[Solved] Nuki Smart Lock Ultra + Homey Pro (Early 2023) – Matter incorrect_state (0x0003)

Devices
1

After spending several hours troubleshooting this issue, I finally found a workaround that solved it completely. Hopefully this will save other users some time.

Setup

  • Homey Pro (Early 2023)

  • Homey Pro v13.3.0

  • Nuki Smart Lock Ultra

  • Nuki firmware 5.7.11

  • iPhone (iOS)

  • Apple TV 4K (used only for testing)

Problem

I was unable to pair my Nuki Smart Lock Ultra with Homey using Matter.

After enabling Matter in the Nuki app:

  1. Homey successfully detected the lock.

  2. The Matter QR code was accepted.

  3. Homey displayed “Searching for device…”

  4. Pairing always failed with the following error:

Connection failed

Unable to pair device:

incorrect_state (0x0003)

What I tried (without success)

I tried all of the following:

  • Restarted Homey Pro

  • Restarted the Nuki lock

  • Updated Homey to the latest version

  • Updated the Nuki firmware to the latest version

  • Added the device using both the Matter driver and the Nuki driver

  • Scanned the Matter QR code

  • Entered the Matter pairing code manually

  • Moved Homey to within 50 cm (20 inches) of the lock

  • Kept the iPhone close to the lock

  • Verified that Thread was enabled and working on Homey

None of these steps solved the problem.

The workaround

I then decided to try pairing the lock with Apple Home.

Step 1

Add the lock to Apple Home using the Matter QR code.

:right_arrow: The pairing completed immediately without any issues.

Step 2

Without removing it from Apple Home, go back to Homey and add the lock via Matter.

:right_arrow: This time Homey paired with the lock successfully.

Step 3

After confirming that the lock was working correctly in Homey, I removed it from Apple Home.

Result:

:white_check_mark: The lock continues to work perfectly in Homey over Matter/Thread.

Verification

In Homey’s Advanced Device Settings, the device now reports:

  • Network Type: Thread

  • Vendor: Nuki

  • Product: Smart Lock Ultra

  • Matter Specification: 1.4.1

So the communication is indeed Matter over Thread, not cloud-based.

Conclusion

It appears that the issue only affects the initial Matter commissioning between Homey and the Nuki Smart Lock Ultra.

Once the lock has been commissioned by another Matter controller (Apple Home in my case), Homey can successfully join as a Matter administrator. After that, Apple Home can even be removed and Homey continues to control the lock normally.

I don’t know whether this is a Homey bug, a Nuki bug, or an interoperability issue between the two, but this workaround solved the problem completely for me.

Versions used

  • Homey Pro (Early 2023)

  • Homey Pro v13.3.0

  • Nuki Smart Lock Ultra

  • Firmware 5.7.11

  • Matter 1.4.1

I hope this helps anyone experiencing the same incorrect_state (0x0003) error.

If anyone else can reproduce this behavior or confirm the workaround, it would be interesting to know whether this is a general interoperability issue between Homey and the latest Nuki Smart Lock Ultra during the initial Matter commissioning process.

2

Does it also still work if you power down your Apple TV?

3

Important update

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

The lock was removed from Apple Home, but I left the Apple TV powered on.

Everything continued to work correctly in Homey.

I then unplugged the Apple TV.

Result:

  • Homey immediately lost communication with the lock.
  • The Nuki app continued to operate the lock normally, even remotely and with Bluetooth disabled.

This means the lock itself remains online and connected.
Only Homey loses communication.

It therefore seems that Homey still depends on the Thread infrastructure provided by the Apple TV, even after successfully joining the lock via Matter.

This may indicate a Thread Border Router or Thread network migration issue rather than a pure Matter commissioning problem.

4

I had the same issue. I don’t think you need to add it to Apple home. I wasn’t able to pair directly to Homey, so i did get a message pair it via Iphone. That worked immediately.

Besides that: i love that lock!

5

Does anyone with only a Homey Pro (no Apple TV, no HomePod, no Google Nest Hub) have a Nuki Ultra working directly over Matter/Thread?

7

Probably not. I’ve read several posts about the Matter-over-Thread pairing impossibility of that particular lock & Homey Pro
You’d contact homey.app/support to have Athom fix this Matter-over-Thread bug

I noticed there’s “solutions” posted to add it as smart lock instead, but this d-tour uses a cloud connection (imho not a good plan when it comes to locks).

Not 100% relevant, but I’ve a Nuki 4 lock paired with OpenThread & Matter @ Home Assistant. Works fine (with the occasional hickup :face_with_peeking_eye:)

8

Further testing results

I did some additional testing with a second Nuki Smart Lock Ultra that had never been paired before.

Instead of pairing it through Apple Home, I selected “Pair via iPhone” from Homey. The first attempt failed, but the second one completed successfully.

Since then:

  • the lock has never appeared in Apple Home;
  • my Apple TV has remained powered off;
  • Homey shows the lock as a Matter 1.4.1 device over Thread;
  • the lock is still working normally in Homey more than a day later (lock/unlock and status updates).

This seems to demonstrate that Homey can operate the lock over Thread without any active Apple Thread Border Router.

However, I still cannot pair either of my two Nuki Ultra locks directly from Homey. Every direct commissioning attempt immediately ends with:

incorrect_state (0x0003)

So, in my case:

  • Direct pairing from Homey → always fails (incorrect_state)
  • Pair via iPhone → succeeds and produces a fully functional lock in Homey, without adding it to Apple Home.

