IKEA has released a new firmware update for its DIRIGERA hub, bringing a newer Matter Controller alongside several Matter and Thread optimizations.
The update upgrades the built-in Matter Controller to version 1.4.2 while reducing mDNS network traffic and improving overall Matter and Thread stability. Although the release notes are relatively short, the update continues IKEA’s steady work to improve the reliability of its growing Matter ecosystem.
A quieter and more responsive network
According to IKEA, the update focuses on stability rather than introducing new user-facing features.
The company says it has reduced mDNS network noise, upgraded the Matter Controller to version 1.4.2, and introduced several Matter and Thread optimizations to improve overall responsiveness. While users may not immediately notice the difference, these background improvements become increasingly important as more Matter devices are added to a home.
Because Matter relies on mDNS for local device discovery, reducing unnecessary network traffic can improve onboarding, device discovery, and recovery after a power outage or network interruption. The change should be particularly beneficial for Wi-Fi Matter devices, which depend more heavily on mDNS than Thread devices.
IKEA has been steadily refining the onboarding and day-to-day experience of its Matter products over the past year. Many of those improvements happen behind the scenes, even when issues originate from the broader Matter ecosystem rather than IKEA’s own implementation.
Preparing for newer Matter features?
The Matter Controller upgrade is perhaps the most interesting part of the release.
Matter 1.4.1 introduced several commissioning improvements, including support for onboarding multiple devices from a single QR code and NFC-based setup.
BILRESA scroll wheel
A tactile scroll-wheel remote that lets you adjust light brightness, colour, and scenes with a simple turn or press.
BILRESA Remote Control with Dual Button
A simple, two-button remote that lets you control smart lighting functions like power, brightness, colour, and scenes from anywhere nearby.
GRILLPLATS Smart Plug
A smart Matter over Thread plug with power meter support.
Those features could be particularly useful for IKEA. The company frequently sells smart home products in multipacks, such as light bulbs, where onboarding each device individually can be repetitive.
Apple has also begun testing multi-device onboarding in recent developer beta releases.
During testing, I generated a QR code containing onboarding information for three Matter devices. Both the IKEA Home smart app and Apple Home accepted the code without errors. But only the first device was added successfully. While this does not work at the moment, it suggests the underlying controller is already compatible with newer commissioning methods introduced by the Matter spec.
How to update
DIRIGERA normally downloads and installs firmware updates automatically overnight.
You can also check manually from the IKEA Home smart app by opening Settings, selecting your DIRIGERA Hub, and scrolling to Hub and app version. There you can view the current firmware version and manually trigger an update if one is available.
Development is quietly speeding up
DIRIGERA hub firmware updates may appear relatively infrequent, but development across IKEA’s Matter ecosystem has accelerated over the past few months.
Nearly every IKEA Matter product has now received firmware through the official Matter OTA system. Before public releases, IKEA has also been actively testing firmware through the Matter Test Net Distributed Compliance Ledger (DCL), which can be accessed by enabling test firmware in supported ecosystems such as Apple Home and Home Assistant.
Compared with IKEA’s previous Zigbee line up, firmware updates are arriving much more frequently.
Given Matter is still a relatively young standard, the ongoing support is encouraging. Regular firmware updates improve compatibility, reliability, and interoperability, something many early Matter products from other manufacturers like TUO have struggled to deliver consistently.
Complete release notes for every DIRIGERA firmware update are available on the IKEA home smart site.
(Source: IKEA; Image: IKEA, Matter Alpha)
