HomeKit Support Rolling Out to IKEA's TRADFRI Motion Sensor and Shortcut Button

[MacRumors]

IKEA is rolling out Apple HomeKit support for the Motion sensor and Shortcut button in its TRÅDFRI range of smart home products, according to release notes for an upcoming Gateway software update.

First spotted by Dutch blog iCulture, the next Gateway firmware version (1.13.21) coming down the line will include HomeKit support for the sensor and button, allowing the accessories to be used to operate other HomeKit products.

The Shortcut button, which comes with stickers that can be used to indicate their function, will allow owners to quickly activate HomeKit scenes and switch off lights, for example.

It's not clear exactly when the firmware update will propagate for the TRÅDFRI gateway bridge, which allows IKEA smart home products to work with platforms like HomeKit, but the release notes are dated February 18, so it shouldn't be long now before users start seeing the update as available.

The Shortcut button recently became available in Europe, and is expected to make its way to IKEA stores in the U.S. soon.

Article Link: HomeKit Support Rolling Out to IKEA's TRADFRI Motion Sensor and Shortcut Button

 

[SBlue1]

Just 6 Euros for that shortcut button? Thats interesting!

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Generally had a solid experience with the IKEA smart gear, really inexpensive, decent quality, and reliable. Really hoping for a colour-changing GU10 and light strips at some point in the future.

Edit: they've now got a colour-changing GU10: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tradfr...-dimmable-colour-and-white-spectrum-80439228/

 

[svanstrom]

Now if we could just get a simple button with support for notifications; so we can get a damn sub US$10 doorbell.

 

[Kyle Andrew]

Oh wonderful. Now if only they had an actual team of engineers that made homekit work properly and consistently. I've recently started adding homekit plugs and was planning on installing some switches and dimmers too, but I don't really see the point when the homekit integration is so poor. Siri recognized the devices for exactly two days and then just gave up.

 

[svanstrom]

Oh wonderful. Now if only they had an actual team of engineers that made homekit work properly and consistently. I've recently started adding homekit plugs and was planning on installing some switches and dimmers too, but I don't really see the point when the homekit integration is so poor. Siri recognized the devices for exactly two days and then just gave up.

Yup, known problem since the early days. It might work for a week, or two years; and then their own basestation (so before it gets to HK) might just forget about devices.

It worked for a couple of years for me, and then it struck. Being too lazy/busy to fix I left some lights to be controlled outside the automations; and after some months the basestation suddenly remembered them, and started using them as if nothing had happened (also worked perfectly in HK again).

I wouldn't recommend anyone to bother with the IKEA stuff rn.

 

[Wando64]

I have one of these from the same range:

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It is not HK compatible, still it needs one new button cell replacement EVERY MONTH, even if I don't use it.
Terrible, terrible implementation.
If the other accessories are equally energy wasteful, thanks but, no thanks.

 

[mark-in-mk]

I have all sorts of Homekit devices from Eve, Philips, Logitech, Apple and more. Integrating Tradfri and Fyrtur blinds into my setup was the single most frustrating, time-consuming, inconsistent and illogical experience by a long long way. Its cheap for a reason....

 

[locrumo]

Less smart home tech, less problems.

 

[jlc1978]

I've pretty much given up on Homekit. Amazon has done a good job with Alexa enabled devices so even if a number have Homekit as well I've stuck with Alexa. The big obstacle for me is Ring's lack of Homekit integration.

Ikea's stuff is iteresting but unless there is some compelling thing that otehrs don't offer I'd prefer not to add yet one more set of manufacturer's devices. I'm already at Amazon with Echo and Ring, Philips with Hue, and Feit with switches and lights.

I really don't get the button part. I find it easy to say "Alexa, turn on/off xxx" and Siri can do the same thing as well; why should I go to a button? If I want a button the app on my phone does that was well. Th eone advantage to that approach wouod be if IKEA's bridge soes all the lifting so nothing is sent to a remote server.

