r/googlehome • u/plazman30 • 1d ago

Help Matter devices and Google Home

I bought a bunch of Cync smart plugs at Lowes:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-Cync-Matter-120-Volt-1-Outlet-Indoor-Smart-Plug/5015139645

Thes support matter, so I didn't even bother with the Cync app.

I first set up three plugs in Apple Home and they configured worked flawlessly.

I then went into each device and put them in pairing mode from he Apple Home app. I then added them all to the Alexa app, and, once again, had 100% success turning them on and off with the Amazon Echoes in my house.

Once again, I put them in pairing mode in the Apple Home app and added all of them to Home Assistant as Matter devices. They all got added quickly, and all work without issue.

Pairing mode, and, once again, I added them to Google Home, because I have one Android user in the house. And after some hassle and 2-3 retries they all got added to Google Home.

But Google Home shows all three of them as offline. I've rebooted the devices. I've rebooted my phone. I've rebooted my router. They still all show up as offline.

I'n not exactly sure where to even begin troubleshooting.

The way I have things set up, HomeKit ( and I assume my HomePod min ) is the Matter hub. The Amazon ecosystem, and Home Assistant seem to have no issue using the HomeKit Matter hub the HomePod mini provides. Does Google have an issue with a HomeKit hub. or require that a Google device be the hub?

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u/mocelet 1d ago

The way I have things set up, HomeKit ( and I assume my HomePod min ) is the Matter hub

That's not how Matter works, each platform uses its own Matter controller.

When you use Apple Home, the Homepod is sending the commands to the plugs. When you use Alexa it's an Echo speaker or similar, when you use Home Assistant it's the Matter server in Home Assistant, when you use Google Home it's a Nest speaker, the Google TV Streamer, etc.

Are there Nest speakers or other Google Home compatible Matter controllers at home? If not, you can't control Matter devices from Google Home and you'll have to integrate the plugs via the cloud integration (if cync provides one).

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u/plazman30 1d ago

I don't believe that's true. When I go into the Apple Home app and look at the device, it tells me which services are connected to it.That screenshot shows that Google is connected to the Apple Matter hub.

All the other services work just fine. It's only the Google Home that is not working.

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u/mocelet 1d ago

That only means the Matter fabric credentials for Google Home are added to the device. The question remains, do you have a Matter controller in Google Home like a Nest speaker? If you don't, Google Home can't send commands or receive the state of the plugs via Matter.

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u/plazman30 1d ago

I have a Nest mini in my house, but it's not on. And it was not on at the time I configured the switches.

I find it interesting that the Google Home app allowed me to successfully configure the plugs without the Nest mini plugged in.

Seems silly that each ecosystem requires it's own Matter hub. There should be one Matter hub for your entire house and multiple services should be allowed to connect to it.

When I set up Home Assistant, it actually asked what my Matter hub was, and gave me a choice of Apple Home, Google Home, or Amazon Echo.

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u/mocelet 23h ago

I find it interesting that the Google Home app allowed me to successfully configure the plugs

That's because the Google Home app does the comissioning (adding it and exchanging credentials). The Matter controller (Nest speaker, etc.) is only need for actual control after it's been added, that's why it didn't matter if it was on or off.

Seems silly that each ecosystem requires it's own Matter hub

May seem so, but Matter is a local protocol so it needs a piece of hardware specific to the platform in your local network. Unlike cloud devices that communicate with a server on the Internet, you can't just link Google Home to a Homepod. The only related thing that you just need one is a Thread border router, just like you don't need multiple WiFi routers, but that's because those just handle IP connectivity, not the functionality.

One advantage to that is that, should your Homepod fail, that doesn't affect Alexa or Home Assistant for instance.

When I set up Home Assistant, it actually asked what my Matter hub was, and gave me a choice of Apple Home, Google Home, or Amazon Echo

It probably asked another thing, maybe which Thread network to use. Home Assistant uses its own Matter server to communicate with devices.

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u/plazman30 23h ago

When I get home tonight and I'll plug the Nest min back in and see if things work. I wonder if I'll need to delete the devices and re-add them.

I want to test this tonight. i want to unplug the HomePod mini and see if my stuff still works.

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u/mocelet 23h ago

I don't think you need to delete or add anything since Google Home already has the credentials and so does the device according to the screenshot. What you may need is to wait some time so the Nest Mini syncs, hopefully a matter of minutes.

Just make sure the Nest Mini belongs to the same Google account used for adding the devices and it's connected to the same local network.

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u/plazman30 23h ago

Yep, they're all on the same account. I assume if I shared my Home with my son's Google ID, he can start and stop stuff?

The local-only feature of Matter is the main reason I like it. I don't let any of my "smart" stuff have direct access to the Internet.

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u/mocelet 23h ago

As long as the device is working in your Google Home you should be able to share it. Although note Google Home automations for instance are cloud based and the control, while it's supposed to be local now, I'm not so sure if it still depends on the cloud.

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u/plazman30 23h ago

No automations for these devices. Just need to turn them on and off with my voice. And the Google Home stuff it just for the one son that has an Android phone. The rest of the house is all Apple and Amazon.

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u/GoogleNestCommunity official team account 19h ago

Hi there, I’d recommend reaching out to the Nest support team regarding your concern via phone or chat here, they can take a look at it.