Third reality matter bridge MZ1

Configuration Matter/Thread
1

I just ordered a Third Reality light switch and the only option on Amazon came bundled with their new matter bridge (https://www.3reality.com/online-store/THIRDREALITY-Smart-Bridge-MZ1-Zigbee-to-Matter-Connectivity-Compatible-with-Google-Home-Apple-Home-SmartThings-Home-Assistant-etc-p605567663). Has anyone used this? It looks like it bridges zigbee devices to matter over wifi.

I planned on just pairing the smart switch directly to my sonoff zb dongle E but curious if anyone has tried a bridge like this one and if there would be any point in trying it out.

2

Did you get it to work without the bridge?

3

Yes, it worked perfectly without the bridge. As far as I can tell, the only reason for me to use the bridge is if I want to create a second zigbee network and connect those devices to HA via the matter integration.

4

There is no need to use the bridge if you have ZHA setup, all Third Reality Zigbee device tested with HA and works well. However, if you want to test out the latest matter technology with multiadmin, so you can connect the same device to other matter controller like Apple, Google, Alexa or SmartThings, then the matter bridge is recommend. The bridge will “translate” all Third Reality Zigbee devices as standard Matter devices.