Back in October of 2023 I purchased a number of Smartwings Thread and Matter enabled shades. This post is a long term review of the six shades I've had in two different rooms. I have three roller style blackout shades in my bedroom, and three zebra style in my office. I've had...
When building a smart home based on Matter it is critical that you get networking gear with working IPv6 multicast support. This post covers how to configure both IGMP (IPv4) and MLD (IPv6) snooping for Netgear M4300 Pro AV fully managed switches. If you have TP-Link Jetstream switches, check out...
When building a smart home based on Matter it is critical that you get networking gear with working IPv6 multicast support. This post covers how to configure both IGMP (IPv4) and MLD (IPv6) snooping for TP-Link Jetstream (business class) managed switches. Finding a switch with working IPv6 multicast support is easier...
In this final installment of my smart home deep dive on Matter and Thread, I cover a ton of practical advice on how to set yourself up for success with Matter. Even if you aren't using Home Assistant and are entirely into Apple Home, Google Home, etc. the last section...
The modern Smart Home has a host of new standards to enable what is supposed to be a seamless experience across multiple ecosystems. These new standards include Matter and Thread, both of which the likes of Amazon, Google, Apple, Samsung, and Home Assistant support to various degrees. There's A LOT...
Matter, the promised home automation wiz kid, is here and some devices are now shipping with native Matter support. But what if you want Home Assistant and Apple Homekit to control the same matter device? What if you don't have a Thread radio on your Home Assistant server? No problem! This...