We connect all kinds of devices to our Matter smart homes, ranging from smart lights to connected thermostats—but can we use Matter to help us feel safe? It's been quite the wait, but increasingly the answer is yes.
Smart locks play well with Matter
There are various ways to connect a Matter smart lock to your home. For some, you must connect to Matter via a bridge. This is the case with the SwitchBot Lock Ultra, a retrofit lock that can be paired with a keypad equipped with facial recognition. Earlier this year, I purchased a Lockly Secure Matter Link to connect my existing Lockly locks to my Matter hub.
But frankly, there's little reason to involve a bridge. Our list of the best Matter-compatible smart locks is packed with locks that communicate over Matter natively. Most are keypad locks, but the Level Bolt is one that can pass for any old conventional keylock. It also supports Matter-over-Thread.
Lockly Bridge
A Wi-Fi and Matter-enabled hub that extends remote control and smart-home integration to compatible Lockly smart locks.
Level Lock+ (Matter)
Level Lock+ Smart Door Lock with Matter and Thread support
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Read more about our ethics policySwitchBot Lock Pro
Retrofit smart lock with triple power backup, auto-unlock via GPS/Bluetooth, real-time door/lock status, quiet mode, and Apple Home control when paired with a SwitchBot Matter Hub.
Behind the scenes, Connectivity Standards Alliance, which backs Matter and Zigbee, has been working on a new communication protocol that standardizes digital credentials and access control. This standard goes by the name of Aliro, and it has recently seen its debut 1.0 release. Aliro is an answer to challenges that locks in particular need to address, such as a platform-neutral way to use your phone as a digital key that will work across Android and iOS without each company to design their own bespoke software. In a sense, Aliro is akin to Apple Home Key, only without the platform lock-in.
While Aliro and Matter are complimentary, they are separate standards. A lock may show separate badges for Matter and Aliro. A Matter-compatible lock does not necessarily support Aliro, and vice versa.
The first Matter security camera has arrived
Here is an area where Matter has lacked options but is starting to make inroads. The latest version of Matter includes support for Matter security cameras, introducing the ability to view a video feed directly via your smart home platform without having to use a vendor's cloud-based software.
Cameras are among the most difficult types of devices to integrate, given the amount of bandwidth involved compared to telling a light bulb to turn on or off. There are also several types of cameras in the Matter specification, such as "Camera," "Snapshot Camera," "Intercom," "Video Doorbell," and "Floodlight Camera" This says more about products to come rather than what's currently available.
Home Assistant and Samsung SmartThings are the first platforms to add support. You can use experience native Matter compatibility on a camera by purchasing an Aqara Camera Hub G350. This is an indoor camera, but support is there for outdoor cameras as well. It's just a matter of waiting for options to come to market.
Aqara Camera G350
Place motion and presence sensors where it matters
Here you have the most abundant selection of options, as Matter motion sensors have been around for several years. I reviewed the SwitchBot Motion Sensor, and it's mostly reliable, but I'd probably want to have more than one if I were using this for security. With any Matter motion sensor, you can set up an automation that plays an alert or sends you a notification.
The problem with motion sensors is, well, they only detect motion. If you're still for long enough, or move slowly enough, they won't detect you. That's why presence sensors utilizing mmWave offer a more robust solution. These are sensitive enough to know you're still in a room, even if you're sitting around reading. This makes them a more reliable form of security, but only if placed in an area where people and animals aren't usually around. You wouldn't want a presence detector facing your driveway notifying you every time a squirrel goes by.
Aqara Presence Multi-Sensor FP300
A multi-functional presence sensor with PIR and mmWave detection, designed for seamless smart home integration with Thread and Zigbee support.
Lafaer Wireless Human Presence Sensor
Battery or USB-C powered mmWave presence and ambient light sensor with IPX3 rating that works over Matter over Thread with Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, and Home Assistant.
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Read more about our ethics policySwitchBot Motion Sensor
SwitchBot Motion Sensor enables smart lighting automation, motion alerts, and energy savings with long battery life and flexible placement.
Here is a list of the best Matter-compatible motion sensors, and if you have the budget, here are the best mmWave presence sensors as well.
Monitor windows and doors with contact sensors
With enough patience, and enough batteries, you no longer need to have someone wire your house for a whole-home security system. You can purchase the contact sensors needed to build one yourself. The IKEA MYGGBETT is one of the newer and more affordable options, but there are a range of door and window sensors from brands like Aqara, Switchbot, and Eve. You can place these on each window and door of your home, then set up an automation to deliver the desired response—be that sounding an alarm, notifying your phone, or sending an emergency alert outside of the home.
Perhaps more than any other Matter product, here is an area where the type of battery used really matters. Sensors with coin batteries can last longer, while those with AAAs are more accessible but require more regular maintenance on your part. A sensor with a dead battery is arguably worse than no sensor at all, since it can provide a false sense of security. Be sure to keep tabs on battery life inside your smart home app. If you're using a more flexible platform like Home Assistant or Homey, you can even create a dashboard to view all of your battery-powered devices at one time.
Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2
The Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2, a contact sensor, is a key component of the Aqara smart home ecosystem, offering compatibility with the Matter protocol, enabling seamless integration and control within your smart home network.
MYGGBETT Door/Window Sensor
A smart, discreet sensor that detects door or window movement and can trigger notifications or automate lighting.
A Matter-based smart home is a more secure one
Security has proven one of the more difficult solutions to solve via Matter, but it's also a worthwhile endeavor. Data breaches show the vulnerabilities that come from having internet-connected cameras in the home, and there's something arguably worse about a similarly vulnerable door lock. With Matter devices operating over a local network, you can have a smart home without opening yourself up to remote threats, assuming your Matter hub isn't based in the cloud.
