I’m just getting started and to say I feel overwhelmed is an understatement. That is until I watched your video….thank you so much for explaining this all. I now have a better understanding of the basics at least!

Thank you for a short, sweet and useful rundown on the Smarthome wireless systems. 🙏

two days since i discovered your channel and i've learned so much!!! Keep-up, awesome work and dedication!!!! cheers from Brazil

I was about to buy four Tapo P110 plugs today (since I couldn't find the old ones on line). Thanks for saving me! I didn't realise they needed internet to work.

What an amazing video to explain the different technologies, I don't share UKposts videos very often but will be with this one! Thanks for the great video

Very interesting vid. Looking forward to hearing your take on light switches. One thing that personally bothers me a great deal is consistency. The nice thing about dumb ugly plastic switches in a typical house is they at least all look the same, ignoring dimmer knobs. Another problem is choosing your perfect switch today and then not being able to find the same ones in a few years when you build that extension. So definitely make sure you buy a load of spares!

Best video on IoT protocols I've ever seen. Thanks and greetings from Czechia.

Nice clear, concise explanation of the home automation protocols. Well done.

Great info. Totally agree with your take on Thread/Matter.

Good job on explaining the standards, especially zigbee and thread in relation to matter.

Great video, most of my devices are zigbee as well. Might be worth pointing out to people that zigbee battery operated devices don't act as zigbee repeaters as this would seriously degrade their batteries. I do also use z-wave devices for my wall switches, mainly as most wifi based ones require you to sign up for the manufacture's app and a lot of them then use the internet to turn them on and off as you described in your video. I really like the zooz zen32 z-wave scene controller, but 2 blueprints have made it very nice indeed now. The lights sync as they should now no matter how something is turned on. I have it installed at my front door showing status of alarm system and my smart locks.

Great overview and explanation. Thank you!

great video as always! can't wait to watch more then

Brilliant video, clear, well delivered has helped me understand what is a bit of a minefield to the novice, thanks

Wow thanks for the explanation… you sure is a champ

Awesome video - so much explained to clearly! I'm just learning to crawl and this really helped!

Great video. Thanks!

Once again, very clear explanations. Thansss.

Excellent over view of all the different systems. I got the impression that assuming you have a robust internet, wifi, zigbee mesh and control system you can mix and match home automated products. My inherited system is Control4 which is great for my video and audio distribution, + Zigbee light switches but mods to the system can be expensive (£375/day for a programmer). My Zigbee mesh is via light switches which are £175 per switch, which is extortionate. My question can I piggy back on my control4 Zigbee mesh using cheaper zigbee light switches? My zigbee lights are rock solid and I can self programme using the customer/control4 for simple controls. But do the zigbee components have to be compatible with control4? I have experimented with Shelly products for garden lighting which is outside of my zigbee mesh range but I have an AP point in the garden and Shelly light switches can be added to my Lan. This helps putting on the lights at the bottom of the garden via the Shelly app on the iPad and reduces the component cost vs control4 , Control Integration within Control4 is possible providing in add a Shelly driver into my control4 project via the control4 professional. But again it’s expensive.(driver £70+370 for programmer) Is it possible to run two home automation and control4 system simultaneously without conflict . Control4 using fixed ip addresses, and zigbee for lighting and home automation using its own protocol and the cost benefit of cheaper zigbee components. Thanks in advance. Ed R

It might be worth noting that Zigbee is a radio mesh protocol that has nothing to do specifically with smart home or lights (even if it is synonymous with it today) just like thread thread uses ipv6 as its transport and zigbee has its own node and cluster design baked in. The standards that lights commonly use over Zigbee for control are called ZLL (Zigbee Light Link) and for sensors and other devices for home automation it uses ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation) it is in these standards that different manufacturers don't always implement it the same way. Most devices today will adhere to the Zigbee 3.0 spec but all that means is that they can join the radio mesh. It would be cool if Unifi APs could have a Thread radio and act as a border router and be manages like any other network in their system.

Great summary video on the network options. I was not aware that thread allowed you to have a "back-up" controller. I've recently purchased the HA skyconnect as well for my zigbee network. However, this "hub" is tightly coupled with the HA server itself so I'm wondering if it is possible to have a back-up (i.e. two of them running together with one as master)?

