Ikea’s smart home system is on the verge of a major upgrade. Since early July, the Swedish company has been rolling out a free software update for its Dirigera hub. The version 2.805.6 transforms Ikea’s hub into a Matter Controller. At the same time, it enables the Thread Border Router functionality – something that’s always been built into the hub’s radio chip but had remained dormant until now. Although the controller function is still in beta, initial tests have already shown promising results.
From Matter Bridge to Full Matter Controller
Up until now, the Dirigera hub functioned solely as a Matter Bridge: it made Ikea devices that use Zigbee available to Matter ecosystems like Apple Home or Google Home. After the software update, Dirigera can now also onboard, manage, and automate Matter devices from other manufacturers – entirely through the Ikea Home Smart app (starting with version 1.51.0 for iOS and 1.47.0 for Android).
Because the feature is still in beta, it must be manually enabled after the update. You’ll find the toggle in the Ikea app under Settings. Once the option “Connect Matter Devices” is turned on, a new “Scan QR Code” prompt will appear when adding devices. In my tests, I was able to add a range of Matter products and bridges without issues.
An Eve Energy smart plug, for instance, successfully transmitted energy data to the Ikea app, as defined in the Matter 1.3 standard. However, the real-time consumption display was missing, only cumulative data was shown. This is likely a side effect of the software’s beta status, where such bugs aren’t uncommon.
Thread Border Router Now Active
In addition, the new firmware activates Thread radio. Users can now use the hub as a Border Router, eliminating the need for a separate device to connect Thread-enabled products. This is a logical step. Without this feature, only Matter-over-Wi-Fi devices or LAN-connected bridges would be compatible.
Good news for Apple users who already have a smart home setup with Apple’s Border Routers: When set up via the iOS version of the Ikea Home Smart app (tested with iOS 18.5), the app will automatically use the existing Thread network. The Dirigera hub receives its so-called Thread credentials via Apple’s Keychain and joins the current Thread mesh – without creating a parallel network. You can even see this in platforms like Home Assistant, where the hub simply appears as another “Open Thread Border Router” (see image above).
Matter Gets (More) Pluralistic
While this development is still in its early stages, the major smart home platforms are beginning to face more competition. Apple, Google, SmartThings & Co. still dominate the development and distribution of Matter – they were and still are key architects of the standard. But increasingly, companies like Aqara, Homey, and now Ikea are introducing their own Matter Controllers with built-in Thread support. That makes them (and their users) less dependent on the big US tech players.
That’s a positive shift, and one that has been built into the Matter standard from the start. Those who prefer to keep certain companies out of their digital homes – whether for privacy reasons or mistrust of forced cloud dependencies– are gaining more and more alternatives. Smart home adoption is becoming more decentralized, more diverse, and potentially more private.
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