Move device to a different thread network

If I have a device on my Google thread mesh and shared with hubitat via a pairing code, and I want to move the device to my Apple thread mesh, will it subsequently still be recognised as the same device by Hubitat, or will I have to start over and share it as a new device?

All you have to do is generate a matter code for your homekit network to attach it. It will use your homekit hub (homepods or tv) as a TBR

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What order do I need to do this in? I've just realised if I exclude from Google first I won't be able to access the device to have it generate the code. I guess I was imagining that I'd need to reset the device and hope that when it came back to life its own internal identity would be enough to let Hubitat know it was the same device that is already in the HE database.

If you exclude from google first it will drop from the fabric because Hubitat is not a TBR. You can generate a code from hubitat.

Matter does not work like this, FWIW (unlike Zigbee).

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Actually having thought further I am not sure I can exclude from Google. One of the plugs in question was commissioned via Google Home, and removing from Google Home (which is the only way to remove it from Google Thread) also removes it from Hubitat. The other plug was commissioned via Home Assistant, into Google Thread, but was never on Google Home. There is no way to handle the Google Thread network directly. I now believe the only way to free these devices from Google is to factory reset them.

Only if there is not a TBR. If you add to homekit prior to removing from google it will not remove from hubitat as home kit is a TBR as well so the device will remain in the fabric. Regardless of the device that commisioned it, as long as another hub can support it, it will remain in the fabric.

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Ok that should work for the one commissioned by and in Google Home. The other I am not aware there is a way to remove it as it doesn't appear as a device anywhere other than Hubitat now (serviced by Google Thread but not manageable or visible in any capacity via Google) Anyway all worth experimenting I guess!

The reason I am wanting to move things is that Eve shows the thread network topology for Apple Home and I am the sort of person who likes to see what's going on with my stuff.

You might only have one thread network as Apple and Google can merge together. They are the only companies that have manage to make this work assuming you have an iPhone (or iPad) with both Apple and Google Home apps installed.

You want to see Is it finally time to embrace Matter? < Hint NOT! - #73 by jvm33 as there is an app (iPhone only) that allows you to identify your thread network(s). I run both Google and Apple Home and have a single thread network.

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That would be good if so, because I have several thread-enabled google displays around the house! They have definitely not merged as yet. I bought a second hand ipad to interface with the Apple system since I use Android phones. The Eve and Apple Home apps run on that but Eve only finds the Apple thread network. What app were you thinking of that will show both, do you remember?

I used ‎Discovery - DNS-SD Browser on the App Store on my iPhone. The previous forum post contains the directions, but for simplicity, are copied below:

  1. On your local domain, you look for an entry "_meshcop._upd"
  2. Select "_meshcop._udp" and you will then see your active border routers
  3. For each border router, you can then look in its TXT Record. The entry tv= shows the version of thread. The entry nn= shows the current thread network.
  4. You'll know they are all working together if the nn= entries are all the same.

In the previous post, that poster went Apple thread network and added Google devices to it. I went the other way...started with Google devices and add Apple TVs.

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Thank you that's helpful, I'll check that out!

How do you do that?

I thought I knew and I thought I'd done it before but I can't find the option now :smiley:

Nice app! Yeah my systems haven't joined up yet, but it's good being able to see what's going on.

Has anyone heard whether HE has plans to become a commissioner of matter devices itself?

Have you set any Google Home Thread Boarder Routers up via the iPad? One of the conditions is using an Apple device to setup a Google Device to help with the merger. If you have only used an Android phone to setup the Google Home devices and the iPad for the Apple devices, they will not merge.

They just need the mobile device app to be updated with Bluetooth commissioning. My guess is that it is on the eventual list especially since they are beta testing a new mobile app right now.

As in get a sharing code off Google for one of the google home matter devices and add to Apple Home? Not yet that will be my next job. I have an Onvis plug that will be a good candidate

No. You need to setup a Google device (nest hub 2, Nest Hub Max, Nest WiFi Pro, etc…) via the Google Home app on the iPad. This will allow sharing the Apple thread network details to Google Home.

Ah that's what I was not understanding. I have to get Google Home on Ipad! I didn't know one could

Next: So I installed Google Home and it automatically found all the displays and accessories I have in my Google Home. Is that enough or do I have to add something new to it?

The key is setting up the Google device on the iPad using Google Home. The Google Home app can read the iOS thread network details and help merge everything into one. It might take a couple of days to settle but you should be able to get them to eventually merge. From Why Thread is Matter’s biggest problem right now - The Verge

“Apple and Google Thread border routers can share the same Thread network by leveraging the iOS Thread network APIs.” So, you could have a Google Nest Hub Max and an Apple TV join a single Thread network if you set them both up using an iOS device.

However, the same is not true in reverse because an Android phone can’t access the iOS keychain, and there is no Android app that will set up a HomePod or Apple TV (and probably will never be).

If you use both iOS and Android, Hui says that Google Home can synchronize Thread credentials across your devices and populate them on both platforms, allowing new Thread devices to join the same network regardless of which OS they were set up on.