What worked best for me was to just make the Apple MyHomXX network the preferred network and move the stick into that network.
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Thanks a lot for the script! I bought a Nano leaf product so I could get all the needed credentials, and the script runs fine (I’m using the Advanced Terminal & SSH add-on).
I assume I’m supposed to copy the TLV string into Thread > Add Dataset from TLV?
When doing so I get this error:
expected 77 bytes for STEERING_DATA, got 53
Any idea what I’m doing wrong? Do I need to enable Thread on my SkyConnect for this to work? I am trying to only rely in the Apple network and keep the SkyConnect exclusively for my Zigbee network.
Note: I’m an absolute HA beginner (started yesterday), so may be missing something super obvious!
EDIT: Never mind! I ran it in VS Code instead and I got it working now, though I think I probably just had a typo when copying the output the first time. I did it by hand since I couldn’t figure out how to copy from the terminal… 
On the Android companion app, go to Devices → +Add Device → Add Matter Device.
I struggled to find this too but eventually found the flow in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk0n0r0eKcE
hm, I’m not asking how to add matter device, I want set my Google Nest Hub as the border router, see:
Nest Hub is found, but I can’t get it used as preferred router
If I understand correctly, you want to make your NEST_PAN-D73A the “Preferred (Thread) Network”…
As I understand it, HA needs some way to get to the Thread Network’s “Dataset” in order to make it preferred. As far as I know, Google doesn’t provide any open APIs to give HA access to the Nest Hub’s Dataset. However according to a post #12 and #13 above, if you use the HA Android Companion App to add a device (adding as a Matter device) to the Google Nest Thread network, then the Companion App can synch the Dataset (also known as “credentials”) to HA, and after then you should be able to successfully make the Nest Thread network preferred.
oh… ok, now I get it. I was thinking the other way. thanks for the clarification!
I’ve gone through this and managed to successfully combine my iOS and HA thread networks into one. Since then, though, I’m struggling to be able to add any Matter devices on the HA side; it just constantly fails. Any thoughts on how to troubleshoot?
For those still following this, um, thread, the iOS companion app was updated yesterday with the capability to import credentials (“dataset”) from your Apple Thread mesh and select it as your preferred Thread network in HA for deploying (“provisioning”) new devices. Thanks go out to the iOS dev team for adding this feature to get on parity with Android companion app.
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Hm, how to get the “make preferred network” link under the border router list in the companion app?
I always just get the listing without link:
I have already been able to integrate various Eve devices into Home Assistant via Matter (beta) integration.
Do I need the skyconnect stick?
Is the whole thing just thought if you have two different thread networks?
Am I thinking wrong now? I thought that by importing the credentials I would now be able to access devices in Homekit without Matter?
There are multiple types of “Apple Home” devices.
- Apple HomeKit
- Apple HomeKit over Thread
- Matter over WiFi/Ethernet
- Matter over Thread
Within the Apple Home app on your phone, only options 3 and 4 can be shared via Matter with another Matter Controller (e.g. Home Assistant.)
Options 1 and 2 cannot be shared via Matter with another Matter Controller, as they are not Matter devices to begin with. Apple has not implemented ‘Matter Bridge’ functionality for legacy ‘HomeKit’ devices at this time.
Philips Hue, on the other hand, has added ‘Matter Bridge’ functionality to their Hue Hub/Bridge. This allows most Zigbee connected devices to the Hue bridge to be exposed to a Matter Controller as Matter devices.
Now, there still is an option to bring native HomeKit devices directly into Home Assistant using the “HomeKit Device” integration built-into HA. I use this to integrate my Aqara FP2 sensor with Home Assistant.
I hope this helps to clarify things a little.
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Thank you for the answer, that was helpful, but what is the advantage if I import the Apple credentials in Home Assistant?
I can currently add Eve Energy to Home Assistant via Matter and control them via Homekit at the same time.
However, I’m still wondering why I can’t see the link in the companion app and what are the requirements?
Maybe it only makes sense if you have already integrated an additional thread network and can now merge the two?
You do not need the SkyConnect stick if you already have Apple Thread Border Routers (e.g. “MyHome51”). If you click the “Import Credentials” button (lower left, blue) on your iPhone, then HA can setup new Thread devices to use the Apple Mesh as the “preferred” network. If you do not import credentials, then HA cannot use your Apple Mesh and you need to either (a) use a non-Apple Thread mesh, like SkyConnect, or (b) use a different app for setup on the Apple Mesh, like Eve or Home app.
