I do want to use the new technology and I’m fine with some growing pains but my purchase of a Kasa Matter smart plug (KM125M) is not goin well so far. I was able to add this device to the Kasa app but no luck getting HA to see it. Cannot get it into HomeKit either.
So, if I got this added to HomeKit first and then shared it to HA and later abandoned the Apple Ecosystem, what would I need to do to keep things working> Get a new Matter router to replace the Apple TV and would I have to factory reset and add again…?
At this point I question if Matter is worth the trouble. What benefit might I realize someday if I keep going down the Matter rabbit hole?
Yes, but I’m guessing most people, like me, have been using alternatives for quite a while and are holding off with matter until the stories sound better. And I’ve bought pretty much all the devices I need by now anyway.
Also, I’ve not been overly happy with Kasa. I had 7 of their wifi energy monitoring plugs, and only one of them is still in operation. For one that died, if I plug it into the wall, it switches itself on and off 5+ times a second, and that was monitoring the power of my server!
I’m looking for high reliability for a home 350 miles away… so I appreciate your feedback regarding Kasa. I started with Shelly smart plugs and relays, they have a great reputation. Perhaps I need to avoid Kasa all together…
In my opinion, Matter is currently the fourth or fifth best option for smart home devices. Its pluses are its openness, security, and local control; it’s minuses are its limited customization, slow adoption of new features, and reliance on mDNS and IPv6. Like Z-wave (but unlike Zigbee), Matter has a certification process that offers a good chance for cross-vendor compatibility, but it definitely slows things down. After two years Matter just announced v1.4 — which still doesn’t support cameras — and hardly any devices, let alone controllers, even support v1.2 (now a year old) yet.
Among battery-powered devices, Z-wave is still so much better, and where its market selection is limited, Zigbee and BLE can fill the gaps despite their issues. Neither are going anywhere, though I might expect to see fewer Zigbee products over the years if/as Thread becomes more user-friendly since it’s practically only a firmware difference between the two. Thread, more analogous to WiFi than Zigbee because it’s IP-based, is a good protocol but a complete mess in the user space right now. Until vendors play nicer together or at least let users see and manage their own credentials (you know, like WiFi), I would not recommend Thread to anyone who doesn’t love tinkering and networking.
Among line-powered devices, I’d put Matter behind Tasmota / Esphome, Z-Wave, and even Shelly. Both Tasmota and Esphome offer so much more flexibility and control over customization (and probably always will) they are my first choice now; Z-Wave is mature and just works most of the time, and honorable mention to Shelly for staying local but using chips that can be flashed. I would still pick Matter any day over a cloud-based or proprietary-app-requiring lock-in-attempting mess (of which there are so, so many, including quite a few that have gone out of business and left their customers out to dry with unusable devices).
To address your other questions:
If your Kasa device cannot commission to either Apple Home (note: no longer called HomeKit) or HA Matter fabrics, it suggests something in your network may not be meeting the mDNS or IPv6 requirements Matter needs. The HA Matter docs have a good list of pre-requisites and troubleshooting tips, and there are pinned posts on this forum’s Matter category with more hints. If you want troubleshooting help, post your logs over there, or on Discord.
Matter is multi-admin so if you add a device to two fabrics, there is no reliance on one or the other and either can be removed any time. It’s often easier to add to Apple Home fabric first only because of tighter integration, particularly for Thread credentials (ugh Thread). On the other hand, the HA Matter server has detailed logs, while Apple Home does not. Also HA Matter is still in BETA so adding to both fabrics has been a good way to isolate issues.
Not sure what you mean by “Matter router” but if you mean Matter Controller, then HA already serves that function. If you mean Thread Border Router (required only for Thread devices) then yes you would need to reset/recommission Thread devices on the new subnet unless you manage to join the new router before removing the old. Again, Thread is still a bit user-hostile…
Well, there is a Matter category that might reach a more Matter-familiar audience, but in general expecting responses in under six hours does come across as somewhat impatient. Recommend waiting at least a day or two, particularly if you want well thought-out answers.
I have a couple WiFi matter devices which work very well and I have only IP4, not IP6 (Matter will default to 4 if 6 is not available). Also note, you will have to set up mDNS reflection across vlans if HA is on one VLAN and the matter device is on a different vlan.
Matter over wifi is fine with ipv4, its the thread based matter that needs to have ipv6 and you need to have a border router for it, wifi based all it cares is that it sees the matter server on the network.
Then I would highly suggest sticking to that type of devices (esp[home] based wifi) because you own them completely (hardware & software-wise) and have known/working infrastructure in place.
The pure fact that (all/some?) matter certified devices are equipped with a one time fuse which renders your device a when trying to repair/change/flash or have a locked boot loader (no right to repair/extend etc.) is something responsable owners probably don’t want.
Beside that matter didn’t deliver much on the made promises and instead essentially just repeating the biggest downsides from zigbee. That combined with limited range/power (matter over) thread/zigbee offers and the fact you have wifi infrastructure at your place already should make things a no-brainer
Not really, I stay far away from such crap. From what I heard it is mandatory to pass matter certification to have your device locked (not user/owner flashable)
For example the Sonoff M5 Matter is such a device were you only own the hardware
But if one instead sticks to a Sonoff M5 (without matter ), full ownership awaits
One useful thing that could come with such great power (and great responsibility!) is to use this light switches conveniently as gateways for BLE devices. This function can be easily added in software (no hardware mods needed) and than collect data from various useful sensors around the house
I have alot of shelly relays all over my house and I have fallen in love with the shelly “BLU” line of devices. Why? The BLU devices batteries last ~5 YEARS, and they are paired with every shelly relay in the home that act as bluetooth gateways, so whichever shelly relay (gen 2 only) that is nearby - will send the state change of the BLU device right into HA. It is extremely reliable because if the state change is not picked up due to any issue by any one of the shelly relays, one of the other ones will also forward that state change anyway!
What really impressed and amazed me the most was - whenever I order a BLU product from Shelly - as soon as the package is placed at my front door (before I even know it has arrived) - HA shows it has found another sensor! WHAAAT???
which renders your device a 
when trying to repair/change/flash or have a locked 
boot loader (no right to repair/extend etc.) is something responsable owners probably don’t want.
), full ownership awaits 
