Make setting up Matter and adding devices more approachable

[mkerstner]

Problem statement

Setting up a Matter device should not require any prior knowledge.

While Matter and Thread both provide a very solid open foundation to build upon we still see room for improvement from a UX perspective:

• When initially setting up Home Assistant to become an Open Thread Border Router (OTBR)
• When adding Matter devices (to it)

While a lot of work has been done already to shape the setup experience we are aware that there might still be some bumps along the way, like

• ensuring that IPv6 is fully functional for the OTBR to work in the first place
• or that Thread credentials are really synced when trying to add Matter devices through the Home Assistant companion app

While we have documentation and troubleshooting guidelines users ideally are better guided through the process.

This effort is to be seen as a continuation of #5 and #31.

Scope & Boundaries

In scope

• ZBT-2 setup flow as reference to ensure proper OTBR, IPv6 (e.g) setup
• Add Matter device flow through HomeAssistant & Companion app
• Adding user signals where needed to show erroneous states and guide to potentially fix them, e.g.
  • missing / non-functional IPv6 support for OTBR
  • missing link to troubleshooting via the Companion app when trying to add Matter device

Not in scope

• Other BR
• Fundamentally changing setup flows

Foreseen solution

• One solution for sure is to show and direct users in case of failures during the Add a Matter device flow via the HA Companion App. This is something already progressing here Show snackbar with troubleshooting link for Matter/Thread non-OK activity results home-assistant/android#6614

Community signals

No response

Risks & open questions

• We don't see imminent risks as we aim to shape up existing flows with additional signals to troubleshoot
• Open questions remain
  • if/how to troubleshooting signals could be added to the Companion flow
  • how to best identify IPv6 issues with OTBR

Appetite

No response

Execution issues

No response

Decision log

Date	Decision	Outcome

[TimoPtr]

@jpelgrom is more aware of what can we do on this topic.