Remember — Thread (like WiFi) is for communicating between devices, not for controlling them. With Thread (like WiFi) you have the choice of controlling many devices with either the Matter or HomeKit control protocols. Both Home Assistant and Apple Home (as ecosystems) can be controllers for both protocols.
Edited to add: for those that do have SkyConnect, or another OpenThread border router, it makes things “cleaner” to be able to import Apple credentials and use them everywhere, thus “merging” everything into a single network. This is by no means necessary for full functionality, but many people like running simple, clean networks.
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I am somewhat (to say the least) confused. I am running HA on a Mac with several AppleTVs and a HomePod (so do not need a SkyConnect).
I can import the Apple Credentials and make my Apple Network the preferred network, no problem.
I was hoping to see the thread devices from HomeKit (several EVE Thermostats) in HA but this is not the case.
So I fail to see what this feature brings me?
This feature enables use of the HA iPhone app to add devices to your Apple Thread mesh network for control in Home Assistant. It’s a pretty specific feature set.
Previously you had to use a different app (like Eve or Apple Home) to add devices to an Apple Thread mesh, which required extra steps to get into HA. Alternatively if you wanted to use the previous HA app, you could only add devices to a non-Apple Thread mesh like SkyConnect (OpenThread).
Secondarily, if you happen to have an OpenThread network in addition to an Apple Thread mesh (why, I have no idea), you can now pass the Apple credentials dataset over to OpenThread and create a single mesh. This perhaps makes adding devices slightly simpler because you no longer need to think about which mesh has better coverage wherever your new device will reside, but “merging” meshes is entirely optional and doesn’t affect performance.
You’ll notice this feature doesn’t really change anything for devices already provisioned. And being a Thread (communications protocol) feature, it has nothing to do with HomeKit or Matter (control protocols). A HomeKit device, as always, can operate with a single HomeKit controller, regardless of using Thread or WiFi for its communication.
If your Eve devices are not appearing in HA they are likely using one of your Apple devices as a HomeKit (or Matter) controller. You can, as always, re-configure them to use HA as a HomeKit controller if you want them to appear in HA. OR — if they were added with Matter — you can actually add HA as a second Matter controller (unlike HomeKit, Matter permits devices to have more than one controller).
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First of all: Happy New Year to you and everyone else who help me understand and use HA.
Second of all: thanks for your explanation above.
If I understand it correctly I need to remove the EVE Thermostats (Thread Devices) from Apple Home (and EVE as a consequence) and add them again with HA and they will then be seen by Apple Home again (without the need for the HomeKit bridge)?
I do not see where Eve has updated the firmware on their Thread Thermostats, yet, to support Matter. Now I could easily have missed this announcement in my quick search, however I do not see any mention of thermostats on the following page…
Do you have a link to your specific Eve Thermostats? If they are running “HomeKit over Thread”, then they do not yet support Matter. If that is the case, then they may not yet work directly with Home Assistant. Again, I am not 100% certain…as this would require Home Assistant’s “HomeKit Device” integration to support “HomeKit over Thread”. I know HA does support “HomeKit over WiFi” devices, like Ecobee thermostats, Aqara FP2 sensors, etc…
Perhaps Eve has released a firmware update to support Matter? 
Good Morning, I have not seen that EVE has released a Matter upgrade for their Thermostats (which they promised for Nov 15, 2023) either. Hence my question to @peterxian if, with the newly introduced feature of Thread which allows to import Apple credentials and make your Apple Network the preferred one, I can add a Thread device directly into HA and it would be ‚seen‘ by Apple Home without the need for the HomeKit Bridge integration.
It looks like it may be possible to add a “HomeKit over Thread” (i.e. non-Matter over Thread) using Home Assistant’s “HomeKit Device” integration. Details can be found here
Yes that is possible, that‘s what I have used until now. Then you need the HomeKit Bridge integration if you want to see the device in Apple Home again.
I am just wondering in how far the new Tread Feature (importing Apple Credentials and making Apple Network preferred) changes that.
Understood. I believe this new feature does not change anything in your specific case. The only way things change at all is when Eve releases a Matter update for the Thermostat.