Matter Bridge 2026 — Tell Us What to Improve & What to Prioritize Next

Ideas & Suggestion
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1

Hi Community!

We are reviewing how Matter Bridge support should evolve across eWeLink-supported products, and we would like to hear from people using it in real smart-home setups.

Matter Bridge is currently available on ZBBridge-U, Bridge-M, and iHost/eWeLink CUBE. Depending on the product, it can expose eligible Zigbee devices, eWeLink-linked devices, Home Assistant entities, eWeLink-Remote sub-devices, and BTHome Bluetooth devices to Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and SmartThings. (BTHome device bridging is currently available on ZBBridge-U and Bridge-M only).

Matter bridge 2026
Matter bridge 20261672×941 224 KB

This post summarizes the Matter device types currently covered by the bridge and the areas still being worked on. We are interested in two things:

1. How do the existing mappings perform on your added Matter platforms?
2. Which device types would be most useful to you next?

Your feedback and votes will be considered as we evaluate future updates. It helps us understand priorities and real-world problems, but it does not confirm a feature or release timeline. We’ll also share the poll results and follow up on frequently reported issues.

Current Matter Bridge Coverage

The table below summarizes the device-type mappings covered by this discussion. Availability and exposed controls may vary by bridge product, firmware, source device, and Matter-enabled platform. A supported mapping does not mean that every device or every capability is available in every setup.

:white_check_mark: Supported / :wrench: In progress (already planned; no vote needed)

Matter-supported Device Type Status
Electrical Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Contact Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Occupancy Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Air Quality Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Water Leak Detector :white_check_mark: Supported
Thermostat :white_check_mark: Supported
Electrical Energy Tariff :white_check_mark: Supported
Bridged Node :white_check_mark: Supported
Dimmable Light :white_check_mark: Supported
Color Temperature Light :white_check_mark: Supported
Extended Color Light :white_check_mark: Supported
On/Off Plug-in Unit :white_check_mark: Supported
Generic Switch :white_check_mark: Supported
Light Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Temperature Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Flow Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Humidity Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Smoke CO Alarm :white_check_mark: Supported
Rain Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Window Covering :white_check_mark: Supported
Fan :white_check_mark: Supported
Air Purifier :white_check_mark: Supported
Speaker :white_check_mark: Supported
Room Air Conditioner :white_check_mark: Supported
Camera :white_check_mark: Supported
Soil Sensor :white_check_mark: Supported
Mounted On/Off Control :wrench: In progress
Pressure Sensor :wrench: In progress

What Should We Prioritize Next?

Which of the following Matter device types would make the biggest difference in your setup? Choose one or more, then tell us which device you want to bridge and how you would use it.

The platform column reflects the compatibility information available for this draft. Platform support can change, and a listed platform may not expose every capability of a device type.

:red_apple: Apple Home :house: Google Home :speaking_head: Alexa :star: SmartThings

  • Door Lock :red_apple::house::speaking_head::star:
  • Robotic Vacuum Cleaner :red_apple::house::speaking_head::star:
  • Dimmable Plug-in Unit :red_apple::house::speaking_head::star:
  • Mounted Dimmable Load Control :house::star:
  • Dishwasher :house::speaking_head::star:
  • Basic Video Player :house::star:
  • Pump :star:
  • Water Valve :star:
  • Electrical Meter :house:
  • Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment :star:
  • Water Heater :star:
  • Solar Power :star:
  • Heat Pump :star:
  • Floodlight Camera :star:
  • Video Doorbell :star:
  • Audio Doorbell :star:
  • Intercom :star:
  • Snapshot Camera :star:
  • Chime :house:
  • Doorbell :house:
0 voters

Some Matter device types, such as Water Freeze Detector and Laundry Washer, are not included because we have not yet identified compatible source devices that Matter Bridge could expose as those types.

If the type you need is not listed, please add it in your reply along with a device model or use case.

Something Not Working as Expected?

If a supported device type is missing controls, shows the wrong status, or behaves differently on your Matter platform, tell us what you’re seeing.

Here’s an example of the information that would be helpful:

Device type: Dimmable Plug-in Unit
Matter Platform: Google Home
What happens: It appears as a regular plug by default, and the dimming capability is missing.
What you expected: It should be recognized as a dimmable device by default, without having to manually change the device type.

Which device type should we support next? Cast your vote and let us know what you think below.

4

I have to admit that I find the current direction somewhat surprising.

You are asking which additional Matter device types we would like to see, while for many Home Assistant users the bigger question is whether we need another bridge layer at all.

Many of us already have Home Assistant as the central platform, with Zigbee and Matter devices connected directly to it. In that setup, adding more layers such as Zigbee → eWeLink → Matter → HA does not necessarily add value. It adds complexity and more potential points of failure.

There is also an interesting mismatch in priorities: eWeLink is investing in bridging more and more device types into Matter, while its own Matter portfolio is still relatively small and, as far as I can see, there are currently no Thread devices in the ecosystem.

