27
May, 2026

I replace my Danalock V3 with a Nuki Smart Lock Ultra

📘🔐 Special file: Nuki Smart Lock Ultra

This article is part of my complete file from installation to accessories to home automation.

📌 Why this change of home automation lock?

For several years I have been using a Danalock V3 Zigbee on my front door. It had itself replaced an old Danalock in Z-Wave, when I switched my home automation installation from Z-Wave to Zigbee.

She is still doing the job very well, but I wanted to move to a more modern solution and above all better suited to my current installation, especially with Matter in mind. I also wanted to forget the physical keys without multiplying the modules for it. And, quite honestly, I also wanted to get rid of 😇 battery management.

With the Nuki Smart Lock Ultra, What immediately interested me was the promise of a more mature package: Built-in Wi‑Fi, Matter over Thread compatibility, rechargeable battery, universal cylinder supplied and guided installation.

Looking through the official documentation, I also understood that Nuki had not simply sought to make a lock look prettier or smaller. The Ultra introduces a brushless motor, presented as more efficient and sustainable, with a technological approach that the brand brings closer to what is already known in other sectors such as electric vehicles.

In this article, I tell how I went from my Danalock V3, installed in 2023, to the Nuki Smart Lock Ultra, from the removal of the old connected lock to the first tests in the application. I will document in other articles the different modes of home automation connection as well as the interface in Home Assistant.

To tell you the truth, I discovered the Nuki Lock thanks to an opportunity to loan the equipment, I did not know the Smart Lock Ultra, I only knew the Smart Lock Go, the one with a white case under the lock. It was never compatible with my front door, because of the relief/reinforcement on the leaf between the lock and the edge of the door. Read More

16
May, 2026

I turned my SkyConnect Zigbee into a Thread for Matter

In Home Assistant, a Nabucasa coordinator (SkyConnect, ZBT-1, ZBT-2, …) can either Zigbee, or Thread, but not as a universal radio to do everything at once. In this test, a first key remained dedicated to the Zigbee in production, and a second key was reconfigured for Thread to prepare a Matter over Thread network without breaking the existing one.
Here is the full HTML code of the article, already written in the first person and with the descriptive titles:

📌 Context

My goal was simple: check if a second SkyConnect could become a Thread adapter directly from Home Assistant, without plugging the key into a PC and without touching the already operational Zigbee. I chose this cautious approach because my home automation installation was already working properly, and I did not want to shake everything up.

To avoid any risk, I left the Zigbee key intact. The new key served as a test bed for me, which allowed me to clearly document the behaviour of Home Assistant and to keep my own feedback.

💡 Difference Between Thread and Matter

Thread and Matter They don't mean the same thing. Thread is the radio network used by some low-power devices, while Matter is the standard that allows these devices to speak the same language in Home Assistant. SkyConnect therefore does not “do” Matter on its own: it provides the Thread radio layer, and Home Assistant then manages the Matter integration.

🚦 I start from a SkyConnect already in production

Initially, a SkyConnect was already in service for the Zigbee. I had a second, new key that had never been used before. It was this second key that I plugged into my Home Assistant machine for the experiment.

The choice to separate roles allowed me to clearly compare behaviours: on the one hand the production Zigbee, on the other a radio dedicated to Thread. It was also, in my view, the safest way to test a protocol change without a service interruption.

🔎 I let Home Assistant detect the new key

Once plugged in, Home Assistant detected my new SkyConnect in the Integrations page, in the Discoveries section. The card displayed “Home Assistant SkyConnect / Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1” with a button Add.

At the same time, the other SkyConnect remained present in the configured integrations. This confirmed to me that production was not impacted and that Home Assistant already managed the two instances as two separate devices.

🖱 I start adding from the dashboard

The new map appeared in the ‘Discoveries’ area. I clicked on Add to launch the configuration wizard for this second key.

We can see with this simplicity invented by Nabucasa, I did not need to go through a manual flash or an external tool. The configuration started directly from the Home Assistant web interface.

