I have Skyconnect installed with Multiprotocol support enabled. Zigbee devices have been added just fine. But a few weeks ago I got some Nanolead Matter bulbs and tried adding to the network. Going to the device tab in the app (under devices/integrations) and choosing to add a matter device, it looks and finds the device and goes through the steps. However it gets stuck as “checking network connectivity…”. I figured it might have been that device so I tried two others and it was the same result.
I have tried numerous times and it always hangs on that part until it times out saying that it “Can’t reach device” and “make sure your phone is connected to Wi-Fi”.
The phone is absolutely connected to Wi-Fi and the devices connect via BT to their own app just fine. They just won’t connect via Matter using HA (in its own OS with everything updated per supervisor notifications).
I tried connecting the Skyconnect to a PC to use the web-based firmware updater and it said the only update available was for Zigbee. I updated it just in case (in case it has any effect on the multiprotocol support or something) and the result was the same.
I stopped by Best Buy for an Alexa speaker. I specifically asked for one that supported this. I got it home and added it to my other Alexa speaker. Then I tried added the way they said they did and it worked. Victory!! There is only one catch. My HA doesn’t talk to Alexa since I don’t pay for cloud. I was going to give up and sign up once and then I saw they raised the price while I was thinking about it. I thought great, they are just going to keep raising it probably even for those who subscribe and I decided not to. Too many subscriptions to worry about that add up. Wants vs Needs kind of thing. Anyway, I can at least turn them on and off using Alexa now. I tried sharing it through Matter from Alexa to HA and that didn’t work either. So back to giving up on HA for Matter/Thread and assuming I spent the money on that Skyconnect for nothing [which is another reason why I don’t want to pay for the cloud as I feel a bit cheated]. In the future, I won’t buy anything else from them. I’ll just wait for another company to come out with something. In the meantime, I might look into the harder way to manually connect HA and Alexa.
It seems like there might be an issue with the Matter protocol integration with your Skyconnect hub, or the Matter devices you’re trying to add.
Check Distance and Interference - Ensure the Matter devices are within range of the Skyconnect hub, and there’s minimal interference (like walls, other electronic devices) between them. Matter devices should typically be within 30 feet of the hub for a reliable connection
Devices are within 12 feet of the hub (8-12 depending on the device and where I am trying to add it from). Same room, no walls. As for nearby electronics, there is a TV within a foot from the hub but that hasn’t caused any issues with any other connectivity (Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave).
Update: Also, both the Zigbee and the Matter networks are on the same channel. As I am sure that will be asked.
Just added another Zigbee device just fine. So shrug
Sounds like this is a WiFi based Matter device and not a Thread based Matter device…
One of my experiences with Matter/WiFi is that in the case of commissioning a device with the iOS HA Companion App, the App would provide the device with the WiFi credentials that the mobile device was currently using. If the mobile device was on a 5GHz WiFi channel, it would provide the device with the SSID/Password of the 5GHz WiFi network, and my device would consequently fail commissioning. I don’t know if this is your problem, but thought it worth mentioning.
Doesn’t seem to be the case. Per the boxes, these are “Based on Thread” including all instructions which claim the same.
I have been using Android (which makes use of Google’s services to add a device), but that gave me the idea to try iOS. I broke out an iPad and tried adding it there since it would use a different method to obtain the barcode, etc. I went to add it, it recognized the barcode, offered the button to “add to home assistant” an then it thinks for so many seconds and says “Thread Border Router Required”. Even though it is there, it is running, etc. Matter Server is running, etc. I tried reloading the Thread Border Router from the integrations screen and that didn’t help any either. I am at a total loss at this point.
I can’t say that I am happy with this Skyconnect at all. The Zooz Z-Wave stick was plug-n-play and worked great with HA OS for Z-Wave devices. The Skyconnect acted like it all came together when it was installed, following every instruction to the T, and in the end is just a giant case of HA herpes.
Ah its Thread based …much more complicated if you’re trying to use HA’s OTBR/Thread-Networking.
1st, iOS HA developers have development in progress for the Companion App to supply Thread Networking info/credentials to the device (as given to it by HA), so currently iOS Companion App does not work. Android Companion App, as I understand it does support this.
