Eve Starts Selling Matter-Enabled Smart Home Devices

[MacRumors]

Eve Systems today announced the launch of its updated Matter-enabled Eve Energy smart plug, which is its first out-of-the-box Matter-compatible device. Eve previously released a beta firmware update to add Matter to some existing Eve accessories, but as of today, it is possible to buy the Eve Energy with Matter integration.

The Matter-equipped Eve Energy is available in North America, Europe, and the UK starting today. The Matter-enabled Eve Motion and Eve Door and Window are set to launch in stores on April 17.

April 17 is also the official launch date of Eve's Matter firmware update, which will be widely available for the first time. It has been available to those who signed up to beta test, but the public launch is coming in April. Existing Eve Energy, Eve Door and Window, and Eve Motion Sensor devices will be able to be upgraded to Matter through the Eve app for the iPhone and the iPad.

Matter is a new smart home standard that's being used by Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon, and others. It allows for interoperability between smart home platforms, so a Matter-enabled Eve Energy Smart Plug can, for example, be added to an Apple HomeKit setup and a Google Home setup at the same time so long as the appropriate Matter hubs are available.

With multi-platform support, Matter-enabled accessories can be controlled with iPhones and Android phones, something not possible with HomeKit alone.

The Eve Energy with Matter can be purchased from the Eve website or from Amazon for $40, and it will soon come to Apple retail stores.

Article Link: Eve Starts Selling Matter-Enabled Smart Home Devices

 

[XXPP]

Beware of this company. There is no support after the warranty period. There is no service and post-warranty repairs. There are no parts.
If your device fails, you can only throw it away.

 

[munpip214]

Beware of this company. There is no support after the warranty period. There is no service and post-warranty repairs. There are no parts.
If your device fails, you can only throw it away.

That’s standard on small devices. Regardless I was able to get a out of warranty replacement no problem. 🤷🏼‍♂️

But regardless, $40 for these appliances today is a bit much, plus most don’t support WiFi

 

[XXPP]

That’s standard on small devices. Regardless I was able to get a out of warranty replacement no problem. 🤷🏼‍♂️

But regardless, $40 for these appliances today is a bit much, plus most don’t support WiFi

$40? Thermostats and cameras are expensive and large devices. Should be service and parts.

 

[zapmymac]

I don’t hold my breathe as to how long these things work. I have had mixed results honestly.

iDevices have been rock solid. Horrible lack of response to emails for questions, and few firmware updates.

Wemo: bad hardware sockets. Returned and moved on.

Kasa: recent purchase, seems good, firmware update within a month of new release (makes sense)

Personally, I’d rather stick with one brand if possible, every new brand I use add a new possibly to be hacked.

TLDR …hopefully the good matter/HomeKit companies raise quickly to the top for safety and stability.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Curious if these have any hardware updates, or will simply ship with new firmware?

I'd really love to see them update their Energy Strip to support Matter and better WiFi standards.

 

[RogerWilco]

Beware of this company. There is no support after the warranty period. There is no service and post-warranty repairs. There are no parts.
If your device fails, you can only throw it away.

I’ve been buying HA products since the late ‘90s and the landscape is littered with the corpses of defunct companies. My hoard of junk includes X-10 and Insteon modules, Universal Devices ISYs, a RPi Home Assistant disaster, Zwave mystery devices (dongles that don’t), and weird wifi lightbulbs given as gifts by well-meaning relatives. Most of these products have no technical support after the sale and the warranty is often only 90 days.

Apple might cobble together a decent following since they have claimed their place as the defacto hub, and unlike others, their software might actually work. These Eve gadgets are not particularly expensive compared to previous offerings in HA, and the ability to use Apple TV and HomePods as a controller/hub is a big advantage. I think I’ll try their motion sensor to see if it can replace an aging Insteon+ISY setup.

 

[uller6]

Beware of this company. There is no support after the warranty period. There is no service and post-warranty repairs. There are no parts.
If your device fails, you can only throw it away.

Can you find any smart plug on the market that isn’t disposable trash? I’m not sure what you’re expecting to get in end stage capitalism.

 

[fatTribble]

I’ve had great luck with Eve products. One issue I had actually was not there fault but a router issue. Their customer service was very helpful. I like that their new products are all supporting thread.

 

[Martin Bland]

I've had 6 Eve Energy plugs for two years and they have been 100% reliable which is very rare in HA.

 

[McWetty]

I like Eve stuff. I’ve had a few die, but if it’s in warranty, they just send me a new one. Sucks that it’s landfill matter waiting to happen, but when it works, it’s reliable. Except their cameras, god they are bad.

 

[moxxham]

I like Eve stuff. I’ve had a few die, but if it’s in warranty, they just send me a new one. Sucks that it’s landfill matter waiting to happen, but when it works, it’s reliable. Except their cameras, god they are bad.

Same experience with their cameras here. Constantly going offline, weird lines recorded across the footage until I do a reset.

Their motion blinds are pretty good though

 

[dragoon2745]

Curious if these have any hardware updates, or will simply ship with new firmware?

I'd really love to see them update their Energy Strip to support Matter and better WiFi standards.

Also wondering the same thing. Perhaps these new devices will be supported longer than the HomeKit only devices in case there are firmware updates available for the next latest and greatest thing?

 

[Arran]

I don’t hold my breathe as to how long these things work. I have had mixed results honestly.

iDevices have been rock solid. Horrible lack of response to emails for questions, and few firmware updates.

Wemo: bad hardware sockets. Returned and moved on.

Kasa: recent purchase, seems good, firmware update within a month of new release (makes sense)

Personally, I’d rather stick with one brand if possible, every new brand I use add a new possibly to be hacked.

