IKEA is within the midst of rolling out a brand new lineup of good house units, ditching Zigbee in favor of Matter over Thread. Although the complete lineup isn’t accessible in all places but (nearly none of it’s accessible in my native retailer right here in Australia), some customers have seen that some units aren’t locked to the brand new Thread protocol.
Bulbs and remotes are Zigbee appropriate
Experiences have begun to emerge on Reddit about sure Touchlink units in IKEA’s new smart home lineup being appropriate with the outdated Zigbee protocol. Touchlink is a characteristic that permits two units, like a sensible bulb and a distant, to pair with out the necessity for a hub in between. If you happen to’ve visited an IKEA any time within the final decade or extra, you’ve in all probability seen this in motion.
IKEA’s smart home shakeup is the beginning of the end for Zigbee but great for Matter
Is Zigbee dying? Possibly.
IKEA additionally sells good hubs that broaden performance, permitting customers to manage units utilizing good house apps. Up to now, two Reddit threads have caught my eye: one in r/tradfri discussing the new Bilresa remote working over Zigbee, and one other on r/homeassistant discussing the new Kajplats bulbs (that are set to exchange the Tradfri vary).
Customers have confirmed that every of those units works with Dwelling Assistant utilizing the built-in Zigbee Dwelling Automation (ZHA) integration, with others reporting success utilizing the Zigbee2MQTT (Z2M) various. In an effort to entry these modes, further energy cycles or button presses are mandatory.
For instance, Kajplats bulbs require that you just energy cycle them six instances to enter Matter pairing mode, however doing so 12 instances places them into Zigbee pairing mode (the place they are often added to Dwelling Assistant). The Bilresa distant requires that you just press the reset button 4 instances to pair over Touchlink, however urgent the identical button eight instances will put it into Zigbee pairing mode.
Help for these units in future versions of ZHA and an updated Z2M has already been proposed. It’s unclear whether or not or not IKEA’s new vary of good plugs (dubbed Grillplats) will even be supported since no one has managed to get their palms on one but. Odds are trying good if this comes all the way down to Touchlink performance, nonetheless.
New sensors look like Thread-only
For any Zigbee customers who’ve been holding out on including a Thread radio to their Dwelling Assistant server, that is nice information. Sadly, this performance doesn’t appear to increase to the remainder of IKEA’s revised lineup. Sensors that merely cross data again to the hub or server look like restricted to Matter over Thread solely.
This consists of the brand new Myggspray movement sensor, the Myggbett door and window sensor, the Timmerflotte temperature and humidity sensor, the Alpstuga air high quality sensor, and the Klippbok water leak sensor.
All of those new arrivals are basically revised variations of previous IKEA merchandise—just like the Parasoll door sensors and Vyndstyrka air high quality monitor—that ditch Zigbee in favor of Matter over Thread. The one comfort right here is that you may still find many of these old Zigbee-compliant devices in local stores, typically at tremendously discounted charges.
It’s price including that there’s no have to ditch your Zigbee community for Thread if all the pieces is working simply positive. Zigbee 4.0 with Bluetooth and expanded range was introduced in November 2025, and there are nonetheless loads of producers on the market, like Sonoff and Aqara, that make high quality Zigbee units. A few of IKEA’s new units make small enhancements, however others have been already just about good—how do you enhance on a sensible plug or a water leak sensor anyway?
No IKEA hub? No downside
IKEA’s good house lineup has lengthy been celebrated by Dwelling Assistant customers for its broad compatibility through Zigbee, low worth level, and strong efficiency. The one factor that’s actually altering is the protocol, although newer merchandise do look like a bit cheaper than their predecessors (which is nice for anybody seeking to get into Thread and the Matter normal).
These units work with IKEA’s current Dirigera hub, which additionally acts as a Matter bridge to carry older Zigbee units up to the mark. For Dwelling Assistant customers, Thread and Zigbee units can simply be added using a radio like the ZBT-2, which affords help for each protocols (although solely separately).
- Dimensions (exterior)
-
83x83x179mm
- Weight
-
157g
The Dwelling Assistant Join ZBT-2 helps each Zigbee and Thread, though it should be arrange to be used with both one of many two protocols. It affords 4x the responsiveness of the earlier mannequin, and is designed to be simple to open for modding, with accessible pins and pads.
In order for you each Zigbee and Thread help, you’ll want two separate radios. At the very least you possibly can sleep simple understanding that purchasing a few ZBT-2s helps to financially help the Dwelling Assistant challenge.
I’m eager to get my palms on a few of IKEA’s new good house units, however the rollout has been gradual in my neck of the woods. The transfer to Thread over Matter isn’t something to get too enthusiastic about, however IKEA’s promise to broaden the vary over the approaching months and years seems to be coming to fruition with the announcement that they’re refreshing the classic Varmblixt with a smart upgrade.
Source link
