When we first launched Matter, our goal was clear: empower device makers to build reliable, secure smart home products, and help users easily start and grow their connected homes. With the release of Matter 1.4.2, we take another meaningful step forward in that mission.
This release strengthens the foundation of the Matter standard by introducing key enhancements focused on improving security, streamlining certification, optimizing infrastructure, and enabling better user experiences through tighter coordination across the ecosystem. The updates in Matter 1.4.2 are rooted in both industry best practices and the real-world lessons learned from Matter products already in the market.
Importantly, while Matter 1.4.2 maintains full backward compatibility, many of its enhancements require coordinated support between device manufacturers and ecosystem platforms. Developers are encouraged to collaborate closely with their partners to implement and deploy these features, maximizing their impact for users.
Highlights from Matter 1.4.2
Wi-Fi Only Commissioning
Matter 1.4.2 introduces support for Wi-Fi-only commissioning using Wi-Fi Unsynchronized Service Discovery (USD). This update enables devices to be onboarded to Matter ecosystems over Wi-Fi without requiring Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radios.
For device makers, this provides an opportunity to reduce costs and hardware complexity by removing the Bluetooth LE radio and stack in designs where a Bluetooth LE radio is used solely for commissioning. It also enables existing Wi-Fi-only products to adopt Matter through a firmware update, without needing hardware revisions. For consumers, it means more device choices and the same simple, consistent setup experience they expect from Matter, even when Bluetooth LE isn’t available in the device.
What it means for users: While it will take some time to achieve the required critical mass of support from commissioners such as phones, hubs, smart speakers, etc., this update provides a path to more affordable devices, wider product availability, and the same reliable and simple setup experience—even without Bluetooth LE.
Advanced Security Enhancements
Security remains a central pillar of Matter. To strengthen this pillar, Matter 1.4.2 introduces and enhances several security features:
- Vendor ID (VID) Verification: Matter Controllers can now cryptographically verify that the Admins installed on a device are genuinely from the vendors they claim. This strengthens trust in Multi-Admin environments and prevents potential impersonation attacks by bad actors.
What it means for users: Admins, which users typically recognize as “ecosystems” or “Controllers”, can fully control smart home devices their credentials are installed on. This update enables greater peace of mind for users that their smart home devices are only connected to trusted Admins. - Access Restriction Lists (ARLs): For network infrastructure devices such as routers and access points (known in Matter as Network Infrastructure Managers or NIMs), ARLs provide a mechanism to restrict access to sensitive settings and data to only trusted, verified Controllers. Enhanced testing support for ARLs included in 1.4.2 ensures implementations are robust and secure.
What it means for users: Stronger protection against tampering or misconfiguration by untrusted apps or services. - Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs): Using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Matter now supports standard mechanisms for revoking unused or compromised Device Attestation Certificates. Ecosystems can use CRLs to flag potentially risky devices, warning users during commissioning and blocking unsecured devices from entering the network.
What it means for users: Protection from unknowingly adding insecure or fraudulent devices to their home.
Improved Scenes Management
Matter 1.4.2 makes scene support certifiable, providing a standardized way for Controllers to define and activate scenes across multiple Matter devices. Matter scenes allow users to control entire rooms or environments, like setting mood lighting or initiating bedtime routines, with a single command. The update adds support for time-based behavior, like fading lights over time, and can reduce the number of commands needed to synchronize multiple devices. Each ecosystem can define and use its own scenes.
What it means for users: Smoother, faster, and more reliable scene activation with improved coordination between devices. Most users create experiences such as scenes in the native interfaces of their ecosystem apps, which can coordinate both Matter and non-Matter devices. For many users, this enhancement, if implemented by an ecosystem, may improve the responsiveness and performance of scenes involving Matter devices.
Efficient Network Communication (Quieter Reporting)
As the number of Matter devices in homes increases, so does the volume of data they generate. Matter 1.4.2 extends “Quieter Reporting,” a data model optimization that defines when and how often devices should report attribute changes, to a wider range of features and devices.
By avoiding unnecessary updates, such as repeatedly reporting time remaining on a timer or intermediate values during a long transition, devices can reduce network utilization and extend battery life. This leads to more efficient, less noisy networks and more responsive homes.
What it means for users: Better battery life and faster response times, especially in larger homes with many devices.
Standardized Node Reconfiguration
Smart home devices often gain new capabilities after commissioning—either through firmware updates or user-driven changes. Matter 1.4.2 standardizes the way devices notify Controllers of changes to their features or configuration.
Now, when a device’s capabilities change, it can issue an attribute update, allowing Controllers to re-evaluate its configuration.
What it means for users: New features become available automatically, without requiring a device reboot or setup from scratch.
Consistent Endpoint Unique IDs
Matter devices often have multiple addressable endpoints, for example, individual plugs on a power strip or buttons on a Controller. Before 1.4.2, endpoint IDs could be different across Admins or after recommissioning, causing user confusion and potential duplication.
Endpoint Unique IDs resolve this by ensuring each endpoint has a persistent, Admin-independent identifier. Suppose devices are linked to ecosystems by a non-Matter external cloud connection. In that case, their endpoints’ Unique IDs can be communicated through that connection as well, to avoid multiple instances of the same device. This allows ecosystems to reliably track and manage complex devices across interfaces.
What it means for users: No more duplicate devices or confusion when reconfiguring devices or updating their connections to Matter.
Standardized Robot Vacuum Cleaner (RVC) Behaviors
To support consistent integration of Robot Vacuum Cleaners (RVCs), Matter 1.4.2 standardizes expected behavior, particularly around sequential commands. Previously, device responses varied; for instance, some needed the current job to be cancelled before starting a new one, creating friction for users and Controllers.
The new behavioral standard provides predictability and consistency across vendors, enabling faster integration by Controllers and more intuitive interactions for users.
What it means for users: More predictable, reliable vacuum performance, regardless of brand, and easier setup in your smart home ecosystem.
Enhanced Network Infrastructure Requirements
With smart homes scaling up, Matter 1.4.2 sets updated requirements for Network Infrastructure Managers (NIMs) like routers and access points:
- Thread Border Routers included in NIMs must support at least 150 devices and be certified for Thread 1.4.
- Wi-Fi access points must support 100 simultaneous associations and Target Wake Time (TWT) for power efficiency.
What it means for users: Confidence that their smart home network can grow without hitting performance limits.
Improved Certification Processes
Matter 1.4.2 includes many updates to test plans, scripts, and tools, including new and refined test cases for valves, fans, access control, and the interaction data model. These updates enhance test automation, minimize ambiguity, and streamline certification processes for greater efficiency and repeatability.
What it means for users: More reliable, better-tested products entering the market faster.
With Matter 1.4.2, the Connectivity Standards Alliance reaffirms its commitment to making the smart home simpler, more secure, and more interoperable. This release strengthens the standard from the ground up, addressing key challenges identified by real-world deployments and laying the groundwork for future releases, including 1.5 planned for the fall of this year.
We encourage device makers, platform providers, and developers to work collaboratively to adopt these new capabilities, already implemented and tested in the Matter open-source SDK, and continue shaping the future of the interoperable smart home.
Developers interested in learning more about these enhancements can access the following resources:
Learn more about Matter and its continuing evolution as the foundation for connected things.