You can use external TBRs like Google hub and certain apple devices.
These are community apps, not initiated or sponsored by Athom;
Of course Athom likes to sell their bridge rather than creating additional stuff for Z2M.
I understand. Deploying an OTBR with an external thread dongle in Docker is too complicated for me.
Will there perhaps be an OTBR application in the App Store for the SHS solution in the foreseeable future?
I highly doubt it, Homey apps don’t have direct access to hardware (like a Thread radio) nor do they have the ability to modify host network settings.
The OTBR app, as you know, isn’t developed by Homey but by Google. The only question is whether the app will be included in the app store, perhaps as a community app?
OTBR itself handles the app development and hardware configuration options.
I never suggested otherwise 
I’ve already tried to explain why this can’t work as a Homey app.
If someone can guarantee that hosting my own OTBR instance combined with an external antenna will work reliably, I see that as a perfectly viable way to add Thread support to my Homey SHS.
But when I try to achieve the same thing using a Google Nest Hub as a Thread Border Router, the process is a complete mess, and after 10+ attempts I still haven’t managed to get it working.
So the question is: is Google delivering a flaky Thread Border Router or is Homey SHS simply not ready yet?
Of course they can’t.
I think that 95% of the issues with external border routers and SHS are caused by local setup issues.
A lot of people jumping on the SHS bandwagon seem to think that it’s “just” a self-hosted Homey Pro, but it isn’t. You’re running it on a different OS than Homey Pro, and your OS might not be configured entirely correctly to be able to run Matter/Thread. And there’s only so much a Docker container can do to configure the host OS to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Fair enough. Unfortunately, there is no single, clear overview of the requirements needed for this to work properly. Or, at least, I didn’t find it yet.
Naturally they think. They think this because that is the way it’s being sold. If what you are saying is true, it would be extremely unacceptable and it is up to Athom to describe how to setup the machine to ensure everything is working in the way it could be working.
Sold as what? The FAQ states that it “… is a software-only product based on the operating system powering Homey Pro, although it’s not exactly the same.” It also states that “Matter-over-Thread also works if you already have a Thread Border Router in your home.”.
Matter is supported, but because there are so many potential platforms on which SHS can run, you’ll have to figure it out for your own setup.
Like I said: people were just thinking it was going to be as easy as running a Homey Pro, just on their own hardware. It’s not.
Nope, I cannot give you that one, sorry. If we quote the FAQ, quote the whole:
Homey Self-Hosted Server is a software-only product based on the operating system powering Homey Pro, although it’s not exactly the same. You host Homey Self-Hosted Server yourself, on your own hardware. You’ll need to install and maintain it to keep it online and up to date.
Out of the box, it supports devices that connect over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Cloud, and Matter. Matter-over-Thread also works if you already have a Thread Border Router in your home. To add Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth LE, 433 MHz, or Infrared devices, simply connect a Homey Bridge to unlock those wireless technologies — no USB sticks required.
Homey Pro, on the other hand, combines both hardware and software into a single, ready-to-use hub. It offers the same powerful platform as Homey Self-Hosted Server, but without the setup or maintenance. Simply plug it in, and your smart home is ready to go.
So I bought a lifetime license immediately, because Matter will work out of the box. To include all, the only thing I have to add is a Bridge, that I ordered. The result:
Wifi, Ethernet, Cloud, Thread (because I have a Border Router), Zigbee, Z-Wave, BLE, 433mhz and infrared work out of the box. Matter does not.
Have Athom update the FAQ and I would be happy too.
Homey Self-Hosted Server is a software-only product based on the operating system powering Homey Pro, although it’s not exactly the same. You host Homey Self-Hosted Server yourself, on your own hardware. You’ll need to install and maintain it to keep it online and up to date.
Out of the box, it supports devices that connect over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Cloud.
Matter is supported but depends on how you configure your own system. It is not possible for us to guarantee Matter works Out of the Box, but our Knowledge Base and strong community can offer solutions.
Matter-over-Thread also works if you already have a Thread Border Router in your home. To add Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth LE, 433 MHz, or Infrared devices, simply connect a Homey Bridge to unlock those wireless technologies — no USB sticks required.
Homey Pro, on the other hand, combines both hardware and software into a single, ready-to-use hub. It offers the same powerful platform as Homey Self-Hosted Server, but without the setup or maintenance. Simply plug it in, and your smart home is ready to go.
It also doesn’t even come in a box!
In any case, the FAQ doesn’t lie: SHS does support Matter. Does that mean it works out of the box? No, that’s something else.
Just like it supports devices that connect over the cloud. Will those work when you don’t have an internet connection? No, they won’t.
Sorry, but with all due respect, this is nonsense. The FAQ literally says: “Out of the box, it supports devices that connect over […] Matter.” Which it clearly does not under any reasonable interpretation of the claim, judging by posts made by community members.
Judging by posts made by community members, a lot of them think that Homey-SHS is a simple install-and-forget solution, which it isn’t.
