Michael H Thiesen replaced the controllers after the Elgato Key Lights in his home occasionally failed to respond. He used two ESP32-C3 boards instead of the original Realtek- and PCA9635-based setup.
The software, developed in Rust, enabled the lights to connect directly to Apple Home through Matter support. The system allows users to control power, brightness, and color temperature, while also eliminating the need for Homebridge. The design files were shared on Github.
Why it matters
This work shows that smart lighting can be reconfigured without being limited to the control options offered by the manufacturer. The use of Matter simplifies setup and management by reducing the need for an additional software layer for communication with Apple Home. This is particularly relevant to users who do not want to replace their existing lights but are experiencing connectivity issues and want to bring their home automation together on a single platform. The design files shared on Github provide an accessible technical foundation for those who want to examine how the solution was built. However, the report does not reach a clear conclusion about the approach’s compatibility with different hardware versions or how stable it is over long-term use.
Background
Matter is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 2 news reports mentioning the name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated September 26, 2026.