The Connectivity Standards Alliance is excited to announce the launch of two new innovative certification programs: the FastTrack Recertification Program and the Portfolio Certification Program. These programs accelerate the certification process and leverage the Alliance's Interoperability Testing Facility (Interop Lab), a new member benefit, as a critical resource.
Members can now achieve faster deployment times for software updates due to the new streamlined application process and reduced costs, all while maintaining the highest standards of performance and interoperability. These improvements underscore the Alliance's commitment to enhancing certification efficiency and delivering value to our members.
FastTrack Recertification Program: As with any new standard and its implementation, the first few generations often quickly uncover the opportunity for improvements in reliability, resiliency, scalability, features, and even simple bug fixes. With Matter, many products receive regular software updates to take advantage of these advancements. The Matter Working Group listened to the feedback from product makers, highlighting the cost and complexity of recertification and the challenges it posed in delivering updates efficiently and with low costs.
As a result, the FastTrack Recertification Program was introduced by the Matter Working Group in November 2024. This new recertification program simplifies the process, significantly reducing costs and administrative overhead for product makers. It ensures product makers can more easily release critical updates to enhance their products and utilize the Interop Lab as a “light touch” check using the Lab’s capabilities to check that updates do not unintentionally degrade in functionality or performance when used with other popular devices and systems.
The program allows members to quickly deploy bug and security fixes, enabling quicker response times to emerging issues. Alliance recertification follows shortly thereafter to maintain certification integrity. Trained and qualified members can self-test using the Alliance-approved test suite.
Portfolio Certification Program: In addition to launching the FastTrack Recertification Program, the Alliance also recently announced the Portfolio Certification Program. This certification program, which applies to both Zigbee and Matter products, simplifies the certification process by allowing manufacturers to certify multiple portfolio member products within a single application, using a parent product as the basis.
Designed to accelerate time-to-market and minimize costs for both the Alliance and its members, this program offers greater flexibility compared to the existing Certification by Similarity and Product Family Certification Programs. Over time, it may potentially supersede these programs, making it a highly efficient option for manufacturers seeking certification.
End-to-End Certification and Testing: A key part of many Matter device makers’ go-to-market journey is earning major smart home ecosystems’ “Works With” certification and badges. These programs often require device makers to complete the Alliance’s certification process and then participate in an entirely separate testing process for each “Works With” ecosystem.
Recognizing the need for a more streamlined end-to-end certification process, the Alliance is excited to share that Apple has begun accepting Alliance Interop Lab test results for Matter devices for Works With Apple Home and that Google and Samsung will be doing the same for their respective Works With Google Home and Works With SmartThings certifications later this year, underscoring the credibility and reliability of the Alliance’s testing programs. The lab is continuing to work with other members towards integrating additional “Works With” programs. Device makers are encouraged to contact their platform partners for additional details on their programs.
Begin Testing with the Alliance Interop Lab Today
For Matter developers looking to launch robust, compatible, and reliable products, the Connectivity Standards Alliance Interop Lab, located in Portland, Oregon, is an invaluable member benefit. By simulating diverse ecosystem interactions and working closely with major platform partners, the Lab can help companies address issues early and achieve necessary functionality across platforms.
Product manufacturers understand the importance of a good first-user experience. With Matter spanning many different ecosystems and using different transport technologies, it can be difficult to cover all the testing variables associated with preparing for a product launch. To help address this challenge, the Alliance Interop Lab provides crucial testing services to members developing Matter-enabled products.
This member benefit allows manufacturers the opportunity to refine their products, ensuring an exceptional user experience while simulating real-world conditions and preventing developers from shouldering the burden of extensively testing in-house.
A Record of Success
The Interop Lab has tested many Matter products across different device categories, such as lights, door locks, smart plugs, sensors, and more. The Lab uses multiple separate ecosystem apps and hubs from Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung SmartThings, and LG, with additional apps and hubs being added in the future. The lab is committed to helping product makers identify interoperability problems in their products. Championed by the Matter Working Group, the year-long process of building up this lab, its tools, and test cases involved collaboration between ecosystem partners, product makers, and experienced Alliance staff. Their dedication to developing a predictable process continues to help manufacturers successfully identify and address issues early in the development process, helping to prevent surprises after the product reaches consumers.
Comprehensive Real-World Testing
The Interop Lab’s testing doesn’t stop at surface-level functionality; it dives into many critical aspects, from out-of-the-box pairing to more advanced features like multi-admin control and device discovery. The lab also conducts stress testing for repeated use to verify a device can work consistently through repeat cycles over a long period of time. Tests also evaluate how well products recover from power cycles, confirming they can rejoin the network and be controlled after an unforeseen power outage.
Once testing is complete, manufacturers receive a detailed report of any issues identified. In cases where issues require collaboration with ecosystem partners, the lab facilitates direct discussions to help initiate the debugging process. This collaborative approach has garnered participation from prominent industry leaders to solidify the lab’s reputation as a critical resource for building consumer trust. The growing adoption of the Alliance Interop Lab’s testing capabilities, with more platform companies considering Lab results for their Works With programs, validates the vital role it plays in ensuring interoperability across platforms.
Commitment to Interoperability and Reliability
The Alliance continues to drive innovation and efficiency with the launch of the FastTrack Recertification and Portfolio Certification Programs, alongside the immense capabilities of the Interop Lab. These services address key challenges for manufacturers by simplifying certification processes and reducing costs while enabling quicker product updates without compromising performance or quality. Together, these advancements highlight the Alliance’s unwavering commitment to its members and the industry as a whole, fostering a global landscape of secure, reliable, and interoperable IoT solutions.