For me, the priority would be to make Sonoff hardware integrate with Home Assistant directly and reliably, rather than continuously expanding the number of protocols and bridges between ecosystems.

For users who already run Home Assistant, the value is often not in having eWeLink act as a bridge between ecosystems. The value is in having Sonoff hardware work exceptionally well with the ecosystem we have already chosen.

Otherwise, we risk solving the wrong problem: adding more ways for ecosystems to talk to each other, instead of making each device work really well with the ecosystem the user has already chosen.

5

Well, I think their focus is precisely on their own platforms—CubeOS and eWeLink. I do think Sonoff hardware works well with Home Assistant and the like; however, I’m not a Home Assistant user myself, and I gathered that this topic and these questions are aimed more at users who aren’t heavily using Home Assistant—especially since it isn’t mentioned in the text. Regarding Thread devices—I don’t know if you’ve seen the news on social media or YouTube, but various Zigbee/Thread sensors are coming out, similar to what Aqara is doing, allowing users to choose which protocol to use. Also, every Sonoff Zigbee product is usually launched with Z2M support right out of the gate. I just think you’re using the wrong thread to air a complaint.

6

I wouldn’t take that as absolute truth. For one thing, I don’t think there are more users on Home Assistant than on Alexa or SmartThings. I do suspect Google Home might have more, though.

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Why do you think so? The point is that eWeLink is explicitly asking for feedback on how Matter Bridge should evolve. So I think it is perfectly relevant to say that, from an existing HA user’s perspective, adding more bridge mappings may be much less valuable than improving direct integration and reducing unnecessary abstraction layers.

I agree that Sonoff naturally focuses on its own ecosystem, and I’m not suggesting that Matter Bridge has no value for eWeLink/CubeOS users. My point is simply that there is a significant difference between bridging ecosystems and integrating hardware directly with the ecosystem the user has already chosen. Isn’t it?

I also wouldn’t try to argue about whether HA has more users than Alexa, SmartThings or Google Home. I don’t think we have reliable numbers for that, and it’s not really the point. I would also be careful about comparing HA, eWeLink, Alexa and Google Home purely by user numbers. They serve quite different roles and are not really equivalent platforms.

And regarding Thread, I’m aware of the trend towards dual Zigbee/Thread devices. My observation was simply that it is interesting to see significant effort going into bridging other ecosystems into Matter, while Sonoff’s own Matter/Thread offering is still relatively limited.

I’m not saying Matter Bridge should be abandoned. I’m saying that the priorities may look very different depending on whether eWeLink is your primary ecosystem or Home Assistant is.

8

I’d say that applies to all manufacturers; the vast majority don’t have an extensive Thread portfolio. Besides, if you look at Sonoff’s history, they’ve never really had a huge product lineup to begin with. Again, I think you might be raising this complaint in the wrong place. Just because they’re asking what users want regarding this specific thing, it doesn’t mean they aren’t putting effort into other areas. Home Assistant users typically have a massive range of hardware options—and can even build their own devices. As you noted, for an HA user, adding one more element is easy to handle—you can simply ignore it. Ultimately, this doesn’t really impact HA users, so this particular inquiry isn’t really aimed at you, or rather, you aren’t the target audience for it.

9

I would say their primary ecosystem is eWeLink. However, they don’t close the door to other ecosystems; HA, SmartThings, Alexa, Google Home, and Homey are other ecosystems where Sonoff devices typically work well.

10

Again, I’m not raising a complaint in this thread, nor am I asking Sonoff to fix an unrelated issue. The topic explicitly asks users how Matter Bridge should evolve [ Matter Bridge 2026 — Tell Us What to Improve & What to Prioritize Next] and which directions would be most useful in real-world setups. I’m simply explaining why, from my perspective as a Home Assistant user, adding more bridge mappings is less valuable than improving direct integration with Home Assistant.

That is exactly the kind of feedback the topic is asking for. I’m not saying Matter Bridge is useless or that Sonoff should stop developing it. I’m pointing out that different users have different priorities depending on which platform they use as their primary ecosystem. So I believe this is actually the right place to express that perspective.

11

Yes, I know eWeLink is Sonoff’s primary ecosystem. That was never my point. Therefore I’m not sure why you keep trying to turn this into an argument about Sonoff’s primary ecosystem.

12

It’s just that, at the end of his message, he asks what next piece of equipment users want. He didn’t ask for a perspective on the user environment—like how a user actually employs this or that—but rather asked which piece of equipment is desired and provided a list. It really does come across as a complaint; I apologize if I upset you or anything like that—that wasn’t my intention. It’s just that, after reading the whole thread and your post, it seemed like a complaint rather than an answer regarding what equipment the user would like to see next.

13

You seem oddly more concerned about how it will interpreted than eWeLink themselves. I’m sure they are perfectly capable of making that judgment themselves.

14

Personally, I use the Matter Bridge and have found it very effective for bridging devices into HomeKit, Alexa and SmartThings. It has always worked well for me, but any improvement would be welcome—locks in particular would be a favourite, and so I’ve voted.

…but not everybody does, so for many of us, this remains an important area for further development.