 

[aknabi]

Having some insider insight I can tell you, though a great company, Ikea is *very* cost driven (yeah, Capitan Obvious)... they look at Software Development and developers in the same "work unit widgets" as they would screws for a table... connected devices is a PITA with many corner/edge cases and states and you need to have clean, focused, robust code IoT code... it's a rare and expensive skill requiring an investment in great developers... Ikea (and most of the vendors, including Philips the highest in cost) just don't have that mindset (again I'm speaking from inside experience with these folks)

 

[Ed217]

In recent years I’ve had pretty good luck with HomeKit. I have a lot of stitches, and plugs from different firms. iDevice products have generally worked very well. Meross has also done well for me.

Where I have had problems is with motion detection. I have returned two different sets this week that were totally unreliable. The issue there seems to be bluetooth related. It’s hard to find a motion sensor that is Wifi based that works well.

What I have today that does work well is Insteon based motion detection. I have a number of those and they have worked well and been very reliable. I generally always set up A/C power for each avoiding battery issues altogether. I have a HomeKit bridge I made that links the motion detection signals from Insteon to any HomeKit light. There is a second or two delay, but it still works well.

 

[gk4]

I hope those new remotes mentioned also are visible in Homekit. The Styrbar remote in there looks cool (New device - STYRBAR Remote control : tradfri (reddit.com))

The move to AAA batteries is also welcomed. There's definitely room in most of these devices to include more than a CR2032.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

Having some insider insight I can tell you, though a great company, Ikea is *very* cost driven (yeah, Capitan Obvious)... they look at Software Development and developers in the same "work unit widgets" as they would screws for a table... connected devices is a PITA with many corner/edge cases and states and you need to have clean, focused, robust code IoT code... it's a rare and expensive skill requiring an investment in great developers... Ikea (and most of the vendors, including Philips the highest in cost) just don't have that mindset (again I'm speaking from inside experience with these folks)

I have no insight and its clear bean counter management like at apple - therefore HomeKit still sucks. And i have a lot of HomeKit stuff - kinda hobby but nothing really works - except hey siri turn on evening scene - but hey Siri turn off evening scene does not work, haha

 

[neilg]

TRÅDFRI has worked well for me. Integrates well into my Homekit system. Does what I want it to.

 

[MJaP]

"The Shortcut button, which comes with stickers that can be used to indicate their function, will allow owners to quickly activate HomeKit scenes and switch off lights, for example."

So you buy a button to press so you don't have to press a button? Is this Inception?

 

[gk4]

"The Shortcut button, which comes with stickers that can be used to indicate their function, will allow owners to quickly activate HomeKit scenes and switch off lights, for example."

So you buy a button to press so you don't have to press a button? Is this Inception?

You buy a button to press because it can do x number of different things based on y amount of variables and it can be placed anywhere you want it.

 

[Websnapx2]

Less smart home tech, less problems.

Not really — just depends on which ones you get. I have mostly Hue bulbs and a light strip and they have been phenomenal. Three years, literally no issues at all. However I have two iHome outlet switches and every once and a while they lose connection (like once every three/four months), and I have learned it's just an unplug, wait 30 seconds, plug back in and there is no new configuration needed. They just work as they previously did — that was the worst "problem" I have encountered.

 

[Jason2000]

I've pretty much given up on Homekit. Amazon has done a good job with Alexa enabled devices so even if a number have Homekit as well I've stuck with Alexa. The big obstacle for me is Ring's lack of Homekit integration.

Ikea's stuff is iteresting but unless there is some compelling thing that otehrs don't offer I'd prefer not to add yet one more set of manufacturer's devices. I'm already at Amazon with Echo and Ring, Philips with Hue, and Feit with switches and lights.