Every time these comparison video's pop up I always wonder why the (granted niche) protocol of 433mhz is missing. Very nice and clear video overall though.

Great videos, very clear! Any advice for a good zigbee hub, considering hubitat is useless for power strips?

Great video! Wondering if you could make a video explaining your wifi APs ubications and how did you handle blind or dead spots when switching between APs. Thanks! Pd: when I started with HA, I struggle with the type of installation. I choose to follow your aproach with docker, but then you did proxmox hahah.. So I just go with it (ha os in proxmox). Hope you could migrate succesfully all your devices to this new infra. Glad if you could do a video with a follow up on it! Greetings from Chile

What zigbee light switch are you using ? And also, where do you tend to get them from ? I see some on Amazon, but the prices are quite expensive. Keep up the great work alway happy when you upload new videos

Really looking forward to your Smart Switch video. I’m running HomeSeer as my controller as I prefer it over HA, but have the same dilemma as you over what smart switches to use. Currently have a mixture of Z-Wave, WiFi, ZigBee and RFXTRX devices, but I would like to reduce the complexity whilst improving the mesh. I’m currently testing out Moes and Aqara light switches. The Aqara stuff is top quality. Moes is a bit plasticky. Really interested to see what you make of them all!

Great video as usual :) if i understand well philips hue bridge will be compatible Matter sooner or later therefore what would be the need to have a HA skyconnect dongle as anyway there is already an add-on in HA for philips..? thx for your answer :)

Hi, any info/video about multiple hue bridges with one amazon account ?

Could you please test IKEA Diregera gateway. Its MATER compatible and im wondering if i could connect my old zigbee devices to it and if they will be visible in homekit

Great video!

Fantastic overview. I've installed both Z-wave and Zigbee dongles on my HA device so that I can opt for the best product for my use case regardless of which protocol it supports. Keeping the same protocol would result in a stronger network with enough devices installed but I really don't expect to install enough devices to make a huge difference. It sounds like Zigbeen/Matter are the future though, I'll certainly be prioritizing them from now on, thanks.

0:32 A light strip under the bed that turns in when your feet hit the floor? Awesome!

im using mostly Zigbee and wont buy anything other if i dont have to... The only exception are D1 Minis which i use for WLED stuff. Got some Aqara motion and light sensors, which after 2 years are still on their first battery, which is crazy efficient. Anything connected to mains acts as a mesh repeater, and the signal just gets anywhere without even planning this out. The coordinator is just a USB Stick on the Pi which runs HomeAssistant. And with that, automations are only limited by your creativity ^^

Very, very nice job on this one. Exactly my thoughts on the “matter” 😂! If I may ask about your experience with the sky connect. I tried to replace my conbee2 with the sky connect. But there was one device: the Lutron aurora, that didn’t like the change. I could see the turn event but the press event didn’t work. I had to go back to the conbee. Any thoughts?

Great, concise explanation! Keen to adopt Thread, but one year on, the wall switch market is still sparse and expensive! Looking for multi-gang smart switches that offer dimming functionality and support Thread seems impossible.

Wow, this was interesting. I never knew about the Chinese sparrow.

I'm going to do a total reno of the house, would you cable it to use KNX with HA for what I can use it ?

@ 3:39 , voice drop caught me off guard! LOL

Very good. I have Wifi Tuya down lights they don't work well with Home Assistant themes so wish I bought Zigbee.

I have a strange vertically built two stories home. At the moment I have a zigbee Philips hue hub. I plan to remove it once the ZHA dongle arrives. However I am concerned about reach? I wonder if I will have reach issues.

I am a totally newbie to HA. I just ordered my first SONOFF motion sensors and USB Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle. Question I have which I am having problems understanding is can I install Home Assistant on an older laptop/desktop (i3 with 8g). Does HA come as an ISO I can then install on a dedicated computer for HA? Thats my biggest obstacle so far. Love this channel learning lots. ----Just had my question answered on your previous video. Love it thanks!

