Matter (standard)

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Matter is an emerging (as of 2024) standard for configuration and management of smart home (IoT) devices. Matter promises to make smart home devices work with each other regardless of which company manufactures them, that smart home devices will continue to be usable on your home network even when no connection to the internet is available, and that communications with smart home devices are secure. The Matter standard is being managed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the same group which also developed the Zigbee family of smart home protocols.

Matter is a software application that runs on top of the Thread network protocol and also the Internet Protocol (IP). The standard's code and documentation are published under the Apache License. Matter devices must be tested to become certified by the CSA, or an organization approved by CSA, as being compliant with the standard.

Matter works over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, ethernet and the new wireless protocol Thread. The heart of Matter is a Matter controller, a networked software device that onboards (recognizes and configures) new Matter devices. The controller must have Wi-Fi and/or ethernet access, and the appropriate Matter software. If there are Thread (wireless network) devices, there needs to be at least one Thread border router. Since some Matter controllers are also Thread border routers, many homes may already have both of these. Devices which can already act as Matter controllers include HomePost (2st- and 2nd-gen) and Apple TV 4K:, Amazon Echo and Google Nest Hub speakers and displays, as well as Samsung SmartThings hubs (including some refrigerators and TV's).

Every Matter network requires a smartphone or tablet app for adding and configuring new devices.

The Matter 1.0 standard consists of the following copyrighted documents which were approved in September of 2022 and are downloadable from the CSA website:

  • Matter 1.0 Core Specification (899 pp)
  • Matter 1.0 Device Library Specification (89 pp)
  • Matter 1.0 Application Cluster Specification (359 pp)
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