To start with: “Matter over Bridge” is not an official term. The phrase isn’t used in the Matter smart home standard itself. Instead, it originated in the marketing departments of various manufacturers who use it to label certain types of devices. Specifically, it refers to products that aren’t Matter-certified on their own but can still connect to Matter platforms like Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, or SmartThings via a certified bridge.
The Bridge in the Matter Standard
A so-called Matter Bridge is designed for exactly this scenario: it connects uncertified sensors, actuators, or other devices to the new Matter world. The creators of the standard wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible for users who had already invested heavily in smart home tech. Their idea: instead of starting from scratch, people should be able to keep their existing setup and integrate it through a bridge.
Popular implementations include Philips Hue, IKEA, or SwitchBot. By turning their Hue Bridge, Dirigera Gateway, or SwitchBot Hub into Matter Bridges, manufacturers make their legacy devices compatible with Matter ecosystems. What the inventors probably didn’t have in mind was that some providers would start advertising classic sensors, actuators and other end devices as Matter-capable, despite the fact that they don’t even have the technical requirements – only the manufacturer’s bridge makes them compliant.
No Official Term for Products that Use a Bridge
Search for “Matter sensor” on Amazon.com, and you’ll find all kinds of results: some are “Matter-over-Thread” sensors that are actually certified. Others are Zigbee models that require a bridge and are sold together with it as “Matter-enabled”. And still others only have the option, which is why the term Matter appears somewhere in the product description – making it all confusing for consumers.
Manufacturers are creatively investigating how to advertise such devices without having to do without the promotionally effective term Matter. Aqara, for example, has experimented with various formulations in recent months – from “Matter over Zigbee Bridge” to “Zigbee Integration with Matter over Bridge Support” and “Zigbee with Matter over Bridge Support”.
SwitchBot indicates on its Bluetooth products that a hub from the manufacturer is required as a bridge (“SwitchBot Hub required”), but risks misunderstandings with the Matter logo shown. Things get even trickier with Flic buttons: they also need a hub to work with Matter, but that hub doesn’t act as a Matter Bridge – it acts as a Matter Controller, requiring users to understand even more about the standard before buying.
Only Native Matter Products Carry a Logo
The way Matter logos are currently used in online stores and on product websites often causes more confusion than clarity. According to the official guidelines, only devices that natively support and are certified for Matter should display the logo on their packaging. These devices must use one of three communication technologies: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Thread. Dual-radio products that can switch between Zigbee and Thread may also qualify if they support Thread in Matter mode.
However, people who buy online usually don’t see any packaging. They rely on product images and descriptions on the internet. That’s where the problem starts – because it is often unclear what this information refers to. Is it a native Matter product or a bridge solution? The Thread Group, which oversees the wireless protocol used in Matter, has addressed a similar situation with special labelling: For Thread products, there is a badge with the addition “Requires Border Router”. It helps customers understand what extra hardware they need.
A similar label might also be helpful for products that connect to Matter platforms via a manufacturer-specific bridge. Possible tagline: “Requires System Bridge.” This would allow manufacturers to promote their own devices – but only if they also offer a Matter-certified bridge for them. Limiting the label to specific stems would prevent just any Zigbee, Z-Wave, or Bluetooth sensor on the market from being labeled with the Matter logo simply because a compatible bridge exists somewhere. Overusing the term in that way would only increase confusion and ultimately devalue the logo itself.
An opposite – and much more radical – approach would also be conceivable: only Matter-certified products would be allowed to be marketed online as compatible with the standard. Whether that could actually be enforced or monitored in practice, however, is another matter entirely.
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