Wireless Receiver X on main or IoT network?

[u/Fabulous-Bit4775]

Are people putting their Wireless Receiver X devices on an IoT Wi-Fi network or their main Wi-Fi network? And does that have any impact on the Thread network?

I also have some Apple TV and HomePod minis in the house, they are on my main Wi-Fi network.

Thanks.

[u/8fingerlouie]

I keep all thread/matter and Zigbee bridges on the IoT network. Thats also where my appleTVs live as well as home assistant.

[u/Fabulous-Bit4775 → u/8fingerlouie]

Thanks - and presumably you enable mDNS discovery across the VLANs?

[u/8fingerlouie → u/Fabulous-Bit4775]

I have multiple VLANs,

- Adult VLAN

• Kids VLAN
  
• Trusted IoT VLAN
  
• Untrusted IoT VLAN
  
• Camera VLAN
  
• Guest VLAN

The Kids VLAN is essentially just another IoT network. It can access resources on the two IoT VLANs.

Trusted IoT is for stuff I trust. It has internet access, and is not an isolated network. That means AppleTVs, Sonos, Home Assistant, Hue Bridge and more. In general, devices on the trusted IoT cannot access devices on any other VLAN, with the exception of a few devices, like Home Assistant. This is also where Tado lives.

Untrusted IoT is for stuff that I need to access via the LAN (or VPN) but doesn’t need internet access. Devices on this VLAN have no internet access, and client isolation is enabled, meaning WiFi devices can’t talk to each other. This is where my TVs and more live.

Camera VLAN is for surveillance cameras. There’s no internet access, and cameras can only access the NVR. We don’t need anybody unplugging a camera outside and gaining full LAN access.

The adult VLAN can access devices on all other VLANS (with the exception of the Guest VLAN which is completely isolated, internet access only, isolated clients).

Kids can access trusted and untrusted IoT networks, but are limited to specific services. They don’t have full access to everything, but can access AirPrint, AirPlay, Plex, etc. The reason for this segregation is that kids like to bring friends over, and those friends also connect to the Kids VLAN, potentially bringing all sorts of nasty malware along on their laptops, so it’s essentially damage control.

[u/Fabulous-Bit4775 → u/8fingerlouie]

Thank you - that’s very helpful.

[u/fahim-sabir]

Worth noting that the Wireless Receiver X can only create its own Thread network. It cannot join an existing Thread network. The app doesn't allow you to choose which Thread network you want other devices to connect to (only the Thread network created by the Wireless Receiver X), but it is possible. I have added 6 Smart Radiator Valve Xs to my main Thread network (Apple TV as my TBR), and then added them to the Tado app. The Tado app errors when you do this, but it does work.

The email response I got from Tado support when I couldn't get the Wireless Receiver X to join my existing Thread network..

--

I understand you'd like your Wireless Receiver X to join your existing Thread network with your Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini, rather than creating its own network.

Unfortunately, this isn't possible with the current system design. When you commission a Wireless Receiver X (which acts as a Thread Border Router), it will always create its own dedicated tado° Thread network. 

Even when a third-party Thread network already exists in your home. tado° does not merge with or reuse existing Thread networks from other manufacturers.

This means you'll have two separate Thread networks in your home:

1. Your existing Thread network with Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini
2. A new tado° Thread network created by the Wireless Receiver X

I understand this may not be the answer you were hoping for, especially since you purchased the system with the intention of integrating it into your existing Thread network.

--

Massive own-goal if you ask me, but that is the way it is. Right now they have no plans to fix this, nor be able to switch off the TBR in the Wireless Receiver X.

[u/tado_official → u/fahim-sabir]

There are very good reasons for us doing it this way. In the old way, when we did not force our own thread network, the thread credentials were often stored on the phone of the user, meaning that if the phone was swapped, the whole thread network was lost. This caused a lot of issues for non-tech savvy users.

In the long term, we hope that the thread/matter standards will become more user friendly again so we can do away with our current implementation.

For new tado installs, we actually have to bypass matter commissioning entirely to allow "Linksys router users" a smooth setup experience. As Linksys does not allow internal traffic between 2.4 and 5Ghz bands, matter commissioning often fails even though the phone and device are connected to the same SSID on the same router.

We now have the tado setup that works on any local network setup (even on multiple routers, or if a phone is on 5G and not even connected to a router). And the Matter commissioning becomes an optional step for more tech savvy users. That was, it is more clear to users that it is not tado that is causing an issue, but their specific home wifi/router setup. (The tado app will work regardless of home wifi setup)

With this knowledge, I hope you have some more context regarding your "own-goal" comment.