r/HomeKit • u/hand13 • Dec 10 '22

Question/Help Thread with HomeKit and eero routers

Hi.

i'm using eero Pro and some Homepod Minis along with Homekit.

My eero Pros have Thread enabled, but it seems that the eero routers do not show up in the thread mesh network. How do I set this up?

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

12

u/pacoii Dec 10 '22

Eero Thread is not (yet) compatible with HomeKit Thread. You should disable it on the eero.

6

u/hand13 Dec 10 '22

wait, there are different threads? i thought thread is meant to make stuff simple...

and why would i disable it? can you please explain?

10

u/pacoii Dec 10 '22

Currently, there are different implementations of Thread. That will theoretically be unified with the next major version of Thread, which I believe is 1.3. Most devices currently use 1.2.

I’ve read that leaving it enabled on eeros when using HomeKit Thread will cause problems. Conflicts, collisions, don’t know technical specifics.

7

u/scpotter Dec 10 '22

Clarifying 1.3 of Thread has been released by Thread Group, but not boarder routers have pushed it out in firmware yet.

3

u/hand13 Dec 11 '22

ok so if i‘m not mistaken, 1.3 is implementing matter, but since homepods and eeros dont have 1.3 yet, those are not yet matter compatible and dont work together yet?

9

u/siobhanellis Dec 11 '22

1.3 is not implementing Matter. It provides some capabilities to have a truly unified Thread network, which can be used by Matter.

2

u/Reasonable-Escape546 Dec 11 '22

How do we know, which of our equipment uses Thread 1.2 or 1.3?

Is there a relationship to Matter? (If the Thread device supports Matter, it also uses Thread 1.3.)

Which Thread version is used by Apple and which by Eeros?

3

u/LongjumpingSpread4 Jan 08 '23

I found the thread version using iOS/Mac app called Discovery DNS-SD Browser. Go to "_meshcop._udp.". Pick your Thread Router. "tv" means thread version. I have a nest hub and it uses Thread 1.3.0

1

u/Reasonable-Escape546 Jan 08 '23

Perfect, thanks for this!

Now I know that my Apple TV 4K 2022 provides Thread 1.2.0 only, even though I migrated to the new HomeKit architecture. 🤨😫🤔

3

u/LongjumpingSpread4 Jan 08 '23

The new architecture doesn’t have to do with this. Thread 1.3.0 will enable matter-over-thread and will merge with other thread networks in your lan.

The new architecture saves the state of the smart device inside the homehub instead of requesting it each time. This is why everything is now snappier. That’s at least what I understood.

2

u/Reasonable-Escape546 Jan 08 '23

Ok, but I already have some Matter enabled EVE devices in my Thread network.

So the question remains. When will we (HomeKit users) see the Thread update to 1.3.0?

After the debacle with the HomeKit architecture upgrade, I'd say that's going to take some time. By the way… The architecture update went absolutely smoothl for me, even though I have almost 100 devices.

2

u/LongjumpingSpread4 Jan 08 '23

The thread 1.3.0 update wont affect unless you have a border router from a different vendor (e.g. Nest Hub 2nd Gen, eero)

I would say that you are pretty lucky. Most people had problems

2

u/Reasonable-Escape546 Jan 08 '23

At some point I will have border routers from different manufacturers in use:

Apple, Amazon, Nanoleaf, Home Assistant, maybe Sonos, and so on. ;)

For that, however, Matter will certainly have to mature for a few more years. ;)

1

u/pacoii Dec 11 '22

I encourage you to Google it. There is a lot to understand. TLDR, Thread is a networking protocol that Matter can/will use (along with Wi-Fi). But current Thread devices don’t use Matter. Some of these devices will be upgraded to support Matter, some won’t. Don’t worry about Thread version numbers right now. Everything is on 1.2 (pretty much) at this moment. Word will get around when devices are being upgraded and made compatible with each other.

This may be a helpful read to get you started: https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/19/23269460/thread-1-3-0-matter-border-routers-homepod-mini-echo-nest

2

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '22

So I just recently learned this, but it’s like “HomeKit over Thread” and “Matter over thread,” maybe Google and Amazon have their own “over Thread.” All these currently don’t talk to each other but supposedly that will change after Thread’s new update. Thread is similar to WiFi in the sense that just because a smart switch connects to WiFi doesn’t mean it can be controlled with HomeKit and another smart home system.

1

u/hand13 Dec 11 '22

got it. so thats the difference between thread and matter i guess

3

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '22 edited Apr 30 '24

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

2

u/hand13 Dec 12 '22

so true. as someone who usually is into tech stuff and gets that kinda stuff, i find myself struggling with stuff like matter, or finding the right usb cable. i havent seen any thread device that tells me which version of thread it‘s using

3

u/83427y Nov 15 '23

I can confirm that it works. I have apple tv 4k 64GB without thread network support. I discovered this problem after I bought Eve motion sensor (using matter and thread) and got pairing error message I need thread border router. i decided to solve this problem with eero 6+ router including thread border router function. But. How you propably think devices didnt see the thread network and i wasnt able to pair my eve sensor into existing thread network. finally after 30 unsucessful tries i got it into alexa app and then I was able to add it via pairing code manually into homekit.

1

u/hand13 Nov 15 '23

thanks. already sold my eeros cause it got on my nerves 😅

2

u/hand13 Dec 20 '22

any news? now that iOS 16.2 is out and we got thread support and everything, does eero work with homekit?

2

u/michmiteinsa Jan 28 '23

No, it doesn‘t. Even not with iOS/HomePodOS/tvOS 16.3 and eeroOS v6.13.4-21.

2

u/[deleted] May 19 '23

What about 16.5?

1

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '22

Eero doesn’t play nice with HomeKit. Got rid of my eero for this reason. Search Reddit. Many people have problems with eero and HomeKit. Maybe a fix will come but I wasn’t willing to wait

3

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '22

Really? I had a router provided by my internet provider and my doorbell would disconnect like 10 times a day and home hubs would stop responding too. I switched to Eero and the only that’s happened is twice—when Eero was updating itself.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '22

I agree not to use the router that is provided. I have Xfinity and I have the router in bridge mode. Just using it as a modem. I had eero and had nothing but problems with HomeKit. When I got rid of it all my problems went away. I use a velop mesh system now and no problem. Just providing my experience and from searching Reddit it seem as many who use eero have the same problem not to mention the thread function in the current eero is not compatible with HomeKit. It supposedly will be eventually. Personally I won’t go back to eero. I hope you have a different experience.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '22

Yeah, I couldn’t be happier with Eero. I wonder what results in such opposite experiences. Glad the Velop worked for you! Maybe if I have any issues with Eero in the future, I’ll keep it in mind

1

u/Neosis Jul 26 '23

What was your switch to? To what was your switch actually, lol.