You seem to really love Home Assistant. That’s great. However, advising people to just use HA is not helpful. I’m using HomeKit for a reason and I am reaching out to the Enhancement thread to see if a potential firmware update can solve my problem. Thanks
I would assume the unique characteristics of this device were not a use case that was considered by Apple or any other Matter developer.
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As a thought. If the dimmer firmware were modified to allow you to set Dimmer Mode On/Off before pairing the switch with HA or Homekit then it could pair as either a dimmer or a switch. It would mean that you would have to unpair the device and repair it if you wanted to change modes, however I don’t see that as much of a constraint.
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You can set the dimmer mode at the paddle. I believe the default is on off. To set it dimmer, hold the down paddle + 3x config. If the switch has successfully been switched over to a dimmer switch, the LED Bar will flash Orange. This can be done before pairing.
I just wanted to add on more examples of connectivity issues. In one room, where I actually have HA running with a skyconnect dongle. 2 out of 3 white switches have become unavailable. For one of the recently unavailable switches, it’s right next to one that has no issues staying connected. I have to remove them from HA, factor reset, and then re-pair to get them working again. what’s strange is that once they “lose connection” they seem to have no ability to recover. I had this same issue with early firmware nanoleaf lights, and with later firmware updates they learned to recover
Thanks but my point was not being able to change the mode from dimmer to on/off but to be able to do it BEFORE pairing with Homekit and the the switch to pair with Homekit as a switch not a dimmer. This would require a firmware change however I think it would simplify a bunch of things.
Are you saying a quick tap sequence won’t work if the switch isn’t paired? I don’t have a white, but I’d be surprised if that’s the case.
- Install switch and turn on breaker
- Set the switch mode via quick taps
- Pair the switch
But the problem may be that the driver will overwrite what you just set when it’s added to the hub.
To add more context, I’m thinking, more and more, that this is a Home Assistant issue. When this started happening I paired one switch to Homekit, and it has never fallen off. I restarted the matter server, in homeassistant, and two more went offline. I restarted homeassistant and they wouldn’t come back online. I rebooted homeassistant (this would have cycled the skyconnect dongle as well). Upon coming back up, the switches at were stuck offline are now back online. Seems more Home Assistant related than physical switch, maybe.
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I’m curious if the problem is being caused by Sky Connect (which still is not recommended for Thread/Matter use by HA)?
Is anybody who is using a different Thread border router with HA having connection problems?
My only Thread device (a White series switch) is in a portable test electrical box, connecting with HA via an Apple HomePod Mini about 10 feet away through one interior wall. It has been running flawlessly for over a week since I received it, with near-instantaneous response even after two HA restarts for updates…
The tap sequence works, however if you set the switch to On/Off (rather than dimmer) prior to pairing and then pair the switch then it is still added as a dimmer NOT as an On/Off switch. I just tried it with HA and Homekit (two separate pairings) exact same result.
Yeah, I just edited my post. I’m thinking the driver may overwrite what you just set manually when it’s added to the hub.
I’ve had no problems with a test HA instance using Apple TVs/Homepods as the Border Routers.
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Oh man… i had no idea it was still considered experimental. I’m going to go with that being the cause. I’ve tried this a few times- restart the matter server or thread router-- and sure enough, a device or two will drop off. a full power down and restart of home assistant seems to bring them back.
Now to figure out an alternative plan lol
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so you have no HA connected boarder router-- skyconnect dongle?
I am having issues with Open Thread Border Router and nRF52840 as my dongle. I have a ESP32-H2 based border router coming as well to test that.
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Apple HomePods can serve as a Thread border router for Home Assistant, as can (allegedly) the latest generation Apple TV boxes. My one White series thread/matter device is using a HomePod Mini as the only border router for HA, and the switch was never paired directly to HomeKit…
AppleTV 4K models with the following model codes support Thread/Matter and can act as border routers:
A2843
A2169
Andrew
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As I remember, the dedicated Zigbee & dedicated Thread firmwares for the ZBT-1 are (supposed to be!) OK. It’s the multi-protocol (Thread & Zigbee together) firmware that “an experimental feature and is not recommended for use”.
Yep… i was using the multi protocol firmware. Now seeing if I can downgrade to just the thread firmware. But, I was not aware of what @vreihen said. I always assumed that I need some boarder router connected to HA. I’m reading what they shared as I do not need any dongle attached to HA if I have set the Apple thread network as the preferred network. I’ll have a fun weekend now 
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You’re incorrect. I use apple home as my primary but do supplement with home assistant as I do like most of the set up to be quick and easy without messing about too much. I have the switches set up thru home and they work fine with Siri. I had the issue that you’re having where it turns the led bar on, which I figured out how to fix. That’s what I was offering to show you, no need to assume otherwise.