TLDR …hopefully the good matter/HomeKit companies raise quickly to the top for safety and stability.

Totally agree. A lot of smart home gear is still in its "wild-west/gold-rush" phase.

Wemo was incredible in its early years: I had over a dozen in-wall switches, plug-ins and sensors that worked beautifully. Then it all went to hell a few years back and I've removed practically everything Wemo. The newest in-wall dimmer switches became a bi-weekly headache. Often unreachable and could only be recovered by switching off at the breaker box re-installing from scratch. Who has the time?

OTOH, my Hue bulbs have been solid for a decade. I'm now up to 4 Hue hubs at home. It's a bit annoying they haven't produced a "version 3" hub that can run a complete house-full of devices - but they're forgiven because they're been ROCK SOLID all this time. I'm buying Hue plug-ins now when I can find them. $35 each, but I trust the brand.

I replaced most of my in-wall Wemos with Lutron Caseta a year or so back and they're just like the Hues: Expensive but rock solid. Fit and forget.

Ikea's plug-ins are pretty good too - and CHEAP! That said, prices have crept up in the last year and their brand-new Dirigera hub is flaky (I returned mine). They're also bit finicky to set up on the old hub, but once you get past that they're pretty reliable day-to-day.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

But regardless, $40 for these appliances today is a bit much, plus most don’t support WiFi

Good. I don’t WANT them to use regular WiFi frequencies which are already overcrowded with devices. That’s the whole point of Thread…to move all the home automation stuff off that protocol.

 

[Powerbooky]

Good. I don’t WANT them to use regular WiFi frequencies which are already overcrowded with devices. That’s the whole point of Thread…to move all the home automation stuff off that protocol.

Thread actually uses the same overcrowded 2,4 GHz spectrum. But I have to say, it still does work well. My shed is quite a distance from the house and still Hue and Eve devices in the Shed connect.

 

[dwaite]

Curious if these have any hardware updates, or will simply ship with new firmware?

I'd really love to see them update their Energy Strip to support Matter and better WiFi standards.

The setup process is different - if you upgrade the firmware on an old device, it gives you a new QR setup code since the HomeKit one is different. The new models will have the Matter codes (either in documentation or hidden on the device)

There may be a new microcontroller rev, and may have a new setup process at the factory as well. I suspect it is pretty similar though.

They didn't do anything like add BLE-based setup code broadcast from what I can tell. Some devices may just emit their setup information over BLE if not set up, which means no need to scan a QR code unless you are adding it to a second ecosystem (e.g. Apple home and Amazon Alexa)

 

[ds2000]

Beware of this company. There is no support after the warranty period. There is no service and post-warranty repairs. There are no parts.
If your device fails, you can only throw it away.

Erm, airpods?

 

[AppliedMicro]

Thread actually uses the same overcrowded 2,4 GHz spectrum.

For good reason. They’re better at penetrating walls than other Wi-Fi bands.
Since only a minimal amount of data needs to be transferred for home automation, the Wi-Fi protocols don‘t make sense for most home automation devices (except video fees, of course).

 

[Will Co]

I think I might have misunderstood the whole Matter concept. Surely, the whole purpose of a unified eco-system, with a unified protocol, is that anything that implements Matter can talk to anything else that implements Matter, right? Am I being too naive? Too simple minded here? So we have a HomePod that can allegedly talk Matter. And we have, say, a smart-switch that can talk Matter. But we still need another interposing hub in between the two?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

For good reason. They’re better at penetrating walls than other Wi-Fi bands.
Since only a minimal amount of data needs to be transferred for home automation, the Wi-Fi protocols don‘t make sense for most home automation devices (except video fees, of course).

Eh. The newer WiFi versions have specifically been made for Internet of Things and Smart Home devices to improve overall network performance and reduce energy consumption. WiFi 6 range also rivals 2.4GHz range in a lot of the homes I manage as well. Not to mention network noise.

Stating an ancient 2.4GHz specification is good enough is a massive oversimplification.

 

[00sjsl]

That’s standard on small devices. Regardless I was able to get a out of warranty replacement no problem. 🤷🏼‍♂️

But regardless, $40 for these appliances today is a bit much, plus most don’t support WiFi

Not entirely true. I have a Pure DAB radio that stopped working years after I bought it, I went to their web site and found a firmware update that fixed the problem.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Beware of this company. There is no support after the warranty period. There is no service and post-warranty repairs. There are no parts.
If your device fails, you can only throw it away.

Sounds pretty normal to me.

 

[Verified Whiskey]

Eve has been nothing but solid for me. They seem rock solid compared to the others. I love that they support thread on more and more of their products, and Matter as well. They were the first company pushing thread years ago imo. Also love that they don’t even offer a cloud, so it’s not hackable unless all of HomeKit goes down. Which would leave us with many more problems 😬😂

 

[ChrisA]

...most don’t support WiFi

That is the ENTIRE POINT.

They intentionally use a Thread network. Thread is a mesh network using a lower frequency than WiFi and is very robust. Also, do you really want 50 to 100 WiFi devices in your house and for all of them to stop working when WiFi is down? WiFi is just plan stupid to use for home automation because everything stops working if the router looses power.

With Thread every mains-powered device is a router. Battery powered devices don't route, but every lightbulb or smart switch or whatever is mains powered is a router. And, they run on a frequency that does not interfere with WiFi.

WiFi based automation is people who maybe want to install one or two devices.

As Matter and Thread because more popular and are builtinto every home appliance you REALLY do not want them to be WiFi.