Problem statement
Having a seamless Matter / Thread seamless hub and device onboarding is key to further foster this open protocol within Home Assistant and across the community.
HomeAssistant can benefit from further enhancements regarding seamless multi-fabric, multi-admin and Thread credential sharing support when onboarding hubs and devices to further lower barriers on the one side for our users but also to further stabilize mesh networking by forming real joint Thread networks instead of having one per hub.
Thread credential sharing capabilities paired with existing Matter multi-fabric and multi-admin is a key quality criteria for user convenience and overall approachability of these open standards.
While most smart home hubs already natively support Thread 1.4 Home Assistant's own OTBR App only offers Thread 1.4 support via a beta flag. Missing Thread credential sharing (TCS) still poses a hurdle leading users to be forced to work with the "Sync credentials" approach in the Companion App, often times leading to quite some confusion along the way.
Based on positive feedback from the beta we should aim to make that available as a public release to further improve user convenience.
A more thorough overview on Matter & Thread and multi-fabric, multi-admin and Thread credential sharing please refer to this doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kHqgRYzKV_FWDjPqZkr_D4B4jG2tf6nGhHUH0W7nBM4/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.wyv39g4lhyap
Community signals
The pattern across the below listed threads is quite consistent: users understand what the features are supposed to do, they can see other ecosystems (IKEA, SmartThings, Apple) doing it, and they're asking HA to close the gap, in particularly around Thread 1.4 native credential sharing and smoother multi-admin outbound sharing from HA's own fabric.
Thread 1.4 & Credential Sharing
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Support Thread 1.4 Credential Sharing — GitHub Discussions #1754 The primary feature request thread. Users ask for the standardised 9-digit-code mechanism that IKEA Dirigera already supports. The thread includes a detailed community-written changelog comparing Thread 1.3 and 1.4, expressions of frustration at HA lagging behind SmartThings and IKEA, and reports of a partial "half-way Thread 1.4" state after the beta add-on release. Active as recently as late 2025.
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Thread 1.4 — HA Community Forum Forum discussion opened December 2025 by a user trying to extend their Thread network with a second IKEA border router. Confirms community understanding that HA is still on OpenThread 1.3 in stable, and asks whether credential sharing is on the roadmap. A follow-up page notes the beta merge but flags that the GUI has not exposed the feature.
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Thread 1.4 Forum — Page 2 Continuation of the same thread with more technical discussion, including notes on the pending PR for the OTBR add-on and comments that "this is a feature request forum — add your vote."
Multi-Admin: Sharing devices between ecosystems
Scope & Boundaries
In scope
- Bump Thread 1.4 support and thus out of beta
- Enable (true) multi-fabric, multi-admin and Thread credential sharing in Home Assistant
- Thus enabling compatible hubs to join HomeAssistant's OTBR Thread network
Not in scope
- Further functional improvements
- Remove of the "Synchronize Thread credentials" option to keep pre-Thread 1.4 support
Foreseen solution
Close running beta loop and refine open feedback
Risks & open questions
- Thread and Matter implementations while being standards driven might still differ across platforms
- How to handle "Synchronize Thread credentials" in case Thread credential sharing is fully implemented (does it break if used and needs more investigation?)
Appetite
Medium - 1-2 cylces mainly depending on feedback from Beta and further testing
Execution issues
No response
Decision log
Problem statement
Having a seamless Matter / Thread seamless hub and device onboarding is key to further foster this open protocol within Home Assistant and across the community.
HomeAssistant can benefit from further enhancements regarding seamless multi-fabric, multi-admin and Thread credential sharing support when onboarding hubs and devices to further lower barriers on the one side for our users but also to further stabilize mesh networking by forming real joint Thread networks instead of having one per hub.
Thread credential sharing capabilities paired with existing Matter multi-fabric and multi-admin is a key quality criteria for user convenience and overall approachability of these open standards.
While most smart home hubs already natively support Thread 1.4 Home Assistant's own OTBR App only offers Thread 1.4 support via a beta flag. Missing Thread credential sharing (TCS) still poses a hurdle leading users to be forced to work with the "Sync credentials" approach in the Companion App, often times leading to quite some confusion along the way.
Based on positive feedback from the beta we should aim to make that available as a public release to further improve user convenience.
A more thorough overview on Matter & Thread and multi-fabric, multi-admin and Thread credential sharing please refer to this doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kHqgRYzKV_FWDjPqZkr_D4B4jG2tf6nGhHUH0W7nBM4/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.wyv39g4lhyap
Community signals
The pattern across the below listed threads is quite consistent: users understand what the features are supposed to do, they can see other ecosystems (IKEA, SmartThings, Apple) doing it, and they're asking HA to close the gap, in particularly around Thread 1.4 native credential sharing and smoother multi-admin outbound sharing from HA's own fabric.
Thread 1.4 & Credential Sharing
Support Thread 1.4 Credential Sharing — GitHub Discussions #1754 The primary feature request thread. Users ask for the standardised 9-digit-code mechanism that IKEA Dirigera already supports. The thread includes a detailed community-written changelog comparing Thread 1.3 and 1.4, expressions of frustration at HA lagging behind SmartThings and IKEA, and reports of a partial "half-way Thread 1.4" state after the beta add-on release. Active as recently as late 2025.
Thread 1.4 — HA Community Forum Forum discussion opened December 2025 by a user trying to extend their Thread network with a second IKEA border router. Confirms community understanding that HA is still on OpenThread 1.3 in stable, and asks whether credential sharing is on the roadmap. A follow-up page notes the beta merge but flags that the GUI has not exposed the feature.
Thread 1.4 Forum — Page 2 Continuation of the same thread with more technical discussion, including notes on the pending PR for the OTBR add-on and comments that "this is a feature request forum — add your vote."
Multi-Admin: Sharing devices between ecosystems
Share Device from HA to Apple Home? — Community Forum A very recent thread (March 2026) asking specifically whether sharing from HA's fabric to Apple Home is possible. Shows the question is still being asked by new users.
Sharing HA Matter Device to iOS Works, but Fails on Android — Community Forum A practical multi-admin pain point: a user successfully shares from HA to Apple Home via QR code, but Google Home on Android refuses to commission the shared device without a Google hub present. Illustrates real-world friction in the multi-admin flow that the Enhanced Multi-Admin in Matter 1.4 is meant to address.
Google Home Thread Devices — Share to Home Assistant — Community Forum User can share Matter-over-Wi-Fi devices from Google to HA fine, but Matter-over-Thread devices fail during the cross-fabric share. Exposes the intersection of multi-admin and Thread network topology issues — a recurring theme.
Thread Credential Import & Network merging friction
Thread Import Credentials — Community Forum Early 2024 report of the phone-OS-based credential import failing with "unknown type 74" when trying to pull credentials from a HomePod mini. Shows that even the pre-1.4 workaround path has reliability issues.
Sync Thread Credentials Failed — Community Forum User with a ZBT-1 following the official HA docs but unable to sync Thread credentials to their phone. A common onboarding failure mode in the current pre-Thread-1.4 workflow.
Problem with Syncing Matter Credentials to HA (Prefers Different Network) — Community Forum Illustrates the "preferred network" confusion: HA and the phone end up wanting to use different Thread networks, causing commissioning failures. Core to the argument for why Thread 1.4 native credential sharing matters.
Scope & Boundaries
In scope
Not in scope
Foreseen solution
Close running beta loop and refine open feedback
Risks & open questions
Appetite
Medium - 1-2 cylces mainly depending on feedback from Beta and further testing
Execution issues
No response
Decision log