IKEAs update to Tradfri gateway: DIRIGERA

SchrodingersCat

It looks like Ikea have launched a new gateway for their home automation lineup called "Dirigera". https://about.ikea.com/en/newsroom/2022/10/24/ikea-introduces-dirigera-and-the-new-ikea-home-smart-app

Tradfri used to use Zigbee light-link protocol. This looks to be an update that uses Zigbee 3.0. Hopefully it will mean more compatibility between competitors hardware.

It appears to be much easier to set up devices than their older method. https://www.theverge.com/23420136/ikeas-dirigera-smart-home-review-price-specs

Unfortunately, it looks like it will be prices at e59, nearly twice the price of their Tradfri gateway.

WildCardDoW

If I get this do I not need to bother getting a Zigbee gateway in theory?

I understand its too soon to say if it actually does a good job but it will be worth it for me as I have a fair few Tradfri devices but no hub!

Or would I be better getting a hub off AliExpress and linking the Tradfri things to that?

WildCardDoW

I do not, it will support them.

Next time I will read both links.

WildCardDoW

I bought one today, don't have non Tradfri bulbs to check against.

Works easily with the Tradfri bulbs I had in the house and setup was easy.

SchrodingersCat

That is good to know, WildCardDoW, that they are for sale already in Ireland.

https://www.ikea.com/ie/en/p/dirigera-hub-for-smart-products-white-smart-50503409/

At 65e, it looks they are slightly more exensive than what we originally thought of 59e. Have you noticed much difference over the previous Tradfri gateway? I might buy one myself if I am in Ikea.

WildCardDoW

I ended up buying my bulbs just as they got rid of Tradfri.

So I can't give you any detail on it being better. It's snappy to respond for me. Even the detection process is clearly laid out in the app with a video to sync to, then the bulbs flash on and off and the app was quick to pick up all the bulbs I added. I was able to add multiple bulbs in one go that were all on the same switch.

I know they don't support migration from the older app and that so could be a pain if you've put a lot of effort into that in the IKEA Home (1) app.

I decided to go for it due to the (expected) Matter integration - seems like most other Zigbee gateways I could get wouldn't have offered that.

SchrodingersCat

I getcha. I have a rake of Tradfri devices here so the upgrade might not be as beneficial for me. That pairing process sounds like a dream compared to the older Tradfri methods though. I found them very awkward to pair, requiring a couple of goes.

It was leaked that the Philips Hue hub will receive a software update that will make it Matter compatible, so that might be an option for anyone else looking for the same.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/3/23438437/philips-hue-bridge-matter-certified-smart-home-update

https://www.currys.ie/products/philips-hue-bridge-smart-lighting-hub-10228924.html

WildCardDoW

Yeah, hopefully matter changes it all (although Zigbee should have made life easier if they had all supported it from the start). AFAIK Matter is/can be fully offline?

This hub will do me for a while, I like the Tradfri bulbs and if I can add some Zigbee enabled GU10 and LED strips I am golden for the first few years.

Just need to pick up nice motion sensors and maybe some Zigbee Sonoff devices to smartify some switches (rather than replacing 20ish GU10s for some areas!) down the line.

Otherwise I have Ajax and Hive so will keep those devices in their own eco system mostly.

AAAAAAAAA

Pretty disappointed with the dirigera honestly. While it is quite neat in how it organises rooms and functions, it just doesn't feel like a finished product that should have been released. I found pairing of devices pretty quick and setting up rooms is a breeze, but the functionality just is not there at all.

Most egregiously for me, integration with ikeas own motion sensors is really crap, you can only set one trigger condition per sensor (i.e., nothing like "do this between this time and this time, but this between this time and this time") and it can't have a condition like "if the lights are already on, do not trigger the motion sensor timer to turn them off". Basically had to turn off the motion sensors except to work as night lighting.

Symfonisk speakers wouldn't do the set-up connect to the dirigera on their own from my android phone, but for some reason worked alright with my girlfriend's iphone. Then the situation flipped and the actual music playing is absolutely seamless from android, but quite buggy from the iphone. It works though, so not really a total complaint.

Wake-up lighting is pathetic, no gradual transition that happens over a course of minutes. When the lights are triggered, they are immediately triggered at the max you have set them to in the scene.

While I haven't got the air purifier yet, apparently they don't report their sensor numbers to the app either.

Even though the device has wifi built-in, it must be connected via ethernet to the router. Apparently they will enable it to work over wifi in the future, but I'm just left asking if the device was manufactured to allow connection over wifi, why isn't the feature enabled at release?

You would expect that at the very least they would have their existing smart devices integrated well and with these basic, basic features, but they're just selling it on supposed future features - an argument that doesn't really work when there are other systems being sold today that manage this stuff with ease.