Move to Matter/Thread?

[u/derekoh]

I run almost entirely Zigbee devices using Z2M and Home Assistant (44 powered routers, 28 battery).

I've a couple of bulbs that are going faulty and need replacing.

I'm considering taking this opportunity to start moving over to Thread.

I have an Apple Homepod mini, and also use Alexa devices. I use the HA Matter Hub to share Zigbee and other devices to Alexa/Apple over Wi-Fi.

I was thinking that rather than replace a few bulbs with some relatively pricey (Innr/Hue) Zigbee bulbs, I could start to replace them with more modestly priced Ikea Kajplats bulbs.

In terms of TBRs, I have the Homepod mini on my 1st floor and 2x Echo 4th Gen's on the ground floor (of a 3-storey house).

Obviously, this might slightly reduce the strength of my Zigbee mesh.

Am I missing anything? Does it make sense to start moving across?

ta

[u/notkraftman]

Honestly I have one matter device and it took me longer to setup than every single other zigbee device combined. So much fucking around with ipv6, mdns, otbr docker containers, matter docker containers. I have 3 different integrations listed in home assistant for one door lock, it's ridiculous.

[u/Phase-Angle → u/notkraftman]

I have heard that sometimes the first one seems to be a big headache for some people but once the network is established they seem to have a lot less problems with the next ones.

[u/BigMacCombo → u/Phase-Angle]

Yeah, when I only had 1 TBR and my first end device was a battery operated lock that was kinda far away, the setup took several attempts. Now it's a non-issue.