Thread and ZigBee for the Home Assistant – pre-orders begin

Version 1.0 of the Smart Home Matter standard is complete and set in stone. For manufacturers, this also means that they can now have certifications carried out and prepare updates for existing hardware. The official starting signal is then November 3rd. Afterwards, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) will also present the first compatible accessories at a launch event in Amsterdam. One can be curious, because in addition to the pioneers of Eve’s wire, several manufacturers have hot irons on the fire. The same goes for the creators of Home Assistant.

The Home Assistant platform is already an important point of contact for the interconnection of devices from different manufacturers and thus enables automation between manufacturers and between platforms. Home Assistant is basically at home on various mini PCs or on the Raspberry Pi, probably the best known single board computer. With the “Home Assistant Yellow”, a special Raspberry Pi that connects ZigBee and Thread devices. Home Assistant also offers the same functionality in the form of a USB key with “SkyConnect”.

On delivery, the stick will initially only communicate with Zigbee. The use of Zigbee and Thread should then be supported simultaneously via a firmware update. This should also be exciting considering that Matter only provides wire and Wi-Fi as radio standards. The devices are then transmitted directly to the home assistant. For now, the Home Assistant OS will be supported first, but attended and containerized installs will likely follow later. Everything should work plug-and-play and work automatically with Home Assistant and Zigbee2MQTT. Home Assistant will also provide updates in the future.

It can be assumed that some manufacturers will continue this strategy in the coming year. The components will primarily communicate with the manufacturer’s own ZigBee bridges and connect to Matter from there. With the spread of Matter and Thread, manufacturers could then (possibly also eventually) move away from their own bridges and connect components directly to Matter via Thread edge routers. Suitable chipsets are now available, you have to see how the shortage of chips will affect them.

In the case of SkyConnect, you can rest assured: pre-orders for the stick have now started there. There are now also a few stores in Europe offering the stick for pre-order. Since in Europe also without customs duties, but sometimes with terrible shipping costs. You need to see if you can get together with bulk orders. The price is between 40 and 45 euros. Delivery should then take place between November and December of this year.

The SkyConnect Stick for Home Assistant can be pre-ordered from:

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