not earth shattering, but at least something works at last!
