What is your recommendation in terms of reliability and ease of use for Thread usage?
In some reviews/comments it was mentioned that an USB device might be a bit more reliable than a network device like the SLZB-06. I have read good things about ZBT-2 so I am leaning towards it. It seels to have the more powerful Silicon Labs MG24 chip (like the better SLZB models).
I'm planning on building my first smart home setup and starting with Matter over Thread devices plus some Wifi and Bluetooth stuff.
Hey there... I have 102 Matter over Thread devices in our new home. Most of them (more than 70) are Inovelli White light switches. I also have Eve Smart Plugs, two Aqara Smart locks and about 20 Sunricher RGB controllers.
I have two Apple TVs and 4 HomePod minis acting as Thread Border Routers. I can't speak to your TBR choices since I'm using Apple.
However, if you decide to build a Matter over Thread home using Home Assistant, I highly recommend installing the Matter.js beta server. You do that by Installing the Matter app and then in the settings turning on the beta. I used the Matter python server (the default) for more than a year and the experience was mixed and a bit frustrating. The beta js server is extremely reliable. I almost never have a device go offline anymore, and if I do it's just for a couple of seconds -- a blip. Also, I have experimented with running my entire home on just one Apple TV and that works fine, too. The other TBRs are redundant.
Especially with the Matter.js beta, I'm extremely happy that I chose Matter over Thread for our new home. Good luck!
ZBT-2 all the way! I can highly recommend this stick: good radio range, good throughput, hasslefree installation and somewhat stylish look ( for wife acceptance factor).
I'm running a rockstable Thread-Mesh with 43 devices with it.
Thanks! I guess then that the ZBT-2 is a safe choice, nobody seems to give any negatives for it. So I guess I'll order one of those for starters. Plus it seems that ZBT-2 purchases also help develop Home Assistant and ESPHome.
You won't regret it. You should also make yourself familiar with the IPv6 "traps" that HA, Matter/Thread and Bluetooth commissioning (adding) devices will throw at you.
So beforehand:
Activate IPv6 and mDNS in your Home-Router Network, activate IPv6 manually in HA via SSH/Terminal by:
ha docker options --enable-ipv6=true
(dont ask, just do it!)
And once you've setup your ZBT-2 Thread Network, don't forget to synchronise the Thread credentials in the Companion-App under "Troubleshooting ".
Also make sure to have enough Thread Routers like plugs and bulbs, which will expand and stabilise your mesh. The border router is only meant to play the role of a gateway between your Thread Mesh and the rest of your network.
I've started that journey recently as well. I use SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus ZB Dongle-E flashed with the OpenThread firmware using this site: https://darkxst.github.io/silabs-firmware-builder/. (I have another one of those for my Zigbee devices as well).
I use HA as the border router (with not other border routers in my mesh). I found that adding devices via my Samsung phone is problematic at best, so I have a bluetooth USB dongle in my HA for new devices (the newest version also allows for ESP Bluetooth proxies to be used). I use the beta version of the Matter server (i.e. Matter.js) - works like a charm and I never had any issues.
Since I started with sensors and buttons first (i.e. battery powered devices only) I had a really bad experience with Thread. Devices were randomly dropping off all the time. Once I got myself a few Thread-enabled power plugs (Ikea ones) and strategically distributed them around the house - things became stable and all the dropouts stopped.
My opinion: “all of the above” is not a bad solution.
Seriously, you will need more than one Thread Border Router if you want a robust Thread network. One border router can run on your HA server using a USB dongle like ZBT-2, but for a second border router, you want something that is more stand-alone, like even an Apple HomePod or Aqra M100 hub or something like that.
In fact, you really don’t need to run a border router on the HA server; just owning an Apple smart speaker or Apple TV or a Google Nest device is enough. You just might already own a border router.
In the end, I’d want at least two for redundancy, but check around, you could very likely already own three.
This is why I recommend more then one Border Router, Border routers are powered devices that will act as normal powered Thred devices when they are not doing their Border function.
Thanks @DocMarc73 for the tips. I'll re-read them once I get my hardware up and start setting things up.
Good to know. I plan to get at least a few of IKEA Grillplats plugs. They should help with the network quality.
AFAIK I don't have a spare border router so at least in the beginning I will only have one: OTBR running on HA mini PC. So no redundancy there. But at least initially I'll only have non-crucial sensor data with no important automation, so the harm should be minimal if the only border router goes down.
Later my plan is to connect an AC unit to HA, then measure the water level in the exhaust water tank and shut down the AC unit if the water level gets too high. Should be a nice little ESP32-C5 project with a few simple sensors. But even then it does not matter too much if the network and automation fails. There will be no water damage as the container is on the balcony.
Sorry, but this is not completely true.
First for the newbies: dont confuse border routers with routers: you only need 1 border router in your mesh!
Its purpose is to coordinate, setup and lead the mesh and act as the gateway to the rest of your home network and HA.
You CAN use more than one for your mesh for redundancy purposes
BUT: if two or more BORDER ROUTERS are not fully compatible and integrated into ONE single THREAD network with their radios merged to ONE radio channel, then these Border Routers can even destabilise the whole Thread network! So, you'd better know what you are setting up, if you want to use more than one border router.
Second:
Thread ROUTERS are mostly permanently powered devices like bulbs and powerplugs.
These are the devices, that will stabilise and expand the Thread radio signals for sure!
In short: you can't have too many of them, or: the more, the better!
Because the Thread Mesh is quite self-organising and self-healing.
Means: if the mesh has more than enough routers, the routers switch their role from "router" to "REED" (Router Elegible End Device) and switch back at any time if needed.
So you better start off with ONE Border Router (ZBT-2) and make yourself familiar with Matter over Thread before you add more of them like Homepod mini, Echos, Google Nests and so on.
P.S.: you might want to use your favourite AI (e.g. Gemini) to let it explain and summarise Matter/Thread/Mesh to you.
If find it technically quite interesting, how it works.
