1y ago

Does Matter matter (compared to devices flashed with third-party open source firmware)?

I'm just getting into home automation, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I care a lot about supporting open standards (which is partly why I never bothered with it until now that Matter is coming out), but I also very much like the idea of having everything I own running Open Source firmware instead of whatever potentially untrustworthy stuff it comes with.

So anyway, I got some TP-Link Kasa smart plugs (KP125MP2), but have since been doing some more research and found that some folks don't think there's actually much, if any, advantage to Matter devices compared to older wi-fi devices that've been flashed with Tasmota or ESPHome. So now I've also got some Sonoff S31 smart plugs and a USB to serial adapter to flash them with, and I'm wondering which set of things I should actually keep.

I kinda feel like I need to try installing and using them to know which I prefer, but I'd also feel bad about returning stuff after it's got provisioning info stored on it (or worse, flashed firmware). So maybe I can decide based on advice y'all give me instead?

13 comments

I mean, the obvious thing here is that “it just works” compared to flashing (and knowing how to flash) custom firmware onto devices. In my mind there are two big things that Matter has going for it:
Local-only support. If a device supports Matter it needs to be fully controllable locally per the specification.
Thread support. All the perks of zigbee and z-wave with the benefits of a much more reliable and robust network thanks to its mesh design. Every Matter device can act as a relay for any other Matter device. The only thing that needs to talk to anything over the LAN (or internet) is a border router.
Those two things aside, Matter is open source. It was formerly ProjectCHIP. So, if the device has the correct hardware to support Matter (not all current IoT devices have the necessary hardware) in theory open source firmware for those devices should be easier to develop.
- A lot of Matter devices aren’t Thread, though, to be clear.
  
  Absolutely, though it’s one of the main communication protocols, so I would imagine their numbers to increase. It seems like the HomeKit specific vendors like Eve have gone all in on it in preparation for Matter.
- Thread support... Every Matter device can act as a relay for any other Matter device.
  These are Matter/Wi-fi devices, not Matter/Thread devices, so I don't think that part applies?
  Those two things aside, Matter is open source. It was formerly ProjectCHIP. So, if the device has the correct hardware to support Matter (not all current IoT devices have the necessary hardware) in theory open source firmware for those devices should be easier to develop.
  I like TP-Link networking hardware in large part for its support for OpenWRT. Maybe I should like TP-Link Kasa IoT devices (or maybe just the Matter ones?) for a similar reason?
  
  These are Matter/Wi-fi devices, not Matter/Thread devices, so I don’t think that part applies?
  No, this is a property of Thread and not limited to Matter devices. For example you can mix Thread/HomeKit devices with Thread/Matter devices in the same Thread mesh.
  Only wired devices act as range extenders though, like smart plugs or outlets.
  
  I think it comes down to what you want to do with these things. You’re just getting into home automation, so I would plan on whatever choice you make now not being a reflection of where you end up on your journey.
  The kasa devices don’t have great open firmware support but do offer a low level api for integration into things like home assistant. I’d personally lean towards it, but that’s mostly because I deal with software for a living and feel I can get enough value out of how it integrates with things in both the tinker space and out of the box.
  If you’re more interested in tinkering at the firmware lev though it looks like the sonoff is the one to get. They’re ultimately just a plug you can turn on/off and monitor the energy usage with so however you end up tinkering, it’s a gateway into the larger home automation.

