Matter support does NOT imply Thread support

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Matter support does NOT imply Thread support

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Matter support does NOT imply Thread support
Matter support does NOT imply Thread support
2023-08-14 02:36:14
Tags: #Tapo S505
Model: Kasa  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version:

This is somewhat of a PSA because I see a lot of misinformation out there in Amazon reviews, Reddit posts, and elsewhere where folks are confused.

 

(Moderator note -- there are no Tapo smart switches in the model dropdown menu for this forum! Doh.)

 

Matter-support does NOT imply that a device uses Thread for transport. For example, all the current Tapo Matter switches work only over Wi-Fi. The Wemo and Eve switches support Thread but not Matter (yet, Wemo has put the indefinite brakes on Matter support, and Eve is planning it later this year with firmware upgrades). Unfortunately, both the Wemo and Eve switches fail miserably in 3-way circuits; they have really bad firmware bugs that keep the switches from being in sync with HomeKit state (perhaps other platforms too, not sure). Wemo at least acknowledges the bugs, but Eve refuses to do even that.

 

My current assessment of the state of the market:

 

Tapo provides the cheapest Matter single-pole switches and dimmers. They don't have 3-way Matter switches and dimmers yet. No Thread support. Tapo switches can't calibrate dimmers or set the LED mode if they're not connected to the Internet through their app -- and if they are connected that way, they'll blink orange at you if they can't reach the Tapo mothership. I consider this a terrible glitch that I hope they wil fix quickly in coming firmware. If they fixed that, added 3-way support and offered Thread as a transport, they'd have a killer product, rather than a pretty good one. Tapo csutomer support is reasonably responsive and good.

 

Eve provides 3-way Thread-based switches with Matter support coming later, but the current firmware is so buggy as to make 3-way flat out false advertising. It works in a 3-way with another Eve (although Eve support claims it doesn't, they're wrong). It works great as 2-way switch and doesn't have the phone home issues Tapo does. It doesn't support WiFi -- and Eve seems to be philosophically opposed to dimmers. Eve support is initially responsive but refuses to acknowledge problems -- for that reason alone, I won't use them.

 

Wemo provides 3-way Thread-based switches with Matter support possibly never coming, but the current firmware is so buggy as to make 3-way flat out false advertising. Wemo support is absolutely hideous. They take days or weeks to respond and are utterly incompetent at actually resolving any issues -- the only upside is that they at least acknowledged that their 3-way Thread models are buggy. Their older WiFi based models work much better but have a tendency to fall off the netwoork every month or so sometimes requiring a complete reset and reconfiguration to get them working again. Flaky, buggy, and terrible support, yuck stay wway

 

Leviton provides Matter 3-way switches which work well but require an companion switch from them; it will not work with a "dumb" 3-way switch in the circuit. They do not support Thread -- I haven't seen any mention of their intention to do so in the future. Their support is good. They are expensive.

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Re:Matter support does NOT imply Thread support
2023-08-15 09:54:35 - last edited 2023-08-15 09:57:51

  @b-nightowl 

 

Thank you for sharing your insights and discovery. I'm sure your sharing will enlighten other users who are interested in Matter products.

 

As a product based on the new Matter technology, especially when it involves coordination and collaboration with other brand manufacturers, we must acknowledge that there is room for development in enhancing and optimizing product performance. Some issues cannot be identified in laboratory testing, and user feedback helps us discover and address these problems more effectively and promptly.

 

I'm interested in the HomeKit synchronization issue you mentioned, can you be more specific about it? 

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Re:Matter support does NOT imply Thread support
2023-08-15 10:01:16 - last edited 2023-08-15 10:04:55

  @Wayne-TP By synchronization errors, I mean that the load may actually be off when the Home app says it's on, and vice versa. If the LED state is meant to reflect the state of the load, that can be out of sync too. Some manifestations of the bugs force the Home Kit control to be activated TWICE to effect an actual change in the load state. In some cases, the same problem applies to pressing the physical button on the switch itself. It's really quite horrible and makes these switches effectively unusable in a 3-way circuit. Given that switches from two different manufacturers (Wemo and Eve) exhibit this buggy behavior in their Thread-based models but do not in their WiFi model (Wemo, n/a for Eve) make sme think that perhaps they share a common open source codebase that is causing these bugs in the Thread stack. But neither company's support team was competent or willing to work on the issue (Wemo at least acknowledged it, Eve is still sticking their head in the sand).

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