Zemismart M1 Pro Review: Bringing Existing Smart Devices into Matter and Home Assistant

Disclosure: Zemismart sent me the M1 Pro directly for review. This is not a paid review, and the thoughts below are based on my own testing with Home Assistant.

The smart home space is slowly moving towards Matter, but most of us already have existing devices running on Home Assistant with Zigbee, Tuya, IR or other ecosystems. That is where the Zemismart M1 Pro becomes interesting.

Rather than replacing your whole smart home setup, the M1 Pro acts as a bridge. It allows supported devices connected through the hub to be exposed to Matter-compatible platforms, including Home Assistant.

Prerequisites before using the Zemismart M1 Pro

Before using the Zemismart M1 Pro, you need a few things in place.

First, you need a Matter-compatible smart home platform. This could be Home Assistant, Google Home, Apple Home, SmartThings or Alexa.

You also need a Matter controller for the ecosystem you want to use. For example, with Google Home this could be a Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Wifi Pro or Google TV Streamer. For Apple Home, this could be a HomePod mini, HomePod 2nd gen or Apple TV 4K.

You also need compatible devices to bridge, such as supported Zigbee, Thread, Tuya/Zemismart or IR-controlled devices. The M1 Pro does not make every device fully Matter-compatible; it exposes supported devices and supported features through Matter.

Home Assistant Matter reference: Home Assistant Matter integration

If you want to use Thread devices, you also need a Thread border router.

For Home Assistant, you need the Matter integration and Matter Server set up. The M1 Pro is added through Matter, not as a normal Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA coordinator.

You also need compatible devices to bridge, such as supported Zigbee, Thread, Tuya/Zemismart or IR-controlled devices. The hub does not make every device fully Matter-compatible; it exposes supported devices and supported features through Matter.

Unboxing time

On first glance, the hub itself is a nice compact size, has only 2 ports, and bears the Zemismart and Matter logos on the top. The package includes a USB C cable, ethernet RJ45 cable, the antenna, the hub, and an instruction manual.

Getting set up

I paired the M1 Pro with Home Assistant and found the setup fairly straightforward. The instructions say to power the device on connected via Ethernet for the first time setup. I did exactly this, and Home Assistant automatically discovered the Matter device as a Hub.

Note: you can only do this using the Home Assistant companion app; you cannot add Matter devices from the Home Assistant Web UI.

Once added, the hub appeared inside Home Assistant, making it possible to bring supported devices into my existing smart home setup without having to start again from scratch. In fact, since I had already added the Meross Smart Plug Mini 13A in the Google Home app, it was automatically detected by Home Assistant and appeared as a device with exposed entities.

Why does this 'matter'

Matter is designed to make smart home devices work across different platforms more easily. In practice, though, many homes are still a mix of different brands, apps and protocols.

The M1 Pro helps by sitting in the middle. Instead of needing every individual device to support Matter directly, the hub can expose compatible connected devices through Matter.

That means you can potentially use existing devices across platforms such as Home Assistant, Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa or SmartThings, depending on compatibility.

This is especially useful for people who already have Zigbee or Tuya-style devices and want to make them available in a more modern Matter-based setup.

Using it with Home Assistant

In Home Assistant, the M1 Pro paired as a Matter device. This makes it different from using a normal Zigbee coordinator with Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA.

A traditional Zigbee coordinator gives you deeper control and more technical visibility. The M1 Pro is more about convenience and sharing devices through Matter.

So I would not describe it as a direct replacement for a dedicated Home Assistant Zigbee coordinator. Instead, it is better understood as a Matter bridge that can help connect existing devices into Home Assistant and other ecosystems.

Device sharing is the main benefit

The biggest advantage of the M1 Pro is device sharing.

If you have a mixed smart home, you may want the same devices to be available in different places. For example, you might use Home Assistant for automations, but also want certain devices visible in Apple Home or Google Home for voice control and family use.

That is where a Matter bridge makes sense.

It helps reduce the feeling of being locked into one app or one platform. Instead, supported devices can be shared more easily across your smart home setup.

My thoughts so far

The Zemismart M1 Pro is useful if you want to connect existing smart home devices into a Matter-based setup without replacing everything.

It is not aimed at users who want the deepest possible Zigbee control. If you already run Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA and want full control of your network, you may still prefer that route.

But if your goal is to bridge devices, simplify sharing, and make more of your smart home available across different platforms, the M1 Pro does a good job of filling that gap.

For me, the main value is not that it replaces Home Assistant. It is that it helps existing devices become part of a wider Matter-compatible smart home.

Final verdict

The Zemismart M1 Pro is a practical Matter bridge for people with existing smart home devices who want better platform compatibility.

It is simple enough to add into Home Assistant, useful for mixed smart homes, and makes sense for anyone trying to move towards Matter without throwing away their current setup.

If you want maximum technical control, a dedicated Zigbee coordinator may still be better. But if you want easier device sharing across Home Assistant and other Matter-supported platforms, the M1 Pro is definitely worth considering.