Matter Support (Beta) Coming to Flic Hubs

In what might be considered a big surprise to many, was today’s announcement from Shortcut Labs for a beta update to all Flic hubs that adds Matter support. This in fact doesn’t simply make these hubs Matter Bridges, but in fact elevates them to actual Matter Controllers for the Flic ecosystem. You can read about Siobhán Ellis’ own experiences with the Matter update and the Flic Twist on her website, practical HomeKit.

This update, which is only in Beta at present, means that Matter over WiFi devices can now be added to the Flic platform, and by extension can then be controlled directly by the company’s own line of buttons. I mention Matter over WiFi, as Matter over Thread devices are not supported due to these hubs simply not containing a Thread Border Router (TBR). That said, it should be possible to use existing TBRs you already have, to be co-opted into helping out in this area, although Shortcut Labs’ own press release does only state “Any Matter-enabled device that uses WiFi can be controlled directly by the Flic Hubs in your local home network”.

Additionally, in a situation we saw similarly with the initial release of the Aqara Hub M3 (also a Matter Controller), these hubs will initially be limited to controlling Matter lights and smart plugs, with expanded support to come at a later date.

Where this is going to be useful for existing Flic button users is the ability to control lights directly via Flic without the need to connect to another company’s cloud-based servers, due to Matter being local. This would include not only the tiny flic buttons, but also the Flic Twist.

If you’re the owner of either the Flic Hub Mini or Flic Hub LR, the company state;

all Flic Hubs will automatically receive a firmware update. Just make sure that your app has the latest version.

• Hub Firmware version 4.3.0
• iOS version 6.1.0
• Android update coming soon, version 3.11.0

If you’re not familiar with Flic, you can read Mariusz Szwed’s review of the Hub LR HERE. If you’re interested to know more about Flic hubs and buttons, you can check out the company’s website, as well as purchase Flic devices on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.de.

Thanks to Siobhan Ellis at practicalhomekitblogspot.com for the tip off.