Also, SHS comes with a grace period, so if it turns out it doesn’t work as expected, it might not be the solution for you. If you then proceed to buy a lifetime license and it turns out it doesn’t work as you expected, I find it odd that people start complaining.
Let’s just face it: for some people, a fully working SHS is just too difficult to set up right now. No shame in that.
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I’m sure it’s true that many underestimate the complexities of installing and running SHS, but that’s really beside the point. It is still the case that the FAQ is, at best, misleading when it comes to SHS and Matter. The SHS product page also clearly implies that Matter works out of the box. If someone doesn’t try adding Matter devices before after the grace period, which is reasonable as people tend to buy new devices over time and Matter is expanding, then it’s too late.
Provided that a) Matter doesn’t work for them either (it works for at least some users, so it’s not a given that it will not work everywhere), b) there will be no improvements in Homey-SHS to make it easier to get Matter working and c) there will be no guides published that explain the requirements to get Matter working.
This product is only a few weeks old. It’s rough around the edges. People are quick to assume that because they can run a NAS or Linux, they know enough to get Homey-SHS fully up and running. They don’t test before they buy, and now they want someone else to fix their computer.
If you want a working system, you should never install version 1.0 of a product 
Let someone else figure out the difficult or buggy parts first.
Oh, and don’t trust marketing speak.
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This seems to be going everywhere and nowhere all at once. So I’m just going to clarify what I meant and leave it at that.
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I take issue with the nonsensical and forced distinction between “supports feature X” and “feature X works”. Try applying this to anything else. “We said our CPU supports floating point operations, not that they work”.
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If a product description, and its associated FAQ clearly states that the product has a feature that it does not in fact have, that’s not in “don’t trust marketing speak” land. It’s also not really good enough that it might be supported later, or maybe some other customer that has found a way around it can take it upon themselves to help you hack some workaround together. Even if it’s version 1.0, because it doesn’t matter, it’s not a free alpha version, it’s a commercial piece of software. If it’s not fully implemented, and only works in some cases, the product description and FAQ should state this clearly.
Now, I don’t know the exact degree to which Matter works and doesn’t work in SHS, but if someone buys it with the impression that it works – because it literally says that it works on the product page – and it doesn’t work, they have legitimate grounds for being upset. Telling them “joke’s on you, don’t trust marketing speak, it’s all your own fault, you can’t expect it to work as it’s only version 1.0, supports doesn’t mean it works, and you’re not smart enough to run it properly”, can easily be taken as both offensive and silly. And it is certainly not helpful.
Let’s be clear: Homey SHS supports Matter. There are people that have it working. It’s not “not fully implemented”, it is implemented in the same way that it is implemented on Homey Pro.
However: where Homey Pro is a ready-to-run product, Homey SHS is not.
The FAQ should state that if you don’t know how to properly manage the host OS that you run SHS on, SHS isn’t for you (although to be fair, many people think they can manage their host OS, where in fact they can’t. Dunning-Kruger, etc).
If your host OS is properly set up, including a proper IPv6 setup, Matter on Homey SHS should work out of the box.
If it doesn’t, and you don’t know how to debug your host OS (which falls beyond the control of Athom entirely), don’t blame SHS or Athom. Yes, you have reason to be upset, but be upset by the fact that you might have bitten off more than you can chew.
As with physical products you buy online, there’s a grace period in which you can check if the product does what you expect it to do. If not, return it (or don’t buy a lifetime license). Or accept that currently, you cannot solve your issues and wait until someone else writes up a guide on how to get things working.
Oh and just to be clear: even when Athom states that SHS and Homey Pro support Matter doesn’t mean it supports every Matter device in the world, or every Matter feature. I guess they need to add that to the FAQ as well, in case someone might get the impression that they do.
No hard feelings.
To be clear: that is what we have been saying from the beginning. So at least it is now clear for you too, what was clear for us to begin with.
It was you that said “some are unable to setup their host properly and thus that is the issue”.
You were the one saying that “thus this product is not for them” and that “they should have read the FAQ which states all clearly”.
It was you that said “they can have their money back if they are not happy with a v1.0 product, which you cannot expected to function as described on their site”.
So yes, it is clear that Athom has work todo.
I am not unhappy with the product. The fact that it is running on the hardware I maintain (poorly or properly) is a plus for me. It’s lightning fast and hopefully will support matter as I would expect it to work (identical to my expectation for zigbee, WiFi, 433mhz etc) in the future in my situation, soon. I was happy to pay the life time license and hope to get the support I need, be it from them or the community.
As I already explained: Matter will most likely not start working because of something Athom can do, since the host OS falls beyond their control. For example, if your host OS has a firewall set up that blocks part of the traffic that is required for Matter to work, Homey SHS will not be able to detect and fix that.
Same as people using VLAN’s and wondering why Homey (Pro or otherwise) cannot find their devices. It’s almost always because they haven’t set up their VLAN’s properly. That’s also not something that can be detected or fixed by Homey.