Having said that, I also have to say that direct Matter pairing really does need improving, both for HA users and for anybody else, for example using platforms such as Node-Red, as I do.

I don’t quite understand the comments about Thread, as a Thread radio is not available on my iHost, at least. I commission devices using my SmartThings or Apple TBR and then share them with the iHost. The problem is that this isn’t currently functioning well (I have a Support ticket open), because Matter pairing itself is not working reliably.

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I don’t think anyone is arguing that Matter Bridge is useless for HomeKit, Alexa or SmartThings users. If it works well for you, great - that’s exactly why eWeLink is asking for feedback.

My point is simply that not everyone needs another bridge layer. I explained what would actually be useful to me as an HA user. That’s called feedback, not a demand to build the product around my setup.

16

I would rather we had the ability to configure the device before it was presented to homekit, so we can have more control over virtual buttons etc, some things present as only temp sensors and cannot be added to home screen, some things I’d like to tie together like the temp sensor for my hot water I would like to combine with my switch to tell the boiler to heat the water, simple things but have a huge impact.

17

That sounds less like a Matter Bridge problem and more like automation and presentation logic that belongs in the platform consuming the Matter devices. The bridge should expose the capabilities correctly; what we do with them afterwards is a different layer.

18

Hi @KwayLi99 . I agree too with @jam3’s comment.

For me, the future is Home Assistant, not because everyone should use it, but because it solves one of the biggest problems in the smart-home world: fragmentation.

Over the years, many of us have accumulated devices from different manufacturers and ecosystems. In my case, I have devices from more than 10 different ecosystems. I am not going to throw away perfectly good hardware just to standardize on one brand, especially when there is still no single manufacturer today that offers every type of device I need, with the right combination of features, quality, and price.

That is exactly where Home Assistant becomes so valuable.

Instead of managing 10 different apps, platforms, clouds and hubs, I can bring everything together under one system and one interface.

It also means fewer hubs running 24/7, lower power consumption, less clutter, less wireless interference, and a much simpler overall setup.

But the biggest advantage is flexibility.

Home Assistant supports an enormous range of devices, manufacturers, protocols and integrations. It allows completely different ecosystems to work together instead of forcing users into one vendor’s walled garden.

And if something is not supported yet, the community is so large and active that there is a good chance someone will eventually build an integration for it.

I could probably fill 10 forum pages listing the advantages of Home Assistant, but the main point is simple:

For users who already use Home Assistant as the central platform, adding yet another bridge layer is not necessarily the most useful direction.

What would provide much more value, in my opinion, is making direct Matter support as complete, reliable and standards-compliant as possible, with proper exposure of all device capabilities.

Matter itself is supposed to make different ecosystems work together. The goal should therefore be fewer unnecessary layers, less vendor lock-in and better interoperability.

And this is also why I think iHost Gen2 could be one of the most important products SONOFF develops next.

The original iHost already showed the potential of this idea. SONOFF eventually made it possible to run full Home Assistant OS directly on the iHost and even use its onboard Zigbee radio with Home Assistant.

Unfortunately, the current iHost is based on a 32-bit platform, and Home Assistant has now moved away from 32-bit support. So while the original iHost is still useful as a CUBE hub, it has effectively reached a hardware limitation for people who want to run current and future versions of Home Assistant directly on it.

That is why iHost Gen2 is so interesting.

eWeLink has already confirmed that the second-generation iHost is being designed around a 64-bit SoC, with more storage and modern hardware specifically intended to improve compatibility with Home Assistant and modern HA add-ons.

If SONOFF gets iHost Gen2 right, I think it could become the all-in-one device many of us have been waiting for:

One small, low-power box running Home Assistant, with Zigbee, Matter, Thread, local automations and deep SONOFF/eWeLink integration all in the same device.

Instead of needing an iHost, a separate Home Assistant server, several proprietary hubs and multiple bridges running at the same time, one device could potentially replace most of them.

For me, that would be a much more exciting direction for iHost.

Don’t just make iHost Gen2 another bridge between ecosystems.

Make it the device that brings all ecosystems together.

19

iHost was originally conceived as a local replacement/extension for the eWeLink cloud, with the Matter Bridge providing a way to expose supported Sonoff/eWeLink wifi and Zigbee devices to other Matter-enabled platforms.

So, with respect, I think the feedback to @KwayLi99 request should address the Matter Bridge, since that is the functionality being discussed here.
The future direction of iHost Gen2 is possibly a separate discussion/thread.

20

Personally, I’d prefer iHost to support more Matter devices as a Matter Hub, but nothing is likely to change in this regard. :thinking:
Many users need an expanded Matter bridge that keeps up with the evolution of the Matter standard. The iHost Matter bridge should quickly move towards the Matter 1.6 SDK. I can’t wait for the cameras exposed via the iHost Matter bridge to support two-way audio and PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) controls. :grinning_face:

The core problem with iHost is its lack of support for new SONOFF Zigbee or eWeLink-connected devices, leaving users waiting months for updates.