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Thread devices cannot access the internet without the cooperation of a gateway device. The topology is ultimately the same as Z-Wave with the devices communicat
by jcrawfordor 4y ago
Thread devices cannot access the internet without the cooperation of a gateway device. The topology is ultimately the same as Z-Wave with the devices communicating with a hub and the hub communicating with the internet. Thread is based on IEEE 802.15.4 just like Zigbee, but it uses IPv6 with extensions as the network protocol, for both a more powerful and flexible network protocol and more implementation commonality with existing network stacks.
That said, an explicit goal of Thread is to make the implementation of the gateway device easier and thus allow devices to communicate with a backing cloud service with less active participation of the hub... the hub is still "in the loop," but it doesn't need application-specific implementation for every device, it can just forward messages.
- wlesieutre 4y agoI haven't tested, but I'd hope HomePods acting as gateways would be able to toggle internet access. Apple made a whole thing about HomeKit wifi routers (there's like 1 on the market) where you can easily firewall any wifi homekit devices to within your network. Enthusiast solution would be to use Home Assistant as your thread gateway to actually be in control of the connections: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/home-assistant-skyconnect-usb-stick-announced-will-be-compatible-with-both-zigbee-and-thread-including-matter-chip-over-thread/433594 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/home-assistant-skyconn...
- wlesieutre 4y agoFor reference, the only HomeKit router listed on Apple's website is the "Linksys Velop AX4200 Mesh WiFi 6 System, Tri-Band" https://www.apple.com/home-app/accessories/#section-routers https://www.apple.com/home-app/accessories/#section-routers
- spdustin 4y agoThe last few Eero mesh routers have also supported HomeKit. That’s what I use.