I have been looking at the new feature in iOS 18 where it is possible to pair Matter accessories without a hub. Using the Home app I can successfully commission and control a Matter Thread Light Bulb directly (without a home hub in the network). I have an iPhone 15 Pro which includes the thread hardware.
I then tried to commission the same device in my own app using the MatterSupport framework. In this case the same user interface is displayed as when using the Home App but an error is displayed - "Thread Border Router Required."
Is it also possible to connect directly to a thread Matter device when using MatterSupport or does this only work when using the Home app?
I've now filed a bug report and the bug number is FB15614070
I talked to the engineering team about this and they've confirmed that the system does not currently support this. The devices thread radio does not expose itself as a border router, which means it's not accessible to your app or MatterSupport extension.
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Kevin Elliott
DTS Engineer, CoreOS/Hardware