Home Assistant recently updated its Thread add-on to include the 1.4 specification in beta, a move aimed at improving the reliability of Matter and HomeKit integrations.
The transition to Thread 1.4 for border routers has been a frequent topic of discussion since the Thread Group first released the new standard. Following official adoption by SmartThings and IKEA, Home Assistant has now rolled out the upgrade to beta users after countless discussions and ongoing push from community contributors.
What’s changed
With the release of the OpenThread Border Router add-on version 2.16.0, users will find a new toggle within the configuration tab. Enabling this option allows the system to pull the latest version directly from the OpenThread GitHub repository, which is built on top of the 1.4 specification.
Beyond various bug fixes, this beta version introduces a significant change to how the system handles network discovery. It now uses the new built-in mDNS system from OpenThread, replacing the older mDNSResponder. This change is expected to improve the process of adding new devices to a network. Many users have reported issues with Thread networks that often trace back to mDNS problems. These issues are frequently difficult to solve because some home routers do not offer the settings needed to fix them. This update could resolve those persistent connectivity issues.
How to test the new version
To test the new features, update the add-on first and create a full backup of your Home Assistant so you can roll back for any changes.
Then navigate to the settings menu, select Add-ons, and open the OpenThread Border Router page. In the configuration tab, go toggle on the beta setting, save the changes, and restart the add-on.
The logs will then indicate if you are successfully running the Thread 1.4 version.
Please do note that this is a beta release and may not work as you expect. You can share feedback with the Home Assistant community through its official Discord server, GitHub, or the community forum.
While the core software has been updated, some specific features of the 1.4 standard are not yet available to you in Home Assistant. One example is the Credential Sharing, which allows different smart home hubs to share Thread networks more easily. Home Assistant interacts with OpenThread border routers using REST API. And it has yet to support exposing related features. There have been issues discussed on GitHub, the Thread Group has not yet made these features available for general use for now.
But if you are an advanced user comfortable running commands within Docker, you may be able to access more features. This would work, in theory, similar to a standard Docker implementation of the OpenThread border router.
Slow but ongoing adoption
The adoption of Thread 1.4 is generally slow, but the recent updates show steady progress. Following the lead of SmartThings and IKEA, other major companies like Amazon and Google are expected to expand their support soon. Some existing devices from Eero and Nest Wi-Fi are already utilizing parts of the Thread 1.4 spec, even though the credential sharing is not yet active. Additionally, hardware companies like Espressif have released new M5Stack to demonstrate the Thread 1.4 capabilities. These efforts from all parties suggest we may see a more unified Thread this year.
(Source: GitHub, Home Assistant)
