[LIST] Does it Matter and Work over Thread

Maybe spoke too soon, 24 hours later I’ve had to pull out and repair one of the lights twice because homey couldn’t communicate and was timing out.

I’ll only installed two so I’ll add some more device to see if it’s an issue with the device or if they just don’t work with honey.

Sounds similar to the Zigbee issues that people are having (Thread and Zigbee share the same chip on Homey).

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I had emailed Nanoleaf tech support and they say Homey Pro is not part of the compatible Thread border routers for any of their Nanoleaf devices. https://helpdesk.nanoleaf.me/en-US/essentials-thread-and-thread-border-routers-15563

At least Athom have a direct line with the CEO of Nanoleaf :joy:

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:joy:

Oh gosh that’s not great hahaha

Has anyone in the UK had any experience using the Onvis Matter over Thread UK plug with Homey Pro (2023)?

Onvis Plug - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Onvis-SmartThings-Automate-Appliances-Responsive/dp/B0CHRDZCGP

Wondered if the cost saving vs. the Eve plug, is worth it?

Hi, so youre using Eve Motion Blinds through Homey? What app have you used? I cant seem to get mine connected. Have you activated the matter over thread on them or are u still using bluetooth?

Hi Jens - Originally, I connected the Eve Motion Blinds by selecting “matter” (which can be found under “Homey” on the Web interface). After the Eve App was introduced a few months ago, I removed the blinds and re-connected by selecting the Eve App, then selecting the Eve MotionBlind device. If I remember correctly, I had to manually set the upper and lower positions on the blind before I could connect to Homey. The instruction manual should explain how to set the upper / lower positions. Once set, put the blinds in pairing mode. For 2 of my 3 blinds, I was able to pair with my homey in it’s current positions. However, for the last blind I did have to move Homey closer, since it was having issues with the blue tooth connection (too far away). During the connection process, Homey configures the Thread network. I hope this Helps!

My homey is places only like 5-10 m. away in another room. I have tried to connect it through Thread, but it is not connecting. Right now, i have used the bluetooth connection and the Eve app on my phone. So if i understand you correctly i should be able to connect through thread to my homey. How close do you think the homey has to be and can I move it closer for setup, and then move it back again

Hi Jens -

My understanding of the connection process for Matter over Thread devices is that the initial connection for pairing is via low power bluetooth.

When connecting a new matter device from the Homey Pro Mobile App, there are two options: “Connect via Homey Pro” and "Connect via Android (or iOS)".

The “Connect via Homey Pro” option uses Homey’s built in bluetooth connection to connect to the device and will connect the device to Homey Pro’s own tread network.

The “Connect via Android (or iOS)” uses the phone’s bluetooth connection and it will connect to the cell phone’s thread network – which might NOT Homey Pro’s thread network.

I have only selected “Connect with Homey Pro”. (Homey is the only Matter / Thread hub/bridge that I have/use. I’m purposefully keeping my Matter / Thread ecosystem as simple as possible for now).

If you’re intentionally selecting “Connect via Android (or iOS)” and want to connect to a non-Homey Pro thread network, then you’d need to discuss with Homey Support to determine how to do that.

After selecting the “Connect via Homey Pro” option, Homey Pro will try to open a bluetooth connection with the device (after scanning the Matter Barcode that should be attached to the device).

If Homey is too far away to make the bluetooth connection, you may need to move Homey Pro (or the device, which every is easier) into the same room until the pairing process has completed.

After Homey Pro successfully establishes a bluetooth connection, it will then create the Matter connection, followed by the thread connection (The Mobile App will show you the progress of creating the Matter connection followed by the progress of creating the thread connection).

Once the pairing / Matter / Tread processes are complete, you should be able to control your blinds in the Homey Pro App and you can return the Homey Pro (or the device) back to its original location (if you had to move it).

I recall that during my very first pairing of the Eve Blind motors (after I installed my first device), the top / end positions of the blind had to be manually set before trying to pair with Homey Pro. If they top and bottom positions were not set on the device, Homey Pro and the device would not connect at all. Please see the Eve Blind Motor manual for how to set the top / bottom end positions.

