Smarty Ninja hasn’t had the opportunity to test Govee products yet, but the company’s range is constantly expanding. Like other Govee devices, the new Matter-enabled lamp uses 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to work with the Matter protocol. This makes the lamp compatible with Apple Home. The lamp’s LEDs can display any of 16 million colors, as well as multiple colors simultaneously, including warm and cool shades of white.
One of the features of this lamp is the ability to create images in the Govee app, which are then displayed on the device itself. The app also offers many colorful animated presets.
The lamp is equipped with a manual control on the top, which allows you to adjust the brightness and intensity of the colors. In addition, you can switch between standard and animated effects. The light flux mainly comes from the main part of the body, but the lower part of the stand is also illuminated and has a stylish embossed design. The maximum brightness of the lamp is 500 lumens (probably when the cool white color is on), which is standard for a table lamp of this size.
At the moment, the lamp is only available on Amazon in Germany and the UK, but hopefully it will be available in other countries soon.
Arduino and Silicon Labs (SiLabs) have announced a development collaboration for both IoT enthusiasts and professionals that promises to revolutionize access to the Matter protocol. This initiative will unfold in two main phases and will open a new era of innovation.
CES 2024: a new era in IoT development begins
At CES 2024, Arduino and SiLabs presented the first part of their ambitious project. The first stage of the collaboration marks the release of the Arduino library, which will be created to support the Matter protocol in the Arduino core for SiLabs microcontrollers. In the Arduino IDE, such integration is a significant step forward that will make IoT development more accessible than ever.
“Our partnership with Arduino provides simplicity and ease of programming for Silicon Labs developers and the 40 million Arduino users. By integrating Matter with the Arduino ecosystem, we’re opening up a universe of possibilities for developers,” said Rob Shane, Vice President of Global Mass Markets at Silicon Labs.
This isn’t just an announcement about new tools, it’s a statement of intent to make IoT technology more accessible to a wider range of users.
Get started now, use your existing devices in Matter
In expectation of the next phase of collaboration, the Arduino community can start experimenting with the Matter protocol on existing boards. SparkFun has created a great platform for this and users will benefit from exploring the potential of Matter with Arduino. You can download the new kernel to start experimenting with SiLabs xG24 Explorer Kit and SparkFun Thing Plus Matter.
“We are excited to implement Matter to support IoT applications. Bringing Matter to Arduino is a massive undertaking and will make Matter even more accessible to engineers and innovators around the world. This is another important step forward in compatibility and improving our interaction with devices.” – Glen Samala, CEO of SparkFun
The next stage is the release of a revolutionary board for developers in time for Arduino Day celebrations
The second phase, planned for Arduino Day in March 2024, will culminate in the release of an addition to the Nano family of boards based on the SiLabs MGM240SD22VNA. This board is expected to be a game-changer in IoT, offering unparalleled ease of use and new capabilities.
What this means for the Arduino community
The collaboration between Arduino and SiLabs that led to these releases is an important step in making IoT technologies more accessible. Combining the easy-to-use Arduino interface with the powerful capabilities of SiLabs technology and the versatility of the Matter protocol is a great recipe for such innovation.
A look into the future
We are looking forward to these releases and the anticipation among the Arduino community is already palpable. After all, this cooperation concerns not only new products; it’s about empowering a whole generation of developers and breaking barriers and opening new horizons in the world of IoT.
One of the features of Google’s flagship display is that it can extend the effective range of some devices, such as, for example, Nest Detect or Nest Yale smart lock. The fact is that these devices do not connect to the network via Wi-Fi, and they use “bridges,” namely Nest Connect, Nest Guard, or Nest Hub Max.
Google recommends repositioning your connected Nest devices to keep them connected after the update is released if you are using Nest Hub Max as a bridge/repeater. However, Google offers some users a free Nest Connect if it isn’t possible to move devices for their families.
Back in June, Google reported they would drop the range extender feature in future updates to the Nest Hub Max. At the time, Google called it the “Thread-Matter update.” The technical support page notes that the Matter update will have the tag “F7” in the name, and now the current stable update is “F6”. The “F” in the code stands for Fuchsia, the name of the operating system for smart devices.
Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max in the preview program will soon receive F7 updates – 7.20220419.2.166 and 7.20220419.2.164.
Apart from the disappearance of the bridge (or range extender) features, we don’t expect any significant changes with the F7 update for Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max.
Google also said that while the update would add support for Matter devices, it won’t make Matter available on your home network. That will roll out later this year with Matter support on Android devices.
The news reports that some Android users have started receiving system updates, and Matter device controls have appeared in the interface. These controls appeared in the new Matter devices & services item in the Devices & sharing section of the Google account settings and allow you to connect new devices. There is now a toggle to show notifications if there is an available unconnected Matter device nearby. These controls are currently unavailable to the public, but we expect them to become available in the coming weeks.
Today, I want to show you a rather interesting and perspective device from a well-known Chinese brand. Should you buy it today? You can read this article to learn about its pros and cons.
SONOFF MINI Extreme Wi-Fi Smart Switch – or MiniR4M – is almost entirely a carbon copy of the MiniR4. Visually, it’s only distinguishable by the plating color on the contacts. It’s green here.
Disassembling the MiniR4M
The build of both devices is also almost identical, the only difference being the controller microcircuit. The previous device has Esp32-DOWD installed, but this one has Esp32-C3.
