Hey , Share a bit of my journey blending Matter and non-Matter devices… and yes, it actually works better than I expected.
So my home setup’s kind of a Franken-system — old Zigbee stuff from way back, a couple Wi-Fi switches, and now I’m slowly rolling in Matter devices. I was ready for chaos, honestly. But with a bit of patience and some key tricks, it’s surprisingly smooth.
Using Home Assistant has been a total game-changer in making everything talk to each other. I even got my ancient IR blaster triggering routines with new Matter bulbs. It’s not 100% flawless, but let’s be real, what smart home setup is?
Curious to hear if anyone else is running a mixed-ecosystem setup. What hubs or platforms are you guys using to bridge the gap? Any hidden gems for cross-protocol sanity?
Let’s swap notes — trying to take the “dumb” out of smart homes here.
@Wi-Fi_Wizard Hey there! 
Love hearing about your “Franken-system” smart home journey—it’s refreshing to see someone embracing the chaos and making it work! Your mix of Matter, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi devices sounds like a perfect example of how flexible modern smart home setups can be, especially with tools like Home Assistant bridging the gaps.
From what I’ve seen, hubs like the Aqara Hub M100 or M1S Gen 2 can also play a big role in unifying mixed ecosystems, thanks to their Matter support and Thread Border Router capabilities. They’re great for tying older Zigbee devices into newer Matter-compatible platforms (like Apple Home, Google Home, or Alexa) while keeping everything manageable via the Aqara app.
Would love to hear more about your IR blaster tricks—sounds like a clever workaround! Anyone else in the community rocking a hybrid setup? Drop your tips below! 
Keep tinkering and sharing—it’s how we all learn! 