Hi guys, I have a Nanoleaf device, an Aqara M3, and a Homey Pro. I’ve been reading about Thread networks and realized that all my smart devices should ideally connect to one main border router - in my case, I want the Homey Pro to be the primary one.
The problem is: when I open the Nanoleaf app, it shows three separate Thread networks. So now I’m trying to figure out what’s actually going on.
Is there any Thread scanner, diagnostic tool, or app that can show the full picture of my Thread network and help me understand how everything is connected?
Not sure i can ask this question on this channel but any recommendations would be appreciated!
I haven’t found any tool that is actually useful but figured when I switched everything to be on the same channel (25 in my case) they got merged into one. I am using HomeAssistant mostly but I do have a few HomePods, Apple TV, Nanoleaf, and the HA radio itself. You can see the visualization using Open Thread Web Portal and apps like Flame and Discovery on iOS are useful as well
what you’re seeing is normal, and you can’t really force everything onto one single Thread network yet – especially with iPhone + Apple TV + Homey + Aqara in the mix.
A few practical tips that actually help:
• Pick who “owns” new devices.
– If you want Homey Pro as the main Thread network, always add Matter-over-Thread devices using “Connect via Homey Pro” (or the Homey Web App). That makes them join Homey’s own Thread network instead of the iOS / Apple one.
– If you prefer Apple TV 4K as the main one, then add devices via the Apple Home app on iPhone and let Homey/Aqara join later via Matter multi-admin.
– If you want to make sure that, you’re using correct Thread that you want, you can turn off other Thread Border Router during pairing device
• Nanoleaf showing multiple networks is expected.
Nanoleaf panels/bulbs are also Thread BRs and can see Thread credentials from Apple / other ecosystems, so they’ll often list several networks if you’ve ever paired things different ways. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything is “broken”.
• Aqara M3 is basically its own mini-ecosystem.
It’s a Zigbee hub, Matter controller and Thread BR mainly meant to bridge Aqara devices into other platforms, not to unify everyone else’s network. I’d mostly use it for Aqara stuff and avoid onboarding third-party Thread devices through it unless you really need to.
• There’s no perfect “Thread map” app yet.
You get partial views in:
– Nanoleaf app → Thread/Network screen
– Home app (to see Apple TV as hub)
– Homey → Thread settings / device list
=> choose one platform to pair new Thread/Matter devices with (Homey or Apple), stick to that for anything important, and don’t panic about the extra networks Nanoleaf shows - they’re mostly a side-effect of today’s half-baked Thread unification.
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yes, above cmt is right!
Thread 1.4 is not the same as Matter 1.4. You can join a thread network, overwrite the credentials, or share them. If you share a thread device from one thread 1.3 or greater TBR to another the commissioned network credentials will pass to other border routers allowing it to join the first while still keeping its original mesh network
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