Ikea's highly anticipated, budget-friendly smart home gadgets are facing a major hurdle: they're proving incredibly difficult to connect! For weeks, I've been wrestling with Ikea's new Matter-over-Thread devices, a lineup that includes programmable buttons, smart bulbs, plugs, and sensors, all promised to work seamlessly with any smart home platform and starting at an attractive price of just $6. But the reality has been a frustrating series of connection failures.
And this is the part most people miss: I'm not the only one struggling. A quick look at the Ikea Tradfri subreddit reveals a sea of customers sharing similar tales of woe. Even reviews on Ikea's own website and reports from my colleagues at The Verge echo these connectivity woes.
Out of the six devices I've tested, only a single Kajplats smart lightbulb managed to connect to Apple Home after a whopping seven attempts. Another device, the Alpstuga IAQ monitor, finally connected to Home Assistant after failing to pair with Apple Home altogether.
Then there's the Bilresa smart button. It initially connected to Amazon Alexa, only to mysteriously drop off the network and refuse to re-pair. The Timmerflotte temperature sensor and Myggspray motion sensor? They simply wouldn't connect to anything, not even Ikea's own Dirigera hub. As David Granath, Ikea's range manager for smart home, stated, “We are aware that some customers are experiencing connection issues when setting up their devices in certain home environments, and we take that very seriously.”
While some users have reported a smooth setup, the sheer volume of posts about connection problems and the need for multiple resets suggests this isn't just an isolated incident. One Reddit user shared a particularly startling experience: out of 60 Ikea Bilresa buttons they attempted to pair, only 31 successfully connected, a success rate of just 52 percent!
But here's where it gets controversial: It's not just initial setup that's the problem. A growing number of users are reporting that their devices are disconnecting after they've finally managed to get them working. This has been observed with the Bilresa smart button on Amazon Alexa and the Kajplats light bulbs on the Ikea Tradfri subreddit.
These new devices mark Ikea's shift from Zigbee to Matter-over-Thread. The promise of Matter is universal compatibility, meaning devices should work with Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung SmartThings without needing proprietary hubs or cloud connections. The multi-admin feature even allows connection to multiple platforms simultaneously. Personally, I'd be thrilled just to connect to one!
Ikea has acknowledged these issues. David Granath, range manager for smart home at Ikea, mentioned, “The launch of our Matter range has been highly anticipated, and for most customers the products work seamlessly, as intended. That said, we are aware that some customers are experiencing connection issues when setting up their devices in certain home environments, and we take that very seriously.” He added that a dedicated team is working with partners and the Connectivity Standards Alliance to resolve these problems.
It's common for new technology to have teething problems, and the vast array of home network setups can certainly make testing challenging. However, the widespread nature of these connection failures suggests a more significant issue than just individual network complexities. It could stem from Ikea's implementation of the Matter standard, compatibility problems with specific platforms, or even an underlying issue within the Matter specification itself.
What do you think? Is this a sign that Matter technology is still too immature for mass adoption, or is Ikea simply struggling with the rollout? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below – we'd love to hear your perspective!