Any recommendations for Zigbee motor controller similar to Shelly 2.5?

if my accessory don't build in home but my my hub connect to HomeKit, can i use those accessory in apple HomeKit app and Siri?

re: Bluetooth. I found a nice use case for it in my house...use the little Xiaomi Thermometer LYWSD03MMC flashed and places around the house. I have a small enough house this works well for me and love having a display were I can immediately tell temp and humidity.

so, good video, thanks. For z-wave, if the company discontinues their app then you get no hub access and therefore no access to the devices. D-link not long ago discontinued their support, and not nothing works until I make the effort to find a hub that they will connect to. Any ideas?

I’m at the point where I really need a reset, moving would be one way to make that happen lol. As I’ve learned from you and others my system has gotten more and more complicated, but I’m using Node-RED, as well as Home Assistant automations, but at this point I don’t see much of a reason to keep Node-RED, HA can pretty much do it all. If the raspberry pi’s weren’t so expensive, I’d build a parallel system then swap over.

You explained Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Thread. How does MQTT fit in? Isn't that a protocol for IoT networks? Therefore I don't understand "Zigbee2MQTT".

I hope Thread will succeed like USB did: Initial growing pains, but eventually worked as designed

Do you also have issues finding reviews on ZigBee bulbs that works on 240v? I've been using aqara tunable white but they aren't the brightest and has no power on behavior. Most of the reviews on UKposts are American brands so idk if I can use those.

Do you have a video covering your home network including router that you use?

Which make/model contact sensors can interact with IKEA DIRIGERA?

Planning for a ZigBee - HomeAssistant setup for my new home! Wanted to get a ZigBee dongle, would you recommend the SkyConnect? Wondering how it compares to ConBee or Sonoff!

Z-Wave has recently gone Open Source, so that every manufacturer can freely produce products without certification. Also, there are some companies working on the interoperability between matter and z-wave. This could lead to cheaper and more variety of sensors and devices with zwave

If you are starting out with your home automation probably best to make sure that your devices will be thread/matter compliant and the vendor like aqara promises to enable your devices.

which zigbee plugs with power monitoring do U recommend ?

I've very good learned that, but I do need a practices experiences. How could you present us One ?

@Home Automation Guy. May I know what is your take on LoRa technology given that it has the longets range of all with half an kilometer and yolink seems to have good products with Lora. And it comes out of the box homes assistant enabled as well. Please do a video on LoRa there seems to be limited videos on it. I can personally vouch for yolink products after using for a year

my zigbee the device connect in one zigbee gateway so, i cant adding by device one by one to HA my local tuya. please help

ZWave is my preference due to not using 2.4Ghz. 2.4 is just too congested there is a good chance of you have network issues it has nothing to do with your network, it could just be a leaky microwave. That is why in my new house I'll be using Lutron for switches and ZWave whenever possible. The only thing they have to compete with is baby monitors. The only downside of ZWave compared to ZigBee is the size of the network. ZWave only allows about 300 devices compared to ZigBee's thousands.

hello I have an two assistant in two places how to open them without entering the password and User?

I have a question, Can you use Bixby Or Google Assistant or Alexa or Siri, to control these devices connected to home assistant? Can you turn on/off these device to check if everything is off when outside of home? I remember you saying that these devices will be offline and not be able to talk to internet.

I find some Zigbee products too Frustrating - The Mesh doesn't work for some products and works great for others - I have INNR Hub and sometimes i can add their bulbs / plugs and other times i can not - With my Aqara M2 Hub i have no issues adding their products but they do not sell Plugs / Bulbs in the UK so thought i would try INNR - Most of my plugs / Bulbs are TP Link Wi Fi which i was hoping to replace to local by going the ZigBee route - Perhaps i am just unlucky re my INNR hub and should have gone with a different company

