{"id":742995,"date":"2026-02-05T01:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/742995\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T01:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:58:14","slug":"ikeas-new-matter-smart-home-devices-are-having-connection-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/742995\/","title":{"rendered":"Ikea\u2019s new Matter smart home devices are having connection problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve spent the last couple of weeks trying \u2014 and mostly failing \u2014 to test Ikea\u2019s new Matter-over-Thread gear. These highly anticipated smart home devices<\/a> include programmable buttons, smart bulbs, plugs, and temperature and motion sensors \u2014 all of which should work with any smart home platform and start at just $6.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve hit several walls trying to connect them to any smart home platform, and I\u2019m not alone. The Tradfri subreddit<\/a> is filled with Ikea customers sharing similar frustrations, reviews on Ikea\u2019s website<\/a> point to issues, and colleagues at The Verge have also been having problems.<\/p>\n

Of the six devices I\u2019ve tried to connect, I\u2019ve so far successfully onboarded just one Kajplats<\/a> smart lightbulb to Apple Home \u2014 after seven attempts \u2014 and one Alpstuga IAQ monitor<\/a> to Home Assistant \u2014 after failing to pair with Apple Home.<\/p>\n

A Bilresa smart button<\/a> initially connected to Amazon Alexa, then fell off the network and refused to re-pair. The Timmerflotte temperature sensor<\/a> and Myggspray motion sensor<\/a> just flat-out refused to connect to anything, even Ikea\u2019s own Dirigera hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware that some customers are experiencing connection issues when setting up their devices in certain home environments, and we take that very seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014 David Granath, Ikea<\/p>\n

While plenty of people have had no problems, there have been enough posts on user forums about being unable to connect the new devices \u2014 or struggling through multiple resets before pairing \u2014 to suggest my issues weren\u2019t just a result of my wildly overcomplicated network<\/a>, and could be indicative of a bigger problem. One Reddit user posted a particularly eyebrow-raising example<\/a>: of the 60 Ikea Bilresa buttons they tried to pair, only 31 connected, for a 52 percent success rate.<\/p>\n

Additionally, after a few weeks in people\u2019s homes, a handful of users are now reporting trouble keeping devices connected once they\u2019re finally paired. The Verge\u2019s David Pierce had this problem with the Bilresa smart button connected via Amazon Alexa, and a few users on the Ikea Tradfri subreddit<\/a> have had issues with the Kajplats light bulbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These are Ikea\u2019s first products to use Matter-over-Thread<\/a>, rather than Zigbee, the connectivity protocol its previous Tradfri smart home line<\/a> relied on. The main benefit of Matter is that devices should connect directly to any of the major platforms \u2014 Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings \u2014 without needing Ikea\u2019s Dirigera hub or a cloud connection. You should also be able to connect to more than one platform through Matter\u2019s multi-admin feature. Right now, I\u2019d settle for being able to connect to just one!<\/p>\n

I reached out to Ikea, and David Granath, range manager for smart home at Ikea, told me they are aware of the problems and are investigating. \u201cThe launch of our Matter range has been highly anticipated, and for most customers the products work seamlessly, as intended,\u201d he said. \u201cThat said, we are aware that some customers are experiencing connection issues when setting up their devices in certain home environments, and we take that very seriously.<\/p>\n

\"Ikea\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Ikea\u2019s new devices include a motion sensor, leak detector, and smart button. Image: Ikea<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a dedicated team reviewing the raised concerns and working closely with our ecosystem partners, and the Connectivity Standards Alliance, to better understand the issues and improve the experience,\u201d Granath continued, adding that the team will share more when they can. In the meantime, they offered some troubleshooting tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rollout of new technology is often fraught with issues, as Ikea knows well. And as Granath implied, the sheer variety of network setups and environments in the smart home can be hard to anticipate. It\u2019s only once products hit the real world that some issues become visible. But while connectivity and setup failures initially plagued Matter devices, a concerted push by the CSA<\/a> last year appears to have fixed most of them.<\/p>\n

The difference here could be that this is one of the first large-scale deployments of Matter-over-Thread devices. As I\u2019ve reported previously<\/a>, the Thread network infrastructure is not only confusing for users but also the least robust, thanks in part to the ongoing lack of interoperability<\/a> among Thread border routers.<\/p>\n

However, the fact that so many people are experiencing problems suggests a bigger issue than just users\u2019 setups. What that issue is remains unclear; it could be how Ikea implemented the Matter spec, an issue with how the devices interact with specific platforms, or something in the Matter spec itself.<\/p>\n

Ikea, the CSA, and the platform makers need to figure this out quickly. The launch of Ikea\u2019s inexpensive Matter devices was supposed to be a breakthrough moment for the smart home<\/a> \u2014 proof that the standard was finally ready for the mass market. Instead, it\u2019s looking like yet another reminder that in the smart home, the hardest part is still just getting things to work.<\/p>\n

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