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?
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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?
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.
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 I'm confused about a different aspect of it than you think I'm confused about. I was under the impression that my KP125M Matter smart plug wouldn't be able to communicate directly with Thread devices (Matter or otherwise) because it didn't have the right kind of transceiver. On the side of the box it says it supports 802.11b/g/n along with bluetooth 4.2 for onboarding, which are not the same thing as the (checks Wikipedia) 802.15.4 that Thread apparently uses. Are you suggesting that my understanding is wrong, and that my KP125M would function as a Thread "Border Router" even though such functionality is advertised nowhere on the box or product webpage?
I wasn't even thinking about Thread <-> Thread interoperability between devices using different higher-level protocols. I don't think that will, err, matter to me much since I don't plan to get any Thread/HomeKit (etc.) devices, but it's neat to know!