I've been in the computer networking industry since 1983. This video (and similar ones) remind me of the state of the industry before TCP/IP. Before widespread adoption of TCP/IP as the lingua franca of networking, IBM, DEC, HP had their own proprietary networks and each touted why it was better than the others and why you should standardize on them. But these vendors also started using TCP/IP and in the 90s, particularly as the Internet started to grow, proprietary protocols began to fade because of both vendor adoption and customer adoption. A vast network that supported a vast number of devices from many vendors was just superior to the alternative. You were somewhat dismissive of Thread and Matter, but it feels like the TCP/IP story again to me. Soon vendors will realize that it's better to support an industry-support networking protocol and operating stack and discussion of Zigbee will be as quaint as discussing IBM's SNA. My home network supports Wi-Fi, a little Zigbee, a lot of Lutron, and some Thread. My experience with Zigbee probably isn't great because as you say, it isn't super-standard. I have 4 mesh Wi-Fi radios in my house, so signal strength and capacity isn't an issue. I think a far more important decision today is what kind of automation framework to use. I use HomeKit because I've been an iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV user since the beginning and it's easy (for me) to implement and use. I don't care for Amazon or Google to be listening into my home automation. I've wanted to try Home Assistant, but honestly I don't want to spend all the time learning the ins and outs and reading discussion groups. Also, my automation needs are pretty simple. I think home automation is a really fun topic and there is so much that can be done with it. For the average person, discussions of protocols and megahertz and hubs go way over their heads. And why not? I think that's what will be the reason Thread and Matter will become the TCP/IP of home automation. It will eventually remove the need for wonky discussions and head scratching. You'll pick a device based on functionality, quality, and price and you won't care Z-this or Wi-Fi that.

Are you completely on ZHA or Z2M with the SkyConnect?

Very interesting and informative. BUT ... for me X-10 is the way to go and has been since the 70's. Still works solid and reliably. Just not "smart" enough for some people, I guess.

I’m still gonna wait for Thread since it’ll be a option. That way I don’t have to learn ZHA to have a single Zigbee network. I have no issues with hue zigbee. Since I’m moving. I’ll buy more than 20 motion sensors, wall switches etc. I’ll wait thread. I’ll invest a lot every outlet and switches will be smart. I know the best devices it’s the one you can buy today. But I feel we’re a year or two away.

I'm hoping to move away from WiFi and toward Thread (when devices become more widely available and affordable: so count me out too as far as "Eve" is concerned) and I already use a lot of Zigbee devices (switches, sensors, plugs, bulbs) that work with both Smarthings and Hubitat (and/or with Aqara hubs): I use all three. Since things seem a bit chaotic in the world of Matter-over-WiFi these days, it makes even more sense to avoid new WiFi devices and instead to focus on building up my Matter-readiness this year (especially by adding mesh WiFi access points that also support Zigbee and will act as Thread border routers). If I do pick up any devices this year that aren't Thread-based (I'm definitely in the market for a few new smart dimmer switches), they'll definitely be Zigbee ones, however. I may also try out IKEA's new "Dirigera" hub - especially if it looks likely to work as a proper Thread border router and offer redundancy as an extra Matter controller.

>00:09 best dang smart home there ever was dont wanna be too mean, but when I see people use non-modular patchpanels, I think they are from the past or huge amateurs... but hey, me being mean is good for youtube alghorythm engagement and thnx for the informative video..

Can you control Zigbee devices remotely? Say from another city/state or even country?

I have the HUE motion sensor. I used the included AAA batteries in fo 1 month. Then i switches them out to rechargeble AAA batteries. Mutch better for the wallet. But they wont last that long as a non rechargeble batteries. I will Try to use as many rechargeble batteries as possible.

ZigBee's crypto is a bit basic and doesn't account for active attacks that much... Looking forward to matter over thread!

One other disadvantage of Z-Wave depending on where you live. Not all countries accept the same frequencies so unlike the 2.4ghz of zigbee, Z-Wave have different frequency standards depending on where you live. If you’re in the USA, having a large population, you’ll have a reasonable device selection. If you live in a country with an accepted frequency of lower population bases, you’ve got a poor device selection.

Uuuuuuffffffffffff.... Zigbee it is then... let's rock!!!

Use 5GHz WiFi, shouldn't be interfering with ZigBee, right?

What is your take on wired vs wireless automation?

