Understand Smart Home Matter Support
You can connect your smart home device to Alexa with the Matter connectivity protocol. Matter is a local IPv6 wireless connectivity technology designed to enable interoperability between devices made by different manufacturers. With Matter, smart home devices can connect to Alexa without a separate hub or smart home skill. Also, skill-enabled devices can support Matter for local connections.
With Matter, Alexa can control your device locally, which can reduce latency and improve reliability. For more details about Matter, see Matter, The Foundation for Connected Things.
Matter-enabled Amazon Echo devices have built-in software to connect and control Matter smart home devices seamlessly. After a customer sets up an Echo, they can connect their devices by saying, "Alexa, discover my devices", or by adding the device in the Alexa app. The Echo device acts as a Matter administrator to discover and connect Matter devices to Alexa locally.
Connection options
Alexa supports the following three connection options for Matter devices:
- You can connect your device directly to Alexa with Matter over Wi-Fi.
- You can connect Alexa Connect Kit (ACK) devices to Alexa with the ACK SDK for Matter. The SDK supports Matter over Wi-Fi.
- You can add another connection to Alexa from your skill-connected devices with Matter over Wi-Fi. This option enables Alexa to control your device locally during Internet outages or when your skill isn't available.
Specifications
Matter-enabled Echo devices support the Matter 1.0 protocol, defined by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). For details, see the Matter 1.0 specifications. At this time, Echo devices support Matter over Wi-Fi.
Supported device categories and clusters
Alexa supports the following Matter device categories: lighting, plugs, and switches. For details about devices in these categories, see Matter Device Library Specification, Version 1.0.
Matter-enabled Echo devices support Matter clusters based on the device category. The following table maps the supported Matter clusters to Alexa interfaces and utterances for example devices. Your Matter device must support the clusters for the Alexa interfaces that your product supports.
| Example devices | Matter cluster name | Corresponding Alexa interface | Example utterances |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dimmer, Lamp, Light bulb, Plug, Power strip, Switch |
On/Off |
Alexa, turn on <device name>. | |
|
Dimmer |
Level Control |
Alexa, set <device name> to twenty five percent. | |
|
Dimmer |
Level Control |
Alexa, set <device name> to seven. | |
|
Lamp |
Level Control |
Alexa, set <device name> to fifty percent. | |
|
Light bulb |
Color Control |
Alexa, set <device name> to blue. | |
|
Light bulb |
On/Off |
Alexa, turn on "Start my day." | |
|
Light strip |
Color Control |
Alexa, set <device name> to warmer. | |
|
Power strip |
On/Off |
Alexa, turn on <device name>. |
Get started with Matter
To get started with Matter, your product must be in one of the supported device categories and implement the Matter 1.0 specification. In addition, your product must implement the cluster type and associated Alexa interface for the features that your device supports. For details, see Supported device categories and cluster types.
Test your Matter integration with an Matter-enabled Amazon Echo device. Verify that Alexa can discover and control your device over the local Wi-Fi network.
Obtain the Works with Alexa Badge
Works with Alexa (WWA) is a certification program that establishes your product's compatibility with Alexa, helping to ensure that your customers have a better smart home experience. For details about the WWA program, see Works with Alexa Overview.
Before you apply for WWA certification for your Matter device, your product must meet the WWA certification requirements for Matter devices.
After you have thoroughly tested your device with the Echo, you can submit your product for WWA certification. For details, see Apply for Works with Alexa Certification.