Our Synium developer Pascal has moved, which gave him the opportunity to completely redesign his smart home and get rid of legacy issues. In the previous apartment, most things ran via HomeBridge on a Raspberry Pi – this took over the control of Shellys, Ewelink and Sonoff devices as well as self-made controllers. In an experience report, he writes about his home restart, what the situation will be like in 2026 and whether the consistent use of Matter-compatible accessories was a blessing or a curse. Shelly for shutters
For this I chose the Shelly 2PM Gen4 because they are Matter-capable ex works. Setup is also quick using the included Matter QR code. But then the problems begin: The Home app only shows “No answer”. However, the devices can be easily controlled in Shelly’s web interface (of course this doesn’t work 100% reliably with Safari and you need a different browser for that…). Even a reset doesn’t help. So I try the Shelly app. This offers more setting options than the web interface (that was different in previous generations). Above all, roller shutters can only be calibrated via the app, and only after successful calibration can they also be accessed in HomeKit. It is quite interesting that the manufacturer manages to indirectly force customers to have their own app (and registration), because without this it simply doesn’t work.
TP-Link for heating control
When controllable heating thermostats with Matter support were on offer at Amazon, I snapped them up straight away (TP-Link Kasa). Unfortunately, the individual thermostats are not directly Matter-capable, but require the manufacturer’s hub – but that is acceptable to me in this case. Of course, setting up the hub only works via the manufacturer’s app and only there can you then display the QR code for Matter. Again you feel artificially forced to use the app. The individual thermostats then have to be added each time via the Kasa app so that they appear in the Home app.
SwitchBot for smart LED strips and sockets
For indirect ceiling lighting, the Switchbot RGBICWW LED strips were chosen. According to the manufacturer, these are Matter-capable. However, in practice it looks similar to most other manufacturers: your own app and an account are required. The app also offers other functions, for example: For example, you can also color each segment (consisting of 3 LEDs each) individually. Matter does not currently support this, so you have to use the Switchbot app for such effects. With the Switchbot Plug Mini I gave the manufacturer another chance. The Matter code is printed directly on the socket adapter, but the setup still failed every time because the device could not be found. Only after adding and setting it up in the Switchbot app could the adapter also be used via Matter. But of course only for switching it on and off; I can only see information about power consumption in my own app
Aqara for doorbell
I chose the Aqara G410 as the doorbell because it also supports HomeKit Secure Video. The setup went smoothly and no problems have arisen so far. It is also particularly practical that all HomePods in the house serve as an additional doorbell.
Ikea for window sensors and remote control
The Ikea MYGGBETT window sensors are sold out most of the time, so it took quite a long time to be able to test these. However, I was pleasantly surprised here. Scan the Matter code and the connection will be established successfully. The Home app even asks if it can install updates. So far no problems have arisen with these sensors. This makes IKEA the first manufacturer in the test that is really convincing: no account and no app are necessary – setup is done in seconds. Unfortunately, this does not apply to the BILRESA remote control with scroll wheel. It is almost unusable over Matter as scroll wheels are not currently supported.
However, in the Home app it shows up as a 9-button remote. Each of these buttons also supports double clicks and some long press actions. It takes forever to figure out which button does what exactly – and I’ve settled for not using the scroll wheel and just using the click of the scroll wheel. Apparently turning the scroll wheel in any direction is a button and if you turn quickly it is recognized as a double click. However, I couldn’t get this function to work reliably and quickly lost the nerve to try any further.
Conclusion
As beautifully designed as the Matter ecosystem is, unfortunately it is also poorly implemented by the manufacturers. This fits very well with Shelly CEO’s statement in 2024: “While we do not expect the Matter standard to provide long-term benefits to our customers, we will enable Matter support in firmware 1.6, which will be released by the end of the year.” Apparently Matter has persuaded some users to forego the Shelly app. That’s why it seems to have found ways to achieve indirect app compulsion. However, the whole thing feels like a clear step backwards, because in the early days of Smart Home in the Apple world with “made for Apple Home” or previously “HomeKit compatible”, everything worked without the manufacturer’s app. Apple simply forced the manufacturer to make it work straight away.
Somehow it’s a shame that Matter represents a step backwards in this discipline and therefore significantly complicates the setup. Of course, the products were also more expensive due to Apple’s specifications (in the early days even the mandatory use of a corresponding chip), which is why the Matter approach has advantages at this point. There is now an enormous selection of “Matter-capable” devices at significantly lower prices, but the quality differs significantly between manufacturers.
IKEA can be particularly praised as a manufacturer here, as the devices are not artificially forced to have their own app or account. However, I found it disappointing for the customer to desperately bring Matter support into every device (especially see BILRESA with scroll wheel), even if the functionality cannot be represented at all. Hardly anyone would want to invest so much time in configuring a remote control – especially since, according to the manufacturer, you can rely on it to receive the advertised functionality.
