I have a problem where my HAOS device doesn't see the entire Thread network. This is very noticeable when a test device is moved so it is not directly connected to the HAOS device, and it the appears to be offline to HAOS while it is clearly still connected to the Thread network.
I have four devices on that network:
The Raspberry Pi 4 running HAOS.
It has an RCP configured nRF52840 dongle attached
It is running the OpenThread Border Router app
Another Raspberry Pi 4 running OpenThread's OTBR
It also has an RCP configured nRF52840 dongle attached
A PC running Nordic's Thread Topology Monitor
It uses yet another nRF52840 dongle with the Topology Monitor's firmware flashed
An ESP32-C6 test device
This is the ESP32 model that supports Thread
From the Open Home Foundation Matter Server (fully updated) only lists one node, with "Test Product (the ESP32-C6) offline, and the Thread display looks like this:
I'm curious if anyone has suggestions about what to do here. As far as I can tell, HAOS is not aware of the rest of the network, even though the topology monitor is able to see the HAOS device via a connection through the other Pi 4.
I don't think the matter server will show your OTBR if there is no actual matter devices attached to it.
Keep in mind that an OTBR is not a matter device per se...
I had wondered about the second OTBR not being visible... Thanks for that.
The main issue, though, is the test device that HA has registered. If it isn't connected directly to the HAOS device, it is considered offline. However, that test device is still connected to the Thread network, as shown in the topology monitor screenshot.
I'm using a H2 as a router, flashed with ESPHome and it works fine as a Thread device, not a matter one as ESPHome doesn't support the protocol.
I'm able to see the H2 as an ESPHome device on HA, through the Thread network using the ESPHome API.
The problems appears to have been with my wired network and routers not forwarding between VLANs. I'm not quite certain what isn't forwarding, since things like Google Home forward correctly, but solving that problem is for another day.
Once I ensured that everything was connected to the same VLAN, it all seems to be working.
I must admit that I'm a little disappointed with the new Thread Network Mesh display. The lack of a on-screen legend makes it difficult to decode, and I had to go to their GitHub to find the meaning of the symbols. Simple flyover text popups would be very useful there.
The mesh display, through the dashed line, is trying to say that Test Product is connected to the Home Assistant device through a "link to an offline or unknown/external device". Looking at the nRF Topology Monitor screenshot, that does make sense -- the Test Product is communicating via either the Nest Hub or the extra Pi OTBR, and the mesh display does not know either device.
What I find odd is that Settings -> Thread lists all three border routers. Home Assistant is clearly aware of the extra Pi OTBR as well as the Google Nest Hub that are part of the network, but that information is not making it into the Thread Network Mesh display.
Perhaps I'm missing something about passing that border router information to the Thread Network Mesh display, but the fact that the mesh display is missing the extra border routers seems to defeat the purpose of helping people understand their Thread network connections. You'll see the quality of the connection from the color of the connecting line, but without knowing what device it is connecting to, one would not know how to move a device for better reception.
That all seems like it should be in a new posting, though, since it is not on topic for this post.
Because on 17.3 everything works fine (in my case), but when I upgrade to HAos 18.1 all my matter devices are not connected anymore, the border router is still working..
Very weird.