I really don't get the button part. I find it easy to say "Alexa, turn on/off xxx" and Siri can do the same thing as well; why should I go to a button? If I want a button the app on my phone does that was well. Th eone advantage to that approach wouod be if IKEA's bridge soes all the lifting so nothing is sent to a remote server.

Me too. Alexa works great and works with everything. And I like that is has lots of settings for smart home routines. Blows HomeKit and Assistant away in that regards.

 

[koil]

I have all sorts of Homekit devices from Eve, Philips, Logitech, Apple and more. Integrating Tradfri and Fyrtur blinds into my setup was the single most frustrating, time-consuming, inconsistent and illogical experience by a long long way. Its cheap for a reason....

They have a terrible onboarding experienced designed for idiots, smart people might think they can skip steps (like I really don't need the remote or the extender in my apartment), but you really can't, the app will not display the blinds until both the remote, the extender, and the blind are all connected to the gateway (apparently in that order as well).

Since I got my 4 blinds into the app they have been rock solid however, along with my 8 TRÅDFRI bulbs. I also have 3 TRÅDFRI motion sensors, but since the "normal" way of using those with the IKEA gateway is so terrible, I've rigged up a separate deCONZ ZigBee network for those, and they have been so bloody good, been running for almost a full year and I've only needed to swap batteries once which is completely acceptable in my book. Might move those to the IKEA gateway to check out the native HomeKit integration, but they are working very well as is.

 

[koil]

Less smart home tech, less problems.

More smart home tech, more solutions.

 

[Jadzea97]

Have to say since I swapped from using my Virgin SuperHub as my DHCP SERVER/Router/Access point and just use it in modem mode with a nice Netgear NightHawk Tradfri has been bulletproof (kiss of death 😂).

waiting for the update to appear so I can try the motion sensor with HomeKit.

 

[koil]

Have to say since I swapped from using my Virgin SuperHub as my DHCP SERVER/Router/Access point and just use it in modem mode with a nice Netgear NightHawk Tradfri has been bulletproof (kiss of death 😂).

waiting for the update to appear so I can try the motion sensor with HomeKit.

This! If you have a good network, your IoT stuff will work much better. Especially true when you're using IP-based IoT devices like LIFX, or integrating any IoT devices (regardless of native protocol) with HomeKit.

Throw out your ISP provided router/gateway/hub/whatever-they-call-it, and get a good Netgear/ASUS/Linksys, or if you're feeling adventurous, Ubiquiti UniFi. UniFi is more expensive and a bit more difficult to setup, but well worth the investment in my opinion. Good middle-ground between true high-end stuff like Cisco/Mikrotik/Aruba, and "normal consumer stuff".

 

[gk4]

This! If you have a good network, your IoT stuff will work much better. Especially true when you're using IP-based IoT devices like LIFX, or integrating any IoT devices (regardless of native protocol) with HomeKit.

Throw out your ISP provided router/gateway/hub/whatever-they-call-it, and get a good Netgear/ASUS/Linksys, or if you're feeling adventurous, Ubiquiti UniFi. UniFi is more expensive and a bit more difficult to setup, but well worth the investment in my opinion. Good middle-ground between true high-end stuff like Cisco/Mikrotik/Aruba, and "normal consumer stuff".

I think an Eero setup - with it's reputation for extreme reliability, makes more sense than Ubiqiti if you're in that price range.

The stuff geared to home users (UDM/UDM Pro) doesn't seem to have the reliability of the actual pro gear. People initially assumed it would because it's coming from Ubiqiti - but following it in the Ubiqiti subs, seems that people have mostly written it off.

 

[bluespark]

You buy a button to press because it can do x number of different things based on y amount of variables and it can be placed anywhere you want it.

Yeah, this actually sounds really cool to me -- a coffee button right next to my coffee pot, which with a single press triggers an entire HomeKit routine (for example, turning on the coffee pot, turning on the lights in where I drink coffee, turning off other lights, starting an NPR broadcast, etc.). It adds a lot of purpose-specific functionality.