Has anyone else observed the same behaviour?

9

Final update

I finally managed to get both Nuki Smart Lock Ultra locks working with Homey over Matter/Thread, without using Apple Home.

What solved the issue for my first lock was:

  • removing the existing Matter connection from the Nuki app;
  • removing Homey as a bridge from Apple Home;
  • powering off the Apple TV again;
  • commissioning the lock using “Pair via iPhone” from Homey.

The lock was added successfully and now works normally in Homey.

Direct pairing from Homey still immediately fails with incorrect_state (0x0003), but the “Pair via iPhone” method works reliably in my setup.

10

Thats what i wrote in my previous post. Pairing via Iphone directly to Homey works.

11

I dont know if the ultra will have the same issue as the pro but after ALOT of failures with this lock, some other users on some other forums advised me to reset the lock, disable the on board wifi and then connect using matter/tread. This worked immediately.

Maybe the ultra has resolved this issue but as soon as i disabled the wifi on the pro, matter/thread worked and has worked since.

Hopefully that also helps someone or a pro user who has been struggling and stumbles across this post

Nice to see the ultra working good stuff. ive been wanting this lock :+1:t2:

Thanks

12

Nuki Smart Lock Pro 5 + Keypad 2 NFC with Homey Pro (2026) – my experience

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience with the Nuki Smart Lock Pro 5 and Keypad 2 NFC together with a Homey Pro (2026).

I deliberately chose Nuki because, on paper, the combination of Matter over Thread, MQTT, fingerprint, NFC and Homey integration looked very promising.

Unfortunately, after many hours of troubleshooting, I have now decided to return the complete system.

My setup

  • Nuki Smart Lock Pro 5

  • Firmware 5.9.4

  • Nuki Keypad 2 NFC

  • Keypad firmware 2.5.2

  • Homey Pro (2026), firmware 13.4.1

  • UniFi network

  • 2.4 GHz / 20 MHz / WPA2

  • Access point approximately 2.5 metres from the Smart Lock

Matter / Homey

Direct Matter-over-Thread pairing with Homey was not reliably possible in my setup despite many attempts.

I was only able to establish a Matter connection via Android first and then share it with Homey. Even that setup was not permanently reliable.

Matter over Thread was one of the main reasons I chose this model, so this was very disappointing.

MQTT

MQTT could be configured and basically worked, but it was not reliably stable either.

I repeatedly experienced connection interruptions and failed lock commands from Homey.

Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi behaviour was particularly strange.

The Smart Lock regularly had excellent signal levels of around:

  • -50 dBm

  • -51 dBm

  • -52 dBm

  • -53 dBm

  • -54 dBm

  • -56 dBm

The relevant UniFi access point is only about 2.5 metres away.

Despite this, UniFi recorded repeated real client disconnects, including disconnects at approximately -50 to -53 dBm.

Nuki’s own diagnostic report also showed:

RSSI: -54 dBm
WiFi Quality: 9

I also tested:

  • locking the Nuki to one specific access point

  • Nuki Wi-Fi compatibility mode

  • multiple restarts and reconnections

None of this solved the issue.

Keypad 2 NFC

The Keypad caused even more problems.

Stored fingerprints were repeatedly rejected, with the Nuki activity log showing many:

“Invalid Fingerprint (0xE1)”

errors, sometimes several in a row.

I tested:

  • new batteries

  • soft restart

  • re-registering fingerprints

  • different fingers

  • removing and pairing the Keypad again

There was no lasting improvement.

NFC initially worked partially with one Android phone, but later stopped working reliably and eventually did not react at all.

Finally, the Keypad even completely froze: the LEDs remained illuminated and the unit stopped reacting normally to input.

I was able to document this behaviour on video as well.

Interesting diagnostic data

The diagnostic files generated by Nuki also contained entries such as:

unexpected_reboots_count: 32

and:

last_reboot_date: 2025-04-05

Nuki told me that the activation date of my device was 18 August 2026.

I asked for a technical explanation of these values, especially the 32 “unexpected reboots”, but so far I have not received a meaningful explanation.

The Smart Lock also already had visible fingerprints / signs of handling when I first unpacked it.

Support experience

I provided Nuki with a large amount of information, including:

  • diagnostic files

  • UniFi logs

  • screenshots

  • exact disconnect timestamps

  • firmware versions

  • activity logs

  • videos

  • multiple troubleshooting tests

Despite this, much of the support response continued to consist of fairly generic troubleshooting steps.

For MQTT-related questions I was eventually referred to the public Nuki Developer Forum.

After my latest escalation, the case was finally forwarded to another team, but by that point I had already lost confidence in both devices.

Conclusion

I am not claiming that every Nuki Smart Lock Pro 5 or Keypad 2 NFC has these problems.

This is simply my experience with the specific units I received.

However, for a device controlling access to my home, reliability is the most important requirement.

After many hours of troubleshooting, repeated connectivity problems, fingerprint errors, NFC failures, a completely frozen Keypad and an unsatisfactory support experience, I no longer trust this particular setup.

I am therefore returning both the Smart Lock Pro 5 and Keypad 2 NFC to the retailer.

It is a shame, because the combination of Matter, MQTT, fingerprint and NFC could have been a very interesting solution for Homey users.