[Sponsored][Review] Zemismart Matter WiFi IR Thermostat (ZMCIR01)

Devices
1

Disclosure: Zemismart provided this unit free of charge for testing and review purposes.

Device Overview & Specifications

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The Zemismart ZMCIR01 is a dual-purpose smart thermostat designed to monitor indoor climate and control traditional air conditioning units via infrared (IR) signals.

  • Connectivity: Matter over WiFi (2.4GHz) for local control.
  • Display: 1.8-inch segment LCD showing temperature, humidity, WiFi status, and a comfort indicator.
  • Hardware Layout: The temperature and humidity sensors are embedded into the provided USB-C cable rather than inside the main chassis to avoid internal heat interference.
  • Mounting: Features a magnetic base to adjust the device angle toward the air conditioner for IR line-of-sight.

Physical Setup

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To install the device, plug the dedicated USB-C sensor cable into the thermostat. The other end is a standard USB-A plug, which goes into any standard USB power supply. The magnetic base can then be adjusted for appropriate line-of-sight. The LCD screen activates immediately upon receiving power.

Configuring and Sharing with Homey with Matter

You need to set up the device in the Tuya Smart Life app on a mobile first before you can share it via Matter.

Incorrect Instructions

The included instruction leaflet outlines a sharing process that fails on iOS. The manual directs users to navigate through ‘…’ → ‘Share device’ → ‘Share over Matter’, which results in a “Sharing Method Not Supported” help page within the iOS Tuya app.

Correct Sharing Steps:

  1. Tap the ‘…’ icon in the top-right corner of the IR thermostat control page.
  2. Scroll down to the General Settings section.
  3. Select Share via Matter Gateway to generate the functional setup code.

Pairing with Homey

I tested this locally on a Homey Pro (Early 2023) running current firmware. When pairing the ZMCIR01 as a standard Matter device, I encountered two issues:

  1. App Misidentification: Homey does not recognize the device under the official Zemismart brand. Instead, it suggests to us the community app for “RiVa Smart”. Using the “RiVa Smart” app will complete the pairing process, but may lack functionality.
    2. Pairing freeze without an app: Attempting to bypass this by selecting Homey’s native “Connect without app” option causes the pairing process to hang indefinitely. This happens on the Web UI and iPhone Homey App. Edit: Restarted Homey and was able to pair without associated app.

Functionality

Once added to Homey Pro, the device operates entirely over the local network, bringing a clean, straightforward approach to AC control with fast, reliable response times. The software focuses on core features, giving you basic management for Heat, Cool, and Off modes, while sending reliable temperature updates for your flows.

My testing was with a Mitsubishi Electric MFZ-FH-25VE aircon.

However, a few features are missing inside Homey at this time:

  • Missing AC Modes: The default thermostat_mode capability passed to Homey lacks options for “Dry” and “Fan” modes, which are standard on most air conditioning units. Control is limited to basic Heat, Cool, and Off functions.
  • No Fan Speed Control: Fan speed options are not exposed over the Matter to Homey.
  • No Airflow Directionality: Airflow swing direction is not controllable at all, as this setting is missing even within the native Tuya mobile app.
  • Missing Telemetry: The humidity values displayed on the physical LCD screen are not yet transmitted over the Matter to Homey.

Maybe a bug in the firmware, but with my Mitsubishi Electric MFZ-FH25VE air conditioning, there is two IR commands sent for every function asked, the AC beeps twice every time a command is sent. It could be also useful to buffer by the device when for example temperature is been changed step by step from Tuya app on the mobile to only send the last request by the user.

Summary

The Zemismart ZMCIR01 functions well as a local, cloud-free IR blaster for basic temperature adjustments. However, until Homey driver support is introduced to map the missing thermostat modes and humidity updates, users should expect a restricted feature set when managing the device through a Homey Pro setup.

+ Pros

  • Simple device for basic AC control.
  • Local, cloud-free infrared control over your AC network.
  • Smart hardware design with a thermal sensor separated into the USB-C cable.
  • Magnetic base offers versatile physical angling options.