2nd With either iOS or Android, probably what is still missing is that the HA Matter Server does not know what the Thread info/credentials are to hand to the App to relay to the Device. To my knowledge, there is no user-friendly way to supply this info to the Matter server, but there are some hacks/work-arounds that can do it. See this Community Thread if interested.
Just read through most of that. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. I think I have had enough diving that deep into the rabbit hole. I’ve already spent so much time trying to get it to work. I almost threw the Skyconnect into the trash after reading all of that. However, I have convinced myself to just use it for Zigbee at this point. I won’t buy any other adapters from Nabu Casa. I’ll buy something else to act as my thread router/hub and integrate things together somehow from there. puts hat on rack. Time to go relax with family and forget about the insanities of life
I’m experiencing exactly the same issue. The devices which fail at “checking network connectivity” adding via ha android app are the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials Bulb. Firmware is the latest version 3.5.10 which it seems you must use the Nanoleaf app to upgrade to (android).
One clue might be that the Nanoleaf app doesn’t seem to be able to find the thread network and only connects to the device over Bluetooth. It seems that because of this, it also can’t add the device to any Matter network.
I was able to add two Eve matter motion sensors which have thread and I think are connected using it, not sure where to check that for sure in homeassistant. This makes me think it’s something specific to the nanoleaf firmware, but unfortunately I don’t have any other matter devices to test with just yet.
Would appreciate any ideas on how to troubleshoot further. Edit: haven’t tried sending the earlier linked websocket messages yet, will do that and report back.
Came back to it again today to waste another hour or so because I am stubborn. Still doing the same thing although sometimes via Android it ends with saying “Can’t connect to thread network home-assistant” and “check that your device cna work with this network type and try again”. Thread drive Matter devices not working with thread network? Sounds like the story of my life.
You and me both. I still see the same thing after updating to 2023.7.1. The method of manually sending set_thread_dataset and then commission_with_code websocket messages initially seemed to work for two devices, and then just would not work for a third. In the process of trying to get the last one paired, I ended up not being able to reliably commission the first two again.
@thesaint I face exactly the same issue as you… Spent days trying to update configurations or parameters, rebooting, trying again… You are not alone
In my case this is a Eve plug (Matter version). I contacted the support and they ended by saying me that their devices are not officially supported by HA… @confect Could you please give details on how you have successfully connected your Eve sensors ?
Thanks!
Finally…
I just bought a Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) and connecting my Matter device to HA using the included border router was a breeze!
I decided to do that for 2 reasons:
After chating in the HA channel in discord, connecting a Matter device is still experimental. It’s possible with some customization and a deep knowledge that I don’t have. The team in charge is working hard to have a stable version easy to use but the standard is very recent so it can take some weeks or months.
There was a discount on the Nest hub in a local store. Like you, I spent days trying to setup things correctly and spending a quite small amount of money was acceptable.
In the end, my issues were down to IPv6 not being correctly configured across my wifi network with multiple access points. If Google Home had given me any indication that “checking network connectivity” failing meant IPv6 isn’t working, it sure would have saved me a lot of time.
Giving up on commissioning them directly with HA and using a Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) to commission first was what clued me in to the IPv6 issue in the end, since taking HA out of the equation completely didn’t help. I now have the devices working fairly reliably, commissioning first with Google Home and then linking with HA via PIN - launching the app directly frequently fails, and even PIN linking reports that the process didn’t succeed when it actually does
Interestingly enough the devices all frequently still become unavailable in Google Home without any discernible pattern, but only very occasionally do any of the devices now go unavailable in HA.
For anyone like me who is new to matter, once your device is paired to a matter router, you need to simply have the app you paired it with (Google Home) to share it with another app like Home Assistant and not to restart the whole process like I was doing
I found an option in Google Home to “Link with another app” but when I try to link with home assistant, I get to “Adding device, this may take a minute or two” and then “Unable to add the device to home assistant, would you like to try again?” on repeat.
Bummer.
But that’s why I just bought one matter device! FYI I’m comparing Aqara P2 Matter door sensor to the new Philips Hue contact sensor.
So far Philips is winning… (but I had high hopes for Matter!)
(but I had high hopes for Matter!)