I’m assuming that your Eve Motion blinds are the “new” version that is matter over thread “out-of-the-box”. If they are the older “HomeKit” version, then I don’t have the knowledge to provide any meaningful suggestions.

I’m assuming that Homey Pro is your only Matter / Thread hub/bridge and your blinds have not been setup with another Matter / Thread hub/bridge. If you have or using other Matter / Thread hub/bridges then you will need to discuss with Homey Support.

I’m assuming that you have installed the “Eve Home App” on the Homey Pro (Eve Home App for Homey | Homey) and that when are adding a new device from Homey Pro Mobile app you are selecting “Eve Home” and then selecting “Eve MotionBlinds”.

If you are using a separate “Eve app” on your phone (i.e. not the Homey Pro “Eve Home” app) and you have setup / installed the blinds directly with the “Eve app” on your phone, your blinds are probably attached to a non-Homey Pro Thread network. If this is the case, then you will need to contact Homey support for how to connect Homey Pro to a device is this connected using a non-Homey Pro thread network.

I hope this helps.

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I’m fairly sure that the initial pairing is done using your phone’s Bluetooth, then handed over to Homey (or another Thread border router if the mobile app was able to find one).

How that typically works is that the other Thread hub offers an option to place the device in pairing mode, providing a new(!) pairing code that you can use to pair the device with Homey.

Have you missed this or do you have a feeling the documentation/support site isn’t correct ?

Connect via Homey Pro

Using this connection method, Homey Pro itself will connect to the Matter device using Bluetooth and switch to Wi-Fi or Thread after the device has been connected to a Wi-Fi or Thread network. The Matter over Thread device will always connect to Homey Pro’s Thread network. Using the “Connect via Homey Pro” method is recommended for most users.
Keep the following things in mind when choosing this method to connect to a Matter device:

  • Keep the Matter device near Homey Pro while connecting. Homey Pro will use its own Bluetooth antenna to make the initial connection to the device (once the device is added, this is no longer necessary, as the device will only communicate over Thread/Wi-Fi).
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Never read that, thanks :sweat_smile: I guess that Homey does it differently from the entire rest of the world (again).

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knowledge also came from the Blog around the release: Why we couldn't ship Thread in 2023 — Behind the Magic | Homey

Read the: What’s the problem?

Ah yes, the “it’s someone else’s fault” defense that doesn’t seem to apply to other platforms like Home Assistant… :yawning_face:

The advantage of the idea to use the phone’s bluetooth is, often a new device is just not in BT range of Homey.

When adding a Matter device: using the phone’s BT is a lot easier when the Homey <> new Matter device distance is 3 meters or more.

Perhaps it wasn’t fair to blame Nanoleaf for my issues, (or thread).

Matter devices seem to continue to become permanently unresponsive but only in homey - they continue to work through their native apps.

Affecting multiple brands on my end, but others (on slack) have also reported it’s affecting matter over wifi.

Got four of these over the weekend to replace my Kasa KP115 plugs which have been plagued with rate limit warnings the past couple of months.
The Eve plugs are too pricey and the design is too large.

Pairing the Onvis plugs with Homey was very quick and I’ll keep you updated on reliability.
Currently using them to power kitchen appliances and a 32" TV and they’ve been fine for the past 24 hours.

Currently have a 15% discount for a set of four, via Amazon in the UK.

Just got the Aqara U200 Smart Lock and after needing to repeat the setup 3 times because it always wanted to join my Tado thread network (which I don’t even use) instead of the Homey one I got it finally working.

Locking works like a charm, but if you have a door which needs to pull the latch to open it will only work if it was fully locked before which is a bit annoying. I don’t think this is Homeys fault though since I added it to a Home Assistant Matter Controller as well and there it’s the same behavior. From investigating the exposed matter endpoint it seems like they don’t expose the pull latch feature yet over matter. But after emailing their support they said that they plan on supporting it by November (fingers crossed though as Aqara’s promises are not the most reliable).

Adding a Apple Home Key without a Homekit Controller also works, you just need to generate a new Matter code from the device settings in Homey (needs to be done for every person separately) and at the end of the setup tap your phone against the pad. You won’t be able to control the lock remotely but at least you can unlock by simply tapping your phone or watch to the pin pad.