Cannot import Thread credentials to iOS or Android

[FelixBurkhard]

The problem

When trying to load the thread network credentials to my phone I get the error "No preferred network found" even though a preferred network is configured.
I am running HAOS on a RaspberryPi and using SkyConnect in Multiprotocol Mode. There are Zigbee devices in my network and I was also able to pair one Thread Device via the HomeKit Integration following the instructions. So in general my Thread network is running correctly.
I wanted to add a Matter over Thread Device (Aqara Door P2) and therefore to download the Thread network credentials to my phone. When trying to fetch the credentials I get above error. I tried it on an iOS device (version 2024.2) and on an Android device, but both showed the same error.
As you can see in the screenshot I have the Thread network configured to be my preferred network and also to sync keys with mobile devices.

Please let me know if I can provide any logs to help identify the issue.

Thanks!

What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue?

core-2024.3.0

What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core?

No response

What type of installation are you running?

Home Assistant OS

Integration causing the issue

Thread

Link to integration documentation on our website

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/thread/

Diagnostics information

config_entry-thread-e974e5f5a09b65d0e5674bbcfe66b2f9.json

Example YAML snippet

No response

Anything in the logs that might be useful for us?

No response

Additional information

No response

[home-assistant]

Hey there @home-assistant/core, mind taking a look at this issue as it has been labeled with an integration (thread) you are listed as a code owner for? Thanks!

Code owner commands

Code owners of thread can trigger bot actions by commenting:

• @home-assistant close Closes the issue.
• @home-assistant rename Awesome new title Renames the issue.
• @home-assistant reopen Reopen the issue.
• @home-assistant unassign thread Removes the current integration label and assignees on the issue, add the integration domain after the command.
• @home-assistant add-label needs-more-information Add a label (needs-more-information, problem in dependency, problem in custom component) to the issue.
• @home-assistant remove-label needs-more-information Remove a label (needs-more-information, problem in dependency, problem in custom component) on the issue.

_{^{(message by CodeOwnersMention)}}

---

thread documentation
thread source
_{^{(message by IssueLinks)}}

[home-assistant]

Hey there @Jc2k, @bdraco, mind taking a look at this issue as it has been labeled with an integration (homekit_controller) you are listed as a code owner for? Thanks!

Code owner commands

Code owners of homekit_controller can trigger bot actions by commenting:

• @home-assistant close Closes the issue.
• @home-assistant rename Awesome new title Renames the issue.
• @home-assistant reopen Reopen the issue.
• @home-assistant unassign homekit_controller Removes the current integration label and assignees on the issue, add the integration domain after the command.
• @home-assistant add-label needs-more-information Add a label (needs-more-information, problem in dependency, problem in custom component) to the issue.
• @home-assistant remove-label needs-more-information Remove a label (needs-more-information, problem in dependency, problem in custom component) on the issue.

_{^{(message by CodeOwnersMention)}}

---

homekit_controller documentation
homekit_controller source
_{^{(message by IssueLinks)}}

[Jc2k]

HomeKit over Thread and Matter over Thread are different beasts.

Homekit only requires Ha to know the preferred network, not your phone, as it uses Bluetooth directly from HA to the target device to configure thread.

Matter does the Bluetooth part on your phone. That means we need to rely on your phone vendor having a matter sdk, and the syncing process working.

iOS cannot provision matter devices at all if you don't have a thread capable Apple home hub. That's more than just border router. We think it runs the matter controller on the HomePod. So ignore iOS right now.

It can work on Android. But there are a bunch of conditions. If your phone has seen a nest device but you don't currently have one, it can refuse to sync new thread networks. Unfortunately we can't fix this. Some people have removed Google play services and reinstalled and that's worked. But that resets Google pay.

"Freedom" builds of Android also don't work. They need the matter sdk and they seem to need to be signed in to Google.

Not an Android user but AIUI there is a button in the Android HA UI to sync or import thread credentials from HA to Android. If you press it multiple times it will say it did something. But if it actually worked the 2nd time it would say there is nothing to do.

Your best bet is probably #matter and #thread on discord. #matter has some pinned posts which you might find helpful.

[FelixBurkhard]

Thanks for the quick answer. If this is already known please feel free to close this issue. IMHO it would make sense to adjust the error message then to include a hint about compatibility of Border Routers when importing keys, but I guess thats an Frontend issue and not core.

[Jc2k]

AIUI the errors are from your phone in OS code we don't control.

home-assistant/android#4146 tracks the problem with Android.