View from the relay’s side.
The PCB looks like this. The contacts are well-soldered, and the power tracks have a proficient cross-section. Note that the L In and S1 contacts used to connect the relay are interconnected. So, take safety precautions when connecting the device to a 220v network since the relay will have a high voltage.
How to add the MiniR4M to your smart home with eWeLink
Let’s start with the native app for Sonoff devices since you’ll only be able to upgrade its firmware and unlink the relay from the switch in said app.
In the image below, you can see the pros and cons of using the device with different smart home apps compared to eWeLink.
So, let’s hook the MiniR4M to the wires and connect it to the network. Here are multiple possible ways to connect it.
In my case, I connected the Shelly switch (actually a button) to the S1 and S2 connectors, the cable to L In and N, and the lamp to L Out and N.
After its first boot, after a few seconds, a pop-up to add the device to SmartThings has already appeared on my phone. Since I decided to add it to eWeLink first, I closed this pop-up.
So, after the device turns on, an LED will start blinking with a “2 short, 1 long” pattern, which means the device is in pairing mode. If that doesn’t happen, hold the button on the case for ten seconds. The phone should discover the new device. Also, connect your phone to a 2.4GHz network since the MiniR4M does not support 5GHz. One of the steps is entering the password to your Wi-Fi network. Just follow the steps on the screen.
After you add the device to the app, you can control and set it up. On the main screen, only the on/off setting is visible, but there’s way more in the app. From the settings, I’m highlighting “Switch Mode” – here, you can choose the switch type, which you will connect to the relay. In my case, it’s “Pulse Mode.” If you have a regular switch, select “Edge Mode.” In the settings, you can also disconnect the switch from the relay, change the device’s behavior during power loss, turn off the LED, etc.
This amount of features should be enough for the average user, but since Sonoff positions this device as a Matter device, it should work in multiple smart home apps. By default, just as I thought, MiniR4M is a cloud device. So, let’s try to add this device to other systems using the Matter protocol.
And here is where the fun begins…
Attempts to add the MiniR4M to Home Assistant
To clarify, when writing this review, the device received a 1.0.1 firmware update, and the eWeLink app got a 5.0.1 update. So, while reading this text, all the bugs may have already been fixed.
So, to add a Matter device to a compatible smart home system, you must have a QR code. It’s already there on MiniR4M’s case, and it’s also there on the box the device came in. But hypothetically, let’s imagine that the box was already thrown away, and the device was installed on a mounting box that’s inaccessible. Here, the stock app comes to our aid, which can generate the QR code required to pair the device to Home Assistant.
For that, in the app (in the device’s plugin), click the “Enable Pairing Mode” button. In response, we get a pop-up with the QR code and, take note, two underscores without numbers. Meanwhile, the device goes into pairing mode, followed by the LED (two short and one long flash).
For convenience, I printed the screenshot with the QR code and will now attempt to use it to add the MiniR4M to Home Assistant. On the phone, in the Home Assistant app, open “Settings” – “Devices & Services,” then click the “+” button below and select the first option – “Add Matter device.” After a few seconds, the camera app will open, and we must scan the QR code. After we do that, we get an error. The device refuses to connect.
But there’s more. After returning to the eWeLink app, the MiniR4M is offline. To work with it, reset the device to factory settings. For that, hold down the button on the case for 10 seconds. But, of course, you need physical access to the device.
Adding the device to Home Assistant while bypassing eWeLink
Since we already know how to add Matter devices, no additional problems should arise. Hold the button and eventually scan the QR code on the case or the box. The QR code that you printed before serves no use anymore. The device should connect without problems in two tries at most.
In Home Assistant’s Matter integration, the device will use a “Switch” entity by default. You can always change it to a different one, for example, Light. The next part is like always – use the device however you want in Home Assistant with nearly instantaneous response time.
Home Assistant’s Matter integration has a setback. We can’t, at least not in the current version of the Matter integration, “share” the device with a different smart home system. But how does Google Home combat this issue?
Adding the MiniR4M to Google Home
Just like before, put the device into pairing mode by holding the button on the case for 10 seconds. Of course, this will reset the device to factory settings. Theoretically, after that, your phone should “discover” the device and show the corresponding pop-up. All you have to do from there is click the “Add” button and scan the QR code.
If that doesn’t happen, open Google Home. In the second tab, click the “Add +” button, then select “New Device” – “Next.” In the window that opens, select “Matter-enabled device.” Scan the QR code and wait. All left to do is select the room and name the device.
From Google Home, you can turn the device on and off.
But the fun part is that from the app, you can generate a working QR or a pairing code to connect with other systems (or to save it for later). Apart from that, you can directly add the device to pre-installed smart home systems without opening the QR code scanner.
Conclusions
In my opinion, the first Matter device from Sonoff came out interesting and perspective. According to the retailer’s vision, there should be “an out-of-the-box cross-platform experience.” But, considering the device is still recent, it doesn’t work as well as the end user would think. Even in eWeLink, the relay can ignore commands for half a minute. Bugs with QR code generation only bring more inconveniences. Hopefully, firmware updates will make the “fever” go away.
Maybe someone is waiting to install a custom firmware, like ESPHome or Tasmota. Sorry to disappoint, but according to the regulations for Matter devices, the bootloader is locked, which means you can’t change the firmware other than through OTA updates.
So, I can’t recommend this device despite considering its low price, at least for now.
