A practical guide to Matter-enabled smart locks

Matter is a new protocol (language) that allows multiple iOT smart home devices — regardless of brand — like lights, plugs, thermostats, and locks to connect to each other and be controlled by multiple smart home platforms simultaneously and seamlessly together. Matter was developed as open source in partnership with Apple, Google, Alexa, Samsung, among others. Learn more about what Matter is.

Thread, a low-power wireless mesh network (communication) is one of three ways your smart home’s Matter devices communicate the Matter protocol (language). The other two being Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, but Thread’s key benefits are that:

• It allows the same battery operated devices like locks and sensors to work seamlessly with other Ethernet and Wi-Fi Matter connected devices - regardless of brand - locally.

• It’s lightning fast from an in app tap to having the end device respond, and being a mesh network means that you are no longer limited to the range of your smart home hub.

• It creates a local mesh network from connected devices — regardless of brand — throughout your home allowing the devices themselves to in effect extend the range of your network, making range anxiety a thing of the past.

This means that in order to pair your smart device (accessory) with Matter, your smart home ecosystem platform (Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings) will need to have both a Matter hub controller (language) and a Thread Border Router (communication) functionality. A growing number of devices purchased today can do both out of the box, and some may require a firmware update, so check with your preferred smart home platform to learn more.

The Matter protocol is a very young technology that is growing and has a great deal of promise. However, it’s early days, so there are bound to be bumps along the way and will require some patience. So, if you love the risk-reward of being on the forefront of technology - taking the good and the bad - and you want to control a number of devices from multiple brands on multiple smart home platforms at a time then you might want to consider taking the plunge.

Beyond the required smart home hub controller, the answer is generally no. It's best to check with your device manufacturer for specific hub or hardware requirements.

Very secure! Matter prioritizes user data privacy, utilizing strong encryption protocols to keep your information safe. Matter-enabled locks meet high standards for data security, so you can feel confident using them in your home.

Matter was optimized for efficient performance, meaning it shouldn’t drain your lock’s battery faster than other smart locks. In fact, Matter’s reliability can even help reduce battery use by avoiding constant re-pairing issues.