WiFi: even though everyone has WiFi already, to make it secure via a private vlan or something similar is not usually a capability of typical existing routers, and it's much harder to set up

Are these terms comparing apples and oranges? Bluetooth and WiFi (along with Ethernet) were standards defined by IEEE in 1980. MQTT was invented in 1999 for sensor sub/pub networks, now needed for home automation. Isn't it just a different layer? The sub/pub idea is used in UKposts where we subscribe to a channel. Bluetooth is peer to peer, not MQTT. I imagine MQTT could operate on a cable network with no wireless technology. Aren't Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Thread versions of MQTT? Mosquitto is another version. What does “Zigbee2MQTT" mean, as if Zigbee is not MQTT? Need clarifications from the Home Automation Guy.

I assume you are American. Are you aware that in the UK a 'router' is a milling device, whilst a 'roo-tah' is the digital gadgets I think you are speaking about?

So you explained why wifi devices having internet access is bad but then said you would switch to Thread in the future. I don't understand that. Why would you let devices from random companies connect to your home network when Zigbee already solved this issue? The only way Thread becomes viable is if they change it to also fully separate from your network. But then it's still pretty much just a Zigbee reskin.

Thread feels much less "searchable" as it is just thread, now a new word like "Zigbee"...

What about LoRa protocol?

No mention of KNX? The only global smarthome standard with guaranteed compatibility between 8000 devices from 500 vendors, used not only in residential buildings but in hotels, skyscrapers, airports, luxury homes and super yachts? Go and see the Jung showroom in London and see how professionals do smart homes. Seriously, that would be quite awesome content - comparing a 30y old standard that has sold over 50 billion pounds worth of kit and provided a roadmap for another few decades, with the home user, retrofit China junk that every one else is talking about…

1:42 whoa, little red flag goin' up! why use wifi for stationary devices like computers and printers when wired ethernet is a superior option? 4:13 i wouldn't use wifi for security cameras. again, wired ethernet is a far better option. 4:31 thats why i build my own network from components, in my case from the unifi range. 5:16 that's what i want to know. needless to say that i would not even think about using a device like that.

I had Thread buttons and they were junk. They died in under a month.

I dislike zigbee in that it makes it almost impossible to send/receive information via simple command line without ridiculous multi-level interfaces. It's like buying a toaster, but you can only use it by hiring a maid and a butler, and having to ask the butler to tell the maid that you want toast.

You let out wifi as a protocol.

random question. why is it "zed way" but "zigbee".... never understood the z = zed thing, especially when it is only said as zed when its just the letter. b isnt bed, f isnt fed, why is z zed?

Matter doesn't matter

Hue without the hub sucks. Hue Bluetooth is a terrible place to start.

Ha, if you are going to make a point about Zed Wave vs Zee Wave then use [rooter] rather than [rauter].

im Wi-fi all the way

The first problem complaining about wifi router is ridiculous. Anyone starting a smart home should upgrade router and access points. Your streaming and personal devices should only use 5 GHz network and smart devices in 2.4 GHz. Though I agree on speed of cloud based devices, but not really noticeable.

250 kbps isn't "faster" than 100 kbps. In the context of what matters for IOT devices, fast is time it takes to move 1 bit of data from source to destination. It IS however able to carry more bits at one time, allowing more parallel tasks at once carried through the mesh.

sound is terrible, next video.

Zigbee is the technically inferior technology. Shame Google put their eggs in that basket.

