OTA for Matter, Zwave, Zigbee in new Homey Pro

Questions & Help
1

I am considering moving my domotics from Homey Pro 2019 to the new homey Pro 2023, or to Home Assistant.

One of the factors is the possibility of OTA firmware updates. HA supports OTA for Zigbee, Zwave, and limited for Matter.

So my question to anyone who already has the new Homey Pro : does Homey Pro 2023 support OTA firmware update for Zigbee, Zwave, Matter ?

Thanks for the help.

2

No

3

Hi Dijker

Your statement about Matter OTA is not entirely correct. It is true that you cannot perform a firmware update using the resources on the board. However, if you have paired a Matter device, you can connect it to the iOS Home app via ā€œAdvanced Settings > Share Matter Device,ā€ for example. Firmware updates will now be downloaded automatically during operation.
(Tested with my Eve motion sensor during the FW update from v3.2.0 to 3.2.1)

BDW: I pointed this workaround out to Athom some time ago, but unfortunately did not receive any feedback.:man_shrugging: However, since you have better contact with Enschede than I do, you could point out this possibility to them again.:wink:

Chris

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Homey with Matter devices, how do you update firmware?
Aqara FP300 with Matter!
Aqara FP300 with Matter!
4

So iOS can do Matter updates, but Homey still canā€™t :man_shrugging:t3:

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5

I wrote that in the second sentence: ā€œIt is true that you cannot perform a firmware update using the resources on the board.ā€

6

The question was: ā€œdoes Homey Pro 2023 support OTA firmware update for Zigbee, Zwave, Matterā€. The answer that @Dijker gave, ā€œNoā€, is still 100% correct.

7

First sentence: ā€œYour statement about Matter OTA is not entirely correct.ā€

What I saw is that there is a workaround, no more and no less.

8

But like I said: it is. Homey cannot perform Matter OTA updates. You need other hardware for that, just like you need other hardware if you want to perform Zigbee or Z-Wave OTA updates.

Sure, and thatā€™s great to mention, but it doesnā€™t invalidate @Dijkerā€™s answer.

9

I think the way Chris has written it is correct and especially the hint that it is possible with additional hardware is very helpful. Especially for those like me who have not been dealing with smarthome for years and are very happy about simple ā€œpossibilitiesā€.

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10

Now that weā€™ve clarified the situation with Matter devices, Iā€™d like to say a few words about firmware updates for Z-Wave devices.

With a workaround, it is also possible to update the firmware of Z-Wave devices without having to exclude them:

In addition, @Emile said in the Homey YouTube podcast #3 that itā€™s generally possible to update the firmware of Z-Wave devices via Homey, but this feature would have to be integrated by the app developers into their apps:

However, I have already been informed by two app developers that this is not trueā€¦ :man_shrugging:

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11

Athom has stated the same for Zigbee for many years, yet not even their own apps have implemented OTA-updates and there are no guidelines, examples or tips anywhere in the developer documentation on how to implement this. So I see this simply as ā€œmore marketing BSā€.

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12

I was watching the latest Homey Podcast #12 and apparently Athom is going to add OTA-functionality to Homey (seek to 37:06 minutes):

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Philips Motion Sensor->Zigbee Netzwerk verlassen-->Funktioniert aber
13

This is interesting because Emile said in one of the older podcasts that OTA firmware updates were already feasible, at least for Z-Wave devices. Iā€™m not sure about Zigbee. To do this, app developers would only need to integrate this feature into their Homey apps.
However, I was in contact with two well-known Homey app developers, and they told me that there is no information or manual available on this subject.

I also donā€™t understand the statement that it is more difficult for Z-Wave and Zigbee devices because many manufacturers do not make their firmware software publicly available. Yes, thatā€™s true, especially for Z-Wave devices. But itā€™s still better to be able to perform updates on devices for which the firmware is available, such as Aeotec, than not to be able to perform any updates at all. :man_shrugging:

14

I think this will be part of the Homey core functionality. So e.g. an additional item in the More / General settings section that allows you to update all devices for which Homey has a firmware update.

For Zigbee many brands provide updates to e.g. the Zigbee2MQTT platform (see the repository here).

Apparently Athomā€™s arguments (for not having such a functionality) changed. Or evolved, if you will. From ā€˜there are no/is only a very small amount of brands that (are willing to) provide firmware filesā€™ to ā€˜bands want to proactively provide firmware files, so that they donā€™t get user questions on firmware updatesā€™ :thinking: :man_shrugging:.

Anyhow, I think this is a good development.