Smart hubs and your Wi-Fi

The little boxes everything else depends on.

What this kit needs from a network

Small hub that bridges Zigbee, Thread or Matter kit onto your Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

Bands: Usually 2.4 GHz, or Ethernet if you can reach it with a cable.
How it's found on the network: Needs to be findable by your phone during setup, and by other hubs afterwards if you use Matter.
Background discovery traffic: Significant for Matter and for app discovery.
Guest networks: Breaks setup and day-to-day control.
Separate IoT network (VLAN): Keep the hub and the phones that control it on the same network unless you are confident with cross-network discovery.

• Wire it to the router with a cable if you possibly can — hubs are the one thing worth cabling.
• Keep it away from the router itself: Zigbee and Wi-Fi fight at close range.
• Stand next to your router while you set it up, then move the gadget to where it lives.
• Put your phone on the 2.4 GHz network name for the setup, or use one name for both bands so the phone can follow.
• If your router splits bands into two names, turn the 5 GHz one off for five minutes rather than fighting it.
• Turn mobile data off on your phone during setup — some apps quietly use it and never find the gadget.

Aqara hub and sensors 56/100
Sensors are low-power radio, but the hub itself is 2.4 GHz only and fussy about how it joins.
Most common complaint: Sensors show as "no response" after a router change, and re-pairing takes an evening.
SmartThings hub 84/100
Best plugged into the router with a cable, after which it is one of the steadiest hubs in a home.
Most common complaint: Hub goes offline after a router change, or new gadgets won't be found during setup.

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