arre Smart Button with Matter & Thread Support, Control Smart Home Accessories, Works with Apple Home/HomeKit & Samsung SmartThings

Great smart button. I bought three for my kids rooms to run their good night scenes. This is simple enough the baby sitters can easily understand it. Solid construction, great connectivity, and amazing battery life. Some people said the connection is bad but it’s excellent. You just need to make sure it’s within reach of the bridge signal or some router thread devises. I can understand that people don’t know how thread works but it’s great if you do!

What I Learned:I have an Apple TV that functions as a "Thread border router," which includes any Apple TV except the first-generation model. I previously owned the Kasa KP400 outdoor Wi-Fi plug, but it doesn't work with Thread devices like this button. Instead, I purchased the Kasa EP40A outdoor Wi-Fi plug for $21, which does work.With these three devices, I got everything to work. Here’s how:1) Download the Apple Home app.2) Download the Kasa app.3) Plug in your Kasa outlet and set it up in the Kasa app (this process is pretty straightforward).4) Unbox the Arre button. Once all the plastic is removed, the button should momentarily light up red when pressed.5) Open the Apple Home app and select the "+" button, then choose "Add Accessory."6) When prompted, scan the QR code on the accessory. You’ll find the QR code by removing the magnetic plate on the back of the Arre button. Follow the prompts to complete the setup.Next, I had to assign actions to the button:1) Tap the "…" button at the top right of the screen in the Home app.2) Select the room where you placed the Arre button during setup.3) Locate the button, click it, and assign actions for a single press, double press, or long press. I only used the first two.One issue I encountered was that the button doesn’t work intuitively for on/off functions. For example, I assumed pressing once would turn a device on and pressing again would turn it off, but it doesn’t seem to work that way. This lack of functionality should have been made clear and makes the device less user-friendly. I guess I’ll have to explain how to use the switch to guests!Additional Notes:I’ve had to reset the button twice so far and remove it from the Home app to set it up again. I’m not sure if that’s because I was unfamiliar with the Home app and made mistakes, but it was frustrating. If it happens again, I’ll return the button and update this review.To reset the button:1) Use a fork or other pointy object to remove the back cover of the button.2) Use a thumbtack or similar tool to hold down the reset button for ten seconds.In my opinion, this is poor design. If the reset button is necessary, it should be easily accessible without requiring the removal of covers.

I have a relatively small home with several Thread routers and devices in it, and this has worked reliably. I did notice that after setting it up in one room and putting it in another, it did not work for several minutes. I'm not an expert on Thread, but I suspect that the network was "figuring out" a new route for the button as it may not have been able to reach the router it was originally set up with. Anyway, If it doesn't appear to be working when you set it up, give it some time. I have had no issues with it since then.

The media could not be loaded. I was skeptical of ordering because I hadn’t heard of ‘arre’ and there were little or no reviews at the time, but I decided to take the plunge because this is one of the first truly ‘Works with Matter’ buttons or switches on the market that does not have to be hardwired.The build quality feels really good, nice clicky button, and it attaches to a magnetic plate that you can mount to your place of choosing. This means it can also directly attach to magnetic materials without needing the backplate. Comes with a mounting sticker for the backplate or screws for a stronger hold.Setup was incredibly simple over matter in the Apple Home app, and you are given 3 functions for the button: single press, double press, long press. These are easily mappable directly to other Home accessories or you can ‘convert to shortcut’ at the bottom of the editing menu to write a shortcut. I made an ‘if’ statement for my smart lock so if it is locked it will unlock, and unlock if locked so I can mount a button on the inside of my door frame. There’s no direct assignment of the shortcut if you already have one set up in the shortcuts app (as of iOS 18.1), but I think you could execute another shortcut from the shortcut you write in the home app. Note, this is a limitation of Apple Home at this time, not the button. The button also has a red LED that blinks when pressed, and other Matter accessories (Aqara U200 smart lock, also great!) have been responding in about 2 seconds from the press.It comes with a pack of stickers with different icons you can put on the button to indicate what it controls. They come in black and white, but there’s no way you could see the white on the button (unless maybe they glow in the dark?).Can’t say about battery life but will update this if it becomes an issue. It is replaceable by popping the back cover off and putting in a fresh CR2032.Overall very satisfied and