- Cons

  • Manufacturer leaflet contains invalid setup instructions for iOS users.
  • Missing AC operational profiles (Dry/Fan), fan speeds, and humidity data.
  • Hardware completely lacks airflow direction controls.
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Technical Feedback

To enhance the device’s capabilities and smooth out the user experience on Homey Pro, here are a few suggestions for @Zemismart_Official for future firmware or driver updates:

Homey app

  • Add Official Homey App Support: Adding native support for the ZMCIR01 to the official Zemismart Homey App would improve functionality with Homey.
  • Thermostat Modes: It would be great to see the thermostat_mode enum values expanded to explicitly include Off, Heat, Cool, Dry, and Fan inside the Matter cluster mapping.
  • Fan Speed: Consider exposing the fan speed over Matter so it can be controlled from Homey.
  • Humidity: Enabling the humidity data endpoint to report over Matter would complete the climate monitoring experience.

Device Firmware

  • Double command transmission: Change the firmware to send the command only once.
  • Buffer the temperature change requests: Wait for the user to tap the + / - for the desired temperature, don’t send every temperature request.
  • Add Airflow Controls: Introducing basic vertical and horizontal airflow directionality would improve usability.

Some of the above might not be doable due to current Matter current implementation on Homey.

4

That’s with all gateway devices. Probably the IR thermostat is like a Tuya IR blaster, but with a temperature sensor inside. My regular Tuya IR blasters and Zigbee gateway also show that.

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The “Share device” is just meant to share with family members so they can take control of the device as well. Strange that the manual shows that as the Matter sharing method, it’s not. It’s just to share so that someone else with the Tuya app (e.g. family member) can access the device

5

That’s what I was thinking also. It felt weird that the manual leaflet instructed that in the Matter sharing.

6

What does the device page in the Tuya app look like? Is it the default IR page like the standard IR blasters or a specific thermostat page?

7

Thank you for your detailed review and feedback. We are glad to see ZMCIR01 works well with Homey and Matter ecosystem.

8

The device page in Tuya has the sensors:

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and a sub page for cotrolling the AC:

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9

We have reviewed all the points you mentioned and would like to share some feedback from our team:

  1. Matter sharing instructions

We noticed that the current manual may cause some confusion, especially for iOS users. The instruction directs users to the wrong path for Matter sharing.

We will update the user manual to make the Matter sharing process clearer. The correct path should be:

Tuya App → Device Settings → Matter Sharing → Generate Matter setup code → Add to Homey

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Thank you for pointing this out. We will optimize the instructions for a smoother setup experience.

  1. Homey device recognition issue

Regarding the Homey pairing process, some users may find that Homey does not immediately recognize the device as a Zemismart product.

This is related to how Matter devices are identified through the Matter ecosystem. We will further check the device information and compatibility with Homey to improve the user experience.

  1. Matter thermostat function limitations

Thank you for testing with Mitsubishi Electric air conditioner and sharing your experience.

Regarding the missing functions you mentioned:

Cooling / Fan / Dry modes
Fan speed control
Airflow direction control
Swing control
Temperature display

Some of these limitations are related to the current Matter Thermostat standard. Matter does not yet expose all advanced air conditioner functions that are available in the original IR remote or Tuya App.

Currently:

Basic thermostat functions (such as temperature adjustment and main operation modes) are supported through Matter.
Advanced AC functions depend on Matter platform support.

We will continue to follow the development of Matter standards and improve compatibility in future firmware updates.

  1. Temperature update frequency

Regarding the temperature sensor update frequency, the current firmware sends temperature updates based on the device’s internal reporting strategy to balance accuracy and power/network usage.

Regarding the Mitsubishi Electric air conditioner you tested, we would like to provide some additional information.

The original remote control of this Mitsubishi Electric model sends two sets of IR signals with each button press as an anti-interference mechanism. Normally, most devices will filter out repeated IR signals automatically.

However, this specific air conditioner gives a beep response every time it receives a valid IR command, so it may beep twice when receiving the two identical signals from the remote controller.

This is caused by the AC’s own IR response behavior and not an issue with the ZMCIR01. As long as the air conditioner executes the command correctly and the actual operation is not affected, the device is working as expected.

We will check whether the reporting interval can be optimized in future firmware versions.

Once again, thank you for your professional review and suggestions. Your feedback is very helpful for improving our Matter products and making them better for the Homey community.

We really appreciate your support and look forward to hearing more feedback from you.

Best regards,