Recently, IKEA introduced what seemed like the perfect range of smart home sensors. I had a preview of the range at CES and was told all the details by an IKEA representative, who was keen to emphasize how simple, accessible and affordable the new additions were designed to be.
When I got them home, things looked promising. IKEA had emphasized that the range was designed to “work out of the box”, offering basic functionality without the need to download the app first, to remove that barrier to entry. This was true for my Timmerflotte temperature sensor: I could pop in some batteries, flip a hidden switch from Fahrenheit to Centigrade, and immediately see the temperature and humidity on the screen.
One of my teammates suggested that I might need an IKEA Dirigera home center, so I looked up the product page to confirm this. It said: “This smart product uses the universal Matter standard, making it easy to install, operate and add to the DIRIGERA hub and other popular systems.”
Until now, everything is unclear. I contacted my contact at IKEA to try to get a firmer response. Finally, I received the following response from the technical team:
“The problem is likely that you are missing a Thread Border Router. All new sensors from IKEA (including TIMMERFLOTTE and BILRESA) use Matter over Thread, which requires a Thread Border Router to connect. Without one active on the network, the configuration will not complete. DIRIGERA includes a Thread Border Router, and hubs from other brands can also work if they support Matter over Thread. From IKEA, we do not maintain an official compatibility list of who they are, but we recommend using LEAD.”
IKEA has since updated its product listing page to say: “This product uses Matter over Thread, which means you need a Thread Border Router to control it via your phone, for example our DIRIGERA hub.”
Disappointing news
I’m glad that at least now IKEA has made the requirements clearer on their product pages, but overall the situation is still disappointing for a couple of reasons. The first is that a hub is required and IKEA didn’t feel the need to make that very clear on the product pages.
One of the big attractions of these sensors is that they are cheap, with most of the range costing under $10/£10. That budget price suddenly becomes a little less affordable when you factor in a Dirigera hub, which costs a not inconsiderable $109/£60. At that price, you need to consider whether you want to participate in the ecosystem as a whole: it won’t be worth it if it just powers a couple of cheap temperature sensors.
The second is that IKEA isn’t clear about which alternative smart home hubs the sensors will work with, and figuring that out for yourself is tricky. The brand is harping on the fact that since these devices are now Matter-compatible, they should integrate seamlessly into any smart home ecosystem, but the reality seems more complicated.
I received a message from a customer who told me that he had managed to connect his Timmerflotte through another Matter-compatible hub, but that it was not easy and required several attempts. IKEA’s FAQ on the subject is also not entirely helpful:
I already have a smart home system from another brand, can I use IKEA smart products on that one?
With the DIRIGERA hub, the IKEA Home smart app can guide you to connect to Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit.
Particularly ironic is a comment I received from David Granath, IKEA’s lighting and home electronics range manager, in the context of adding Matter support to the new range. “It removes one of the biggest barriers to getting started with a smart home,” he told me. “People don’t want to research standards or ecosystems, or worry about which products work with which hub. They want things to connect and just work.”
Have you managed to connect one of the new sensors to an alternative smart home hub? Leave a note in the comments section and I’ll update this article with new information as I get it.
Alternatively, if you want to participate in the IKEA smart home ecosystem, you will find the best prices for the Dirigera smart hub below.
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