I feel you … I just come from randomly replacing a couple of Zigbee lightbulbs in strategic locations around the house with Thread bulbs for no other reason than to improve the Thread mesh.
… and the only reason I need to do this is because the downstairs Echo as well as the upstairs Echo Show 8 both do have Thread, but there isn’t currently a way to make them join the ST hub’s Thread mesh.
Rebooting one Echo (Echoflex), and switching off the others, while standing over it, did the trick. Was able to select the Eero, although could have been any one of 3 more.
Minor but important update to BILRESA being stubborn with secondary Matter links:
The obvious move would be primary onboarding with ST (using the QR code) and then having ST produce a secondary code and invite Alexa to it, or then having ST produce a numerical code and adding the device in Alexa manually.
For me this has worked once after many tries, and then never again.
However, the Alexa app also has “add secondary assistants and apps” in its device settings. This too produces a numerical code. Taking that code into ST and manually triggering a Matter device add worked every time for me.
Also, both sides are then aware of the other party also using the device. ST lists Alexa as a connected service, Alexa lists the ST hub.
-Peter
Comissioning / sharing order is indeed not important, the resulting configuration is exactly the same since the connection to each platform is independent. Of course, if one platform uses a Thread network and the other another, then that is different. But if they belong to the same Thread network is the same.
What I’ve noticed is that, at least BILRESA scroll, has bugs with multi-admin so avoid it if you can. When it’s only in SmartThings works perfectly fine but the three times I had to reset it because it got completely stuck was the three days I added it to another platform to test things. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a coincidence.
Quick Q - I’ve got a Smartthings hub (2nd gen I think) which is circa 2019. I bought a few of these (including the Bilresa Wheel, Myggbett door sensor and Alpstuga air qual sensor) assuming these would connect via Zigbee at the Tradfri range did, however, with the move to Matter standard I’m using my 4th gen Echo to add them and then trying to pair them across with the code generated by the Alexa app. It’s not worked for Smartthings as won’t accept the codes for some reason, but have managed to get them into Google Home this way. Is there something I’m missing that anyone else has encountered? Currently google home can’t seem to undertake an action based on data from any device. Any advice of pointers welcomed. thanks
It should work as long as the SmartThings hub and the Echo 4 are on the same network and can communicate since the Echo will be acting as Thread border router.
BTW, Google Home, drumroll, now supports Matter buttons (and increase/decrease brightness actions). Learned from this reddit post and must be something very recent.
Found the same problem initially and thought it was impossible but followed an earlier post here on this thread.
Make sure that your Echos, all of them are on the same network, insist, I even unplugged my ST hub while pairing. In end I have a selection of Ikea Thread devices comissioned on Alexa and shared to Smartthings and Homekit.
SmartThings does accept the codes for secondary Thread pairing, I just tried and succeeded last night (with a BILRESA dual button) - but this only works if your SmartThings hub actually has Thread.
This shouldn’t be necessary in theory
Again, there are two separate things that keep getting mixed up here:
(A) Connecting one single Thread device to multiple separate Thread networks
(B) Using a Matter TBR to share all of its Thread devices to another agent via LAN or WLAN
The case @mean1979 is talking about as understand it, is pairing to an Echo TBR, and this as Matter shares to a Matter hub. If the Smartthings hub had a TBR this wouldn’t (unfortunately!) be used.
I reached out to Ikea, and David Granath, range manager for smart home at Ikea, told me they are aware of the problems and are investigating. “The launch of our Matter range has been highly anticipated, and for most customers the products work seamlessly, as intended,” he said. “That said, we are aware that some customers are experiencing connection issues when setting up their devices in certain home environments, and we take that very seriously.
I’m having trouble understanding the descriptions of the kajplats bulbs. I’m in the US and none are currently available but I’m trying to figure out what to anticipate.
I see “standard” A19, gu10, and I think candelabra. Will there be a BR30 option?
Or is the only thread BR30 still the nanoleaf, which now seems impossible to find? Oh and Hue essentials! Though I’m looking for cheaper and really just need white in some spots…
Blimey, well done getting an answer. It’s great that they’re ready to engage with Smartthings users rather than simpy say you need to buy our hubs and that’s that…
Sorry for delay on this. Side-tracked with other projects. Yes, basically the only option I have at home is to connect to the Echo as nothing else was recognised as a thread network. My ST hub is version 2 and doesn’t have it. I had hoped that I the Echo and ST hub could talk to each other and share devices, but not the case. I can however, see the devices in Google Home via the Echo’s thread network and it’s reporting things like air quality data in real time. Ideally the historic reporting from Smartthings on air quality would be the best outcome,but no option sadly. Time for a new ST Hub?
Again - sharing a device between two Thread networks is not the same thing as exposing an entire Thread network as a border router.
In the former, both ends need to have Thread because you are essentially pairing the device into two separate Thread networks. In the latter case, there is one Thread network, with the controller acting as border router, accessible via WLAN or LAN.
Now, Alexa tends to be rather one-way, so not sure how one would go about making an Echo a TBR or even a Matter Bridge. Input welcome, I could use that too.
The SmartThings V2/2015 hub supports Matter and should be able to access and control Thread devices connected to an external Thread Border Router…
Using a Thread-enabled Echo as a TBR requires knowing its network passkey. Amazon does not currently expose these anywhere, therefore you could but you can’t.
Exactly.
@mean1979 This is the situation I have with my Eero TBR, which I remember reading some time ago is basically that in the Echo.
In the Alexa app you should see under the device settings (top RH corner of device screen) this -
So do you have to connect your Echo TBR controlled Thread devices to SmartThings one at a time?
I have a SmartThings V2/2015 hub and purchased an Amazon Echo for anticipated future Thread devices. So I totally expected that any Thread devices that I connect to the Echo will be controllable from the SmartThings app.
