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IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

ikea.com

51–60 of 241 posts

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#51
post #31

I've never really got the smart home thing, and the shit being pulled with the likes of "smart" TVs and cars has really put me off any sort of network connected device I can't control. How would you use this and ensure privacy and security? Without investing time in becoming an amateur network engineer?

As someone who is a bit of a luddite when it comes to smart home features, there are 2 things that really stand out to me that i would like.

1. Open/Close sensors, I would like to put sensors on my shed door and side gates that can tell me if they are open or closed. I will occassionally leave these open, or the kids may leave them open and would prefer they be closed each night. It's impossible for me to tell if they are closed at the moment without stepping outside.

2. Smart plugs. Being able to remotely operate / schedule plugs to shut off or on seems pretty nice. Outdoor lights being one usecase. Kids media area is another.

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#52
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Matter is now a standard not just a common spec. Everyone should demand all new smart home devices support matter. (it is okay if you use Zigbee or some other alternative to control it today but you should still demand matter for the day you switch - that day should come) In particular note the bane of all smart homes: if you have to move the next owner won't have a clue what you did. In the worst case you have to hi…

So, right now I use a Zigbee dongle on my a Raspberry Pi. Is that goimg to be possible with Matter?

Yes, here is the one I use https://www.home-assistant.io/connectzbt1/

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#53
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a newer standard backed by multiple vendors (importantly, Apple, Google and Amazon, who make the devices that you ultimately want to use to control these things). Zigbee is great for communication instead of WiFi, but it’s just one part of the equation - it says nothing about the specific commands a device will respond to. You couldn’t pair a Philips remote with an IKEA lightbulb. Matter attempts to fix it by ac…

The way I understand it (please correct me) is that: * The old Ikea Zigbee products will remain Zigbee. They will still require a Zigbee coordinator. * The new products will be Matter-over-Thread. They require a Thread coordinator (or whatever the Thread equivalent is called). * The existing Ikea hub has had a firmware upgrade that allows it to be simultaneously a Zigbee and Thread coordinator. * The Ikea hub adds a…

> or whatever the Thread equivalent is called

Thread Border Router (for info).

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#54
post #31

I've never really got the smart home thing, and the shit being pulled with the likes of "smart" TVs and cars has really put me off any sort of network connected device I can't control. How would you use this and ensure privacy and security? Without investing time in becoming an amateur network engineer?

The solution is home assistant [0] it lets you manage and control all kinds of smart devices with a lot of customizable, hackable things. And it runs locally, so if you buy the right types of devices that don’t phone home to the cloud (or you shitcan their internet access) you can fully manage your own system.

[0] https://www.home-assistant.io/

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#55
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Matter is now a standard not just a common spec. Everyone should demand all new smart home devices support matter. (it is okay if you use Zigbee or some other alternative to control it today but you should still demand matter for the day you switch - that day should come) In particular note the bane of all smart homes: if you have to move the next owner won't have a clue what you did. In the worst case you have to hi…

So, right now I use a Zigbee dongle on my a Raspberry Pi. Is that goimg to be possible with Matter?

Matter is just the software. A lot of Matter devices use Thread as their radio protocol (think of it as "Zigbee 2.0") though, and you need a separate radio/dongle for that.

Seems like Home Assistant will launch a combo Zigbee/Thread dongle with great range in two weeks, might want to wait for that: https://old.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/1opak9w/new_...

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#56
I find pairing my IKEA bulbs and switches and whatnot to my Conbee 2 stick sometimes hard to do.

I'm thinking about buying a Dirigera hub instead, using that for the IKEA devices and using the Conbee stick only for non-IKEA products.

Does that work flawlessly when being controlled via HA or are there other issues to be expected?

edit: Maybe even ditch the Conbee stick after all, build some ESPHome devices as replacements (temperature/humidty - or wait for the IKEA version of that).

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#57
post #2

I have never heard of Matter before, but I was super satisfied with Ikea's zigbee products. Does anyone know why they switched?

It’s less of a switch and more of an upgrade. The hub will continue to work with Zigbee devices, it just adds Matter support to those devices you already have.

Might be an upgrade if you're using devices through Ikea's hub, but if you've been buying Ikea's zigbee devices for use with some other zigbee network it's a bummer that you won't be able to get them anymore.

Even if you're all in Ikea's ecosystem it will still mean whatever new devices you add from now on are a separate mesh network and can't use the existing zigbee products as repeaters. If the next thing you want to add is at the far end of your house from the hub, it won't have reception there with Matter until you put other new devices in between.

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#58
I just bought an AirGradient sensor and set up home assistant. What an absolute joy, both experiences (though I had issues building AirGradient's firmware due to some issues on their end, to their credit their dev team told me they're going to adopt my recommendations) are streamlined and professional and super easy to set up for a techie. I've already got in the habit of opening the window to the office as the sensor detects elevated CO2 (happens faster and more often than expected, very glad I invested).

However, I also bought a 3 SCD41 sensors and ESP32 C3 Superminis from the most reputable sellers on AliExpress, that's been an abject failure. I wanted additional sensors in other rooms less at risk, and wanted to try using ESPHome and putting together my own soldered little devices. Got counterfeit sensors (no laser engraving on the side as Sensiron indicates is without reception the case in genuine parts) and either counterfeit or defective microcontrollers (cannot connect to wifi, even 2.4GHz WPA2, a common enough problem from my research with ). The spread from reputable sellers in NA was absolutely ridiculous and worse then buying premade pieces by a large margin.

All to say, as fun as DIY is, I'm grateful to have trustworthy products available affordably. I'll still block internet access and leave them on a dedicated IoT VLAN, but I can at least not worry it's going to incorrectly label the air quality for a child's bedroom. I'll probably pick up 3 of the CO2 sensors from IKEA, if reviews look good.

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#59
post #45

Does this mean they're abandoning Zigbee compatibility? In my experience, Ikea was making the most reliable Zigbee devices considering the price (as someone who just uses Zigbee and no Ikea hubs, just HA+Zigbee), and would be a shame to lose that, but maybe it's a clear sign I should investigate starting to use Matter more instead?

Matter is now a standard not just a common spec. Everyone should demand all new smart home devices support matter. (it is okay if you use Zigbee or some other alternative to control it today but you should still demand matter for the day you switch - that day should come) In particular note the bane of all smart homes: if you have to move the next owner won't have a clue what you did. In the worst case you have to hi…

A standard where you have to pay to play. Cheapest option is 3000$ per product and 500$ annual.

Re: IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, right now I use a Zigbee dongle on my a Raspberry Pi. Is that goimg to be possible with Matter?

Matter is just the software. A lot of Matter devices use Thread as their radio protocol (think of it as "Zigbee 2.0") though, and you need a separate radio/dongle for that. Seems like Home Assistant will launch a combo Zigbee/Thread dongle with great range in two weeks, might want to wait for that: https://old.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/1opak9w/new_...

Right, that sounds familiar. It's been so long since I've looked into this. Thank you.
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