#Home Assistant OS running on a Raspi 4 w
lethal frigate
I believe I already told you this but here it is anyways... Adding Thread based Matter devices to HA using (only) the SkyConnect is still a bit in the experimental phase, we're working on stabilizing it and offer it as a valid alternative besides using existing border routers of the big ecosystems such as Apple or Google.
You may run into some trouble if you already have/had a Google border router present.
I'm guessing here that you do not have any apple or google (or any other brand) border routers present and you want to use the SkyConnect as Thread radio without ANY dependency of Google, Apple or whatsoever.
We're working on getting that setup working. Atm we rely on the Google framework (in case of Android) and Apple (in case of iOS) so basically you are not commissioning directly to HA but through the frameworks of Google/Apple.
So yes, you need a Google account. Even worse: you need to setup Google Home before you can even commission devices to HA, regardless if you are planning to only use the SkyConnect.
If you have a bit of patience, we are working on also providing a direct/pure route to add devices to the HA Yellow/SkyConnect but it will also require a bluetooth adapter to be present in your HA server.
distant cape
@lethal frigateJust to clarify, you're saying at this moment there is no way to use Home Assistant to commission thread devices unless you already have an existing thread gateway device from Google or Apple etc?
lethal frigate
Yes, that is correct and also matches our documentation.
We have experimental support for using HA itself as Thread Border router using a Home Assistant Yellow or SkyConnect but that is not yet polished/finished.
distant cape
Yes, that is correct and also matches our documentation.
We have experimental su...
That's a shame. I've been using an ESP32-C6 flashed with RCP firmware and OT border router on HA and it seems to work well via the web UI, but there is no way to commission devices. I guess I'll have to wait until the work is done. Thanks for the info.
lethal frigate
Yeah, a little bit of patience, were working to get this all in place
quick solar
@lethal frigate is this roadmapped anywere yet?
lethal frigate
yes, but still a lot of foundational work is needed. We're working on it. For now the most stable setup is using existing border routers from either Google or Apple. You may have some luck with your own BR (you can use the thread config panel in HA to setup the thread credentials) when using the HA Companion app on Android but Google keeps overwriting the default thread credentials if you add (or once have added) a Google border router in your network.
quick solar
@lethal frigate do you know if HomeKit device commissioning works offline without Internet (assuming initial HomePod setup would require Apple ID & Internet but I can always just do the initial signing on a VPN or something)? If so I could just buy an iPhone & HomePod and just airgap the HomePod from the Internet as a workaround to get device commissioning working in HA
lethal frigate
offline: yes, over VPN: No