The answer is entirely on your use-case and your intended infrastructure.
If you intend to use multiple different assistant environments like Google Home, Apple Home, Alexa etc. Then Matter theoretically makes it easier to share devices and have these environments play nicely with each other.
If you're sticking a single environment then it doesn't really add much over things like Zigbee or Tasmota or ESPhome, which already have the benefits of fully local control. If you ever decide to transition to another environment it should make it easy to migrate though.
If you're using something like Home Assistant which can use any of these devices and export them out to google, Alexa, apple etc. then the multi-environment argument doesn't really matter.
The other argument is future proofing. Theoretically everything will eventually move to matter, until a new standard arrives to challenge the status quo again. So being matter-ready at least makes you future proof in that sense.
Another consideration is price. I haven't looked in to it myself but wifi stuff is cheaaaap. And if you have a handle on flashing Tasmota then adding a lot of smart devices can be done on the cheap. I presume matter stuff for now might have a premium on top being new, but that's just my guess. I know Zigbee and zwave are generally a little pricier than wifi devices.
Matter is also pretty new, so it may have some teething problems which may introduce stress and annoyance, but that will iron out soon enough I would think.
My personal opinion is go for local control where you can and if it works for you then no need to make any changes if you're only doing those changes to follow the crowd.
In regards to returning stuff with provisioning info stored in it, these devices should all come with a method to wipe the data. Usually for bulbs it's something like turning it on and off 6 times really fast or something like that. If you flash devices and don't want them any more then I reckon the warranty would be void. Sure the shop you got them from likely won't check and will happily take it back but morally it's a bit questionable. I'm sure you'd be able to flog them on Facebook marketplace or whatever your local equivalent is. Enthusiasts love preflashed devices.
Disclaimer: I have no first hand experience with matter so happy to be corrected if I've been mislead.
- If you’re sticking a single environment then it doesn’t really add much over things like Zigbee or Tasmota or ESPhome, which already have the benefits of fully local control. If you ever decide to transition to another environment it should make it easy to migrate though.
  If you’re using something like Home Assistant which can use any of these devices and export them out to google, Alexa, apple etc. then the multi-environment argument doesn’t really matter.
  I should've mentioned in my initial post that having any reliance on cloud services whatsoever is an absolute deal-breaker for me. I've just installed Home Assistant OS in a VM on my Proxmox server, but haven't done much with it yet since the only IOT devices I have are these smart plugs and some Govee 433MHz water detectors (that are a subject for a different thread).
  The other argument is future proofing. Theoretically everything will eventually move to matter, until a new standard arrives to challenge the status quo again. So being matter-ready at least makes you future proof in that sense.
  One idle thought I had was the idea of third-party firmware eventually adding Matter support to devices that didn't originally have it. Is that something the Tasmota and/or ESPHome folks would have any reason to care about doing, and if so, how likely is the possibility?
  Another consideration is price. I haven’t looked in to it myself but wifi stuff is cheaaaap.
  The Matter smart plugs came in a 2-pack for $30 ($15 each), and the non-Matter ones came in a 4-pack for $33 ($8 each). Obviously I prefer $8 to $15, but neither is outrageous or anything.
- Another consideration is price. I haven’t looked in to it myself but wifi stuff is cheaaaap. And if you have a handle on flashing Tasmota then adding a lot of smart devices can be done on the cheap. I presume matter stuff for now might have a premium on top being new, but that’s just my guess. I know Zigbee and zwave are generally a little pricier than wifi devices.
  Currently Matter devices are indeed more expensive but they have the potential of being even cheaper. Matter also supports Wifi and Ethernet, not only Thread.
  With Matter, device manufacturers can focus entirely on the hardware/firmware and don‘t have to worry about client software like custom apps. They only have to implement a single protocol to support all major ecosystems natively.
  In theory this should also lower the bar for entering the market for small companies.

Follow-up:
I decided to try both provisioning the Matter smart plugs and flashing the non-Matter ones with ESPHome. Provisioning the Matter plugs in Home Assistant was incredibly easy (aside from requiring the use of my wife's phone, which is newer than mine -- my Home Assistant app wasn't connecting via Bluetooth correctly for some reason). In contrast, even following this guide, flashing ESPhome on the non-Matter plugs was a bit of a challenge to get right.
Nevertheless, I was left with nagging doubt that the Matter plugs, being on OEM firmware, weren't completely trustworthy, and I liked that the Home Assistant integration for the ESPHome smart plugs was more full-featured than the Matter one, including energy use readings etc. So I ended up keeping the ESPHome plugs and factory-resetting and returning the Matter ones.

The only thing I dislike about Matter so far is that it doesn’t support Apple’s Adaptive Lighting feature. But it hopefully will someday. Until then, I tend to choose HomeKit-enabled devices.

Home automation stuff has been fragmented, Almost to niche status. The promise of Matter is that the next level of growth depends on commonality, on everything being able to work together. I can still choose the features or cost or privacy I want, but it promises to all work together, and to be easier to use.
I don’t know, so far I use both Zigbee and z-wave, knowing they are inherently local networks and devices can’t “call home”. Contrast to WiFi devices which usually have a cloud dependency and inherent privacy hole. Matter/Thread has a lot of promise but is still rolling out, and can still be derailed by how companies choose to implement their products

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