🧭 I choose the protocol of the key

After clicking on Add, Home Assistant asked me to choose the protocol of the key. Two options were proposed: Use as Zigbee Adapter and Use as Thread Adapter.

This choice confirmed an important point for me: The SkyConnect is assigned to a specific role. I had to choose either Zigbee for a classic network or Thread to prepare Matter over Thread.

🧵 Why I choose Thread

I chose Thread to test the Matter over Thread use case. My objective was not to replace the existing Zigbee, but to validate the creation of a dedicated Thread radio in Home Assistant.

It is also, in my view, the right logic if we want to maintain a stable installation: one dongle keeps the Zigbee in production, the other serves as the basis for Thread.

⚙ I let Home Assistant install OpenThread

Once Thread was selected, Home Assistant launched the adapter update.

At this point, my key was being transformed into a Thread adapter. The procedure advanced in Home Assistant without outside intervention.

 

📈 I monitor the progress of the flash

The progress bar showed the progress of the installation, in particular at 5 %. This confirmed to me that the key was indeed being flashed with the OpenThread firmware.

 

🛠 I complete the configuration of Thread

After the flash, Home Assistant went to the “Configuration of Thread” step.

I then saw messages like “Installing app” and then “Starting app”, signs that the Thread stack was being deployed.

This is when Home Assistant orchestrates the OpenThread Border Router service. In practice, my key becomes the system’s Thread radio, and Home Assistant takes care of the associated network layer.

The Thread network is not just a cosmetic setting. This is a real network setup, with a radio adapter that becomes able to play the role of border router for Matter-enabled Thread devices.

At the end of the procedure, I add the MATTER information so as not to confuse the keys.

My new key appeared with the firmware OpenThread RCP 2.7.2.0. This confirmed that the Thread reconfiguration was successful.

Home Assistant then displayed two separate devices in the Devices tab: a classic ‘Home Assistant SkyConnect’ and a ‘Home Assistant SkyConnect MATTER’. The integration map also indicated “2 devices”.

🧠 I read what it teaches me

This separation is convenient because it visually shows both roles. One key remains associated with historical use, the other becomes the radio dedicated to Thread/Matter.

For feedback, this is a strong point: The reader immediately understands that the migration created a second logical instance in Home Assistant, without breaking the first use.

🔬 What this test proves to me

This experience has shown me that it is possible to convert a second SkyConnect to a Thread adapter directly from Home Assistant. The procedure is integrated, guided, and does not require complex manipulations outside the interface.

She also showed me that Home Assistant knows how to manage the separation between Zigbee and Thread in a clear way. This is particularly reassuring when a Zigbee plant is already in production.

⚠ I keep a limit in mind

However, it should be borne in mind that a SkyConnect does not become a stand-alone hub Matter. Matter remains managed by the Matter integration of Home Assistant; The key here provides Thread connectivity, not all Matter logic alone.

In other words, SkyConnect fulfils for Thread the role that a coordinator fulfils for Zigbee: It opens and connects the network to Home Assistant. The difference is that Zigbee talks about a coordinator, while Thread relies on a border router, and Home Assistant then manages Matter above.

📝 Review and conclusion

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this test is the simplicity of the flow. I kept a key in Zigbee for stability, added the second one as a discovery, then reconfigured it into Thread with just a few clicks.

For someone who wants to test Matter over Thread without touching their existing installation, it is a clean and reassuring method. It avoids disassembly, manual flash and the risk of shutdown on the main Zigbee network.

In the end, the transformation worked as expected. Home Assistant detected my new SkyConnect, offered me the choice of Zigbee or Thread, installed OpenThread, and then showed me a key switched to MATTER/Thread mode with OpenThread RCP firmware.

Above all, this feedback shows me that it is possible to organise your radio roles properly in Home Assistant: one key for Zigbee production, another for experimenting with Thread and preparing Matter over Thread.

