Do you remember FTDI gate? A similar issue is happening with Zigbee devices.

[Psi]

Note.  The ESP32 released a Zigbee variants, ESP32C6.

There is a zigbee component for esphome on ESP32-C6, but i have no idea how stable it is or what exactly it supports.

https://github.com/luar123/zigbee_esphome

[paulca]

Note.  The ESP32 released a Zigbee variants, ESP32C6.

There is a zigbee component for esphome on ESP32-C6, but i have no idea how stable it is.

https://github.com/luar123/zigbee_esphome

I took a look at it.  Seems very fresh.  ESP IDF only.  Very C++ descriptor heavy, call back heavy, etc.

Not difficult, but unless your copy and paste and edit works out first time it looks like a nightmare to debug.

[SiliconWizard]

that shit is sad though because its in your god damn house and then suddenly they make your house stop working. There could be people there that actually rely on those devices for good reasons (i.e. disability life help)

Well, to be fair, that raises a point that goes beyond counterfeiting or licensing issues per se.

The problem is proper information of customers. Quite often, critical information about some product is NOT clearly given by the seller upfront. So customers don't know what they're actually buying.

For instance, if you buy a "Zigbee gateway" that will only work with *some* Zigbee devices, the seller SHOULD definitely inform customers about it. Otherwise, for anyone, especially not specialized in the matter, it's reasonable to assume that a Zigbee gateway should work with any Zigbee device - conversely if you buy a Zigbee device, you could assume it will work with the gateway you already own. How are you supposed to know otherwise if sellers and vendors do not inform you?

[5U4GB]

For example: Apple requires manufacturers of Homekit devices to buy a security chip from Apple and go through compliance testing so they can identify each device make sure it is genuine and make sure it is fully compatible

and make sure Apple gets their cut.

[paulca]

I am wary of Thread/Chip etc.

What I see happening there is that these new super architecture protocols will become bloated and complicated fast.  They will add security layers and encryption layers which are not completely transparent like Zigbee, but will facilitate device "lock in", deliberate incompatibilty outside of brand eco-systems and putting the bar to "hobby entry" extremely high.

To me it doesn't make sense for Google, Amazon et. al. to even tolerate Home Assistant existing.  If they are building protocols for the future of home automation, I'm fairly sure that any compatibility with the wider world will be "begrudged" and often avoided.

The same happened with the Zigbee alliance.  Before the ink was dry on the agreements, Philips added proprietary extensions for Hue.  Not "illegal" but not in the spirit.

The solution needs to be a community driven effort, not heavily funded by the large corporates, but everyone is still happy playing with Zigbee, RF and Wifi to care.