Google Nest Hub Max Matter update breaks Nest x Yale Lock integration

Google Nest Hub Max is updated for Prepare it to support the material (Hurrah!) But he will lose the ability to connect directly to Nest x Yale Lock (Boo). Next month a “few” of people may find themselves temporarily offline until they add another dongle (ugh), but at least the dongle will be free (hooray again).

per post on Company’s Nest Community PageGoogle says:

Once this software update is launched, the Nest Hub Max will no longer support bridging or range extension. At that time, users whose locks are connected to Wi-Fi via the Nest Hub Max, or outside of Nest Connect or Nest Guard range, will not be able to lock or unlock their door using the Nest app. Users will still be able to lock and unlock the door using the keypad on the Nest x Yale Lock. Nest discovery devices that are outside the range of Nest Connect or Nest Guard will not be able to connect to a Wi-Fi network and report their status in the Nest app.

Some context: When a file Nest x Yale Lock was launched in 2018 as one of the firstready thread‘, he needed either a file Nest Connect Bridge (included with the lock or sold separately for $70) or the now-defunct Nest Guard home security system to connect to the Internet and the rest of the Nest ecosystem. But the Nest Hub Max was launched the following year, included Thread limit router (somewhat hidden), which means people Nest x Yale Lock can be connected to it without a bridgeAnd few people did.

The July update breaks this functionality of the lock and the Nest Guard door sensor. Anyone with any device that does not have a Nest Connect or a Nest Guard security system will need Nest Connect to reconnect them. Google spokeswoman Laura Breen told us, “Users who do not have a Nest Connect or Nest Guard and are affected by this update will either receive the appropriate coupon code for one free Nest Connect from the Google Store or will be directed to contact support to receive a free Nest Connect.”

Brin says the solution is necessary because “the built-in connectivity of the Nest x Yale Lock, Nest Guard, and Nest Connect is based on a previous implementation of Thread, and their implementations do not support the features required for Matter. Because the Nest Hub Max cannot support multiple Thread networks (or network configurations), it will not be able to support interoperability with a Nest Guard, Connect, or Nest x Yale lock.

Photo by Dan Seifert/The Verge

In a blog post in May, Google said it would update several devices, including the Nest Hub Max, to Let them act as watchers of things; In the same blog post, he said that the Nest Hub Max will also be able to act as a Thread border router. This feature replaces the current thread boundary vector implementation with an extension The setup process is somewhat cumbersome and limited compatibility.

Brin also said that “important support for the Nest x Yale lockout is not planned at this time.” It wasn’t just a twinkle in the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s eye when the Nest x Yale Lock was launched, so even though it has a Thread radio, there are restrictions preventing Google from implementing Matter over Thread. Many lights and strips supported by Nanoleaf will not work with Matter either. (My colleague Jennifer Bateson is on vacation, so I can’t ask her to explain it to me.)

However, you can’t make an omelette without cracking some eggs, and that sometimes means having to get another dongle so your Nest Smart Lock can keep talking to your Nest Smart Hub.