🤦‍♂️ from an IT perspective where do I start? Well, I'll start with the good...Z[ed]wave!!! Thank you! Z[ed]! Not zee! Z[ed]! ok, now the bad. 1) No, your printer and computer do not NEED to be on the same WiFi network, this might be the case, but it's not a requirement. Your home or office network is called a LAN (Local Area Network). Your Internet is called a WAN (Wide Area Network). Your WiFi is called a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network). Your LAN is managed by your router, generally this is a wired LAN 99.9999% of the time. WLAN is almost 99.9999% dependendant on a wired LAN. LAN generally physically relies on ethernet cable (CAT5/5E/6/6A/8 using RJ45 connectors) and ethernet based protocols, also known as TCP/IP protocol suite. Even if you use MoCA (Media over Coax), Powerline Networking (PLC, typically HomePlug), or HPNA (home phone line networking, old and slow technology), these are all physical mediums and ethernet/TCP/IP is encapsulated (same with WiFi) inside the PHY protocol, these are all part of your LAN. Anyways in order for 2 devices to talk to eachother (the computer and printer example), neither NEED to be on the same WiFI WLAN, they just need to both be on your LAN, preferably both using a wired technology, ideally regular ethernet cable, if it's a desktop computer and a stationary printer. Wireless ideally should only be used when mobility is required, stationary devices, ideally should ALWAYs be wired. Not just because wired is ALWAYS superior to wireless when mobility is not required, but it's also more secure, harder to hack or jam (flood the radio band with noise). I know wireless technologies are more convenient for retro fitting, mostly due to device cost, device size, and ease of installation, but also due to terrible customer education because of misleading (even false) advertising (so bad ISPs here in Canada advertise internet service as wifi, not as internet, which should be illegal), wireless is perceived by the average consumer as better, and therefore, that's what they demand, impacting the supply and demand portion of the device costs. In terms of security and reliability, I want to see more wired devices. Especially if the device requires wired power (either with a wired adapter providing DC or direct AC mains), if you're already connecting one wire, might as well use it for data as well (even if this requires another adapter to connect to etherner somewhere on the network or direct to the router/main switch). Or better yet, go PoE (Power over Ethernet, ideal, especially if cost is no object for both the device and installation). MoCA 2.5 and soon 3.0 are awesome tech with none of the drawback of powerline networking (RF issues with wifi and Amateur HAM radio, not really an issue as far as I am aware in North America, but apparently considered a major problem in the UK) but dependent on already installed RG-6 coax (can work on RG-59, but will be slower) which is not quite as common as electrical wiring due to fewer outlets, but also more expensive and excessive bandwidth for IoT smart devices. I'd like to see HomePlug Green PHY for IoT (released over 10 years ago) which can coexist with regular HomePlug AV500 to AV2 2000 standards for high bandwidth use while using much lower power (and likely a lot less RF noise produced mitigating the potential interference issues mentioned above). This Green PHY spec was designed to be low cost, small, and specifically for IoT devices, but never took off due to the demand for wireless. This tech would be perfect for smart light bulbs, smart switches, smart power receptacles, devices already guaranteed to be connected to AC mains. Sure there will always be a need for wireless IoT smart devices, these can use matter over zigbee/zwave/BLE/IP (ultimately if it's wifi, it's TCP/IP, same as wired ethernet). Some (not all) of you're HomePlug Green PHY switches/bulbs/receptacles can also support your preferred zigbee/zwave/ble (could do wifi also, but this would not necessarily be ideal because you should have PoE powered ceiling mounted wireless access points, or whole home mesh kit using powerline AV2 2000 or wired ethernet gigabit/multi-gigabit backhaul, and IF the smart device was used as a WiFi access point, it needs to be AV2 2000 not Green PHY to handle the bandwidth required by wifi devices). I know Insteon did/does make X10 based powerline networking smart IoT devices, but these are not based on a standard resembling anything modern, nor is it using TCP/IP. Yes, the above setup would be more expensive, but it should all be available. IMHO, all smart IoT devices should have an IP on the network, should be pingable (from within the network) and seen by the router. Whether the IoT network needs to be a VLAN on a home network, that's debatable. I'm a fan of KISS on home and small office networks, so generally avoid VLANs since they add complexity (on larger office networks, for VPN networks, for guest wifi, you want a VLAN). As for using the ISP provided router and wifi equipment. Unless you only have 1-5 devices total on your network, you should pretty much ALWAYs buy your own third party router and wifi equipment (I typically use Ubiquiti UniFi equipment). If you are investing in smart IoT devices like these, then it should be considered HIGHLY recommended to get your own router and wifi equipment. Generally I recommend using major networking device manufacturers and not Google Nest, Amazon eero, or relatively unknown manufacturers. I'd go with TP-Link on a tight budget, Linksys/Netgear/Asus if a reasonable budget, or Ubiquiti UniIf if you have a healthy budget and existing ethernet wiring or can afford to install new wiring. TP-Omada (have not had the chance to try this yet, but comparable to UniFi) is also viable.