8
May, 2026

I monitor my home network with Home Security Assistant

The security of home networks has become a real concern.

Between connected objects, voice assistants, IP cameras, NAS, smartphones and home automation equipment, our local networks increasingly resemble small corporate networks.

And we will not escape mass attacks by cybercriminals.

After several years of upgrading my home automation system, I wanted to add a passive network monitoring layer:

  • without impacting performance;
  • without changing traffic;
  • and without turning the grid into a gas plant.

Read More

29
Mar, 2026

I monitor the reputation of my public IP in Home Assistant

I spend a lot of time monitoring, securing and understanding what is happening on my home network. Between the internet box, the unintentionally exposed equipment and the permanent scans from the internet, I once wondered one simple thing: Is my public IP known as “noisy” or suspicious on the internet?

That is, malicious tools use my network (pc, NAS, router, HA, …) ??

That’s how I came across GreyNoise, a really interesting service that makes it possible to know whether an IP address is part of the “noise” of the Internet, i.e. whether it is observed in scanning, polling or malicious traffic activities.

GreyNoise rightly describes its approach as a way to qualify the background noise of the Internet and contextualise an observed IP.

And as often with me, after a few tests, I thought: “Well, it would still be convenient to have this directly in Home Assistant”.

Initially, I thought I would do something very simple with a classic HTTP request. On paper, it seemed trivial. In practice, the most obvious method did not work for me as I had hoped. So I changed my approach and finally switched to a command line sensor. In this article, I tell you all this step by step, as I actually set it up at home, with the Lovelace cards for the final display.

Read More

21
Mar, 2026

I'm testing the Voice & Music Assistant Dev Edition by Third Reality

When we think of voice assistant for the house, we still think very quickly about Alexa, Google Home or, on the open home automation side, at Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition from Nabu Casa.

That is precisely why the THIRDREALITY Voice & Music Assistant Dev Edition intrigued me. It promises both voice, home assistant integration and a real audio role with Music Assistant.

I therefore did not want to test it only as a voice satellite. What I wanted to know was whether it could really become a useful little audio player in a Home Assistant installation, able to play a local MP3, broadcast an internet radio and drive cleanly from Home Assistant. In short, check whether it is a simple curious product or a device that really deserves a place in the current home automation ecosystem.

In this article, I take the whole route, from unpacking to commissioning, then to the first concrete audio uses with Music Assistant, RadioBrowser and a station launch in YAML. This test is also an opportunity to replace this box in front of the official product of Nabu Casa, but also in the face of wider public solutions such as Alexa and Google Home.

Read More

13
Mar, 2026

I'm testing Frient's Zigbee HESZB-120 heat detector

🔥 My lenses with this detector

One evening in the kitchen, my smoke detector goes off for the umpteenth time because of the smoke from chopped steaks.

Tired of false alerts, I am looking on home automation forums for a reliable solution.

This is where I discover the Zigbee 3.0 Smart Heat Detector HESZB-120 Frient 's.

It only reacts to excessive heat, which seems perfect for my kitchen, garage and living room with fireplace.

I order from Domadoo because he's on sale.

It seems perfect to me: Reliable push alerts, powerful siren of 85 decibels and long maintenance-free autonomy. I'm testing all this … Read More

6
Mar, 2026

I save Home Assistant on my Onedrive Business

I wanted to use OneDrive for Business as a backup destination in Home Assistant.

Official integration allows backups to be sent to OneDrive for Business, but asks to prepare an application in Microsoft Entra beforehand, with a Tenant ID, a Client ID, a Secret Client and a precise redirect URI.

Prerequisite

Before you start, you need to:

  • A functional Home Assistant.
  • A Microsoft 365 / OneDrive for Business account.
  • Access to the Microsoft Entra portal with an account that can create an application. Microsoft indicates that at least one Application Developer role is required.
  • Knowing the redirect URL used by Home Assistant will be: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/oauth.

Read More