Google is making your smart home setup even easier by backing up Thread credentials

If you want to build a smart home, one of the first things you need to decide is what ecosystem you want to be a part of. The larger smart home ecosystems like Google Home, Alexa, HomeKit, and SmartThings each offer a range of compatible smart home devices, but once you invest in one of them, you’re basically stuck there unless you want to deal with interoperability issues and juggle between multiple different apps.

Fortunately, there’s a potential solution to these problems in the Matter smart home standard, which uses the Thread connectivity protocol as its communication layer. Thanks to a recent update, Google is looking to make Thread support even better on Android by backing up Thread credentials to the cloud.

In case you aren’t aware, Matter is a royalty-free standard that aims to solve the interoperability issues I just mentioned. It defines an interoperable way for smart home devices to communicate with one another. So, for example, you can connect a Matter-certified light switch or thermostat to a Matter-compatible app or hub even if everything is made by different vendors — which is often the case when it comes to smart home devices.

Matter is basically the universal language that smart home devices communicate with. Those messages still needs to be wirelessly transmitted between devices, though, which is where Thread comes in. Thread is a networking protocol that’s not only very power efficient but also very robust and reliable, as it uses mesh networking to relay signals between smart home devices.

Because Thread is much newer than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, it isn’t available on a lot of devices yet, but that’s slowly changing. We’re seeing Thread radios ship in a variety of smart home devices, TV streamers, and now even smartphones. The Thread radio in devices like the Google TV Streamer lets them act as Thread border routers for the Google Home ecosystem; this basically lets them bridge the gap between devices on your Thread mesh network and your Wi-Fi network, connecting those Thread devices to the internet (and thus letting you control them from anywhere).

The Thread border router also helps create the Thread mesh network that your Thread-enabled smart home devices join. For security reasons, your Thread mesh network is protected by a password so that unauthorized devices can’t join and start interacting with your other smart home devices. Thread credentials are “complex, machine-generated codes” unlike user-generated Wi-Fi passwords which are typically pretty simple. These credentials are securely stored in the Google Play Services app, which also provides the Thread APIs that smart home apps use to retrieve them and pair new devices.

Earlier this week, Google sent out a push notification to multiple users — including me — informing them that “Thread credentials stored on phone are now synced to the cloud for quicker setup of devices on your Thread network.” Although this notification says “phone,” I received it on my OnePlus Pad 2 (which is a tablet), so it’s safe to say it applies to phones, tablets, and foldables that support Google Home.

Tapping the “learn more” button leads to Google’s support page on how its products use Thread, which was recently updated with a new section that explains this “enhanced Thread network setup with cloud sync” capability. According to this support page, storing your Thread credentials in the cloud has the following advantages:

• Simplified setup: When you add a new Thread device, it can automatically retrieve your credentials from the cloud and eliminate the need for manual entry or complex pairing processes.
• Seamless integration: Cloud storage enables your Thread devices to seamlessly interact with other Google Home devices and create a more integrated smart home experience.
• Enhanced security & reliability: Storing credentials in the cloud adds an extra layer of protection against loss or damage. If you lose or replace your phone, your Thread network remains intact, and your credentials are safeguarded by Google’s robust security infrastructure.
• Effortless network management: As your smart home grows and evolves, cloud storage ensures that your Thread network remains adaptable and resilient. Whether you add new devices, replace old ones, or even switch phones, your credentials will be securely stored and easily accessible.

Google says your Thread credentials are stored with the “utmost security and privacy” and that it does not share them with any third party devices or services without your explicit consent. If you don’t want your Thread credentials stored in the cloud, however, Google says you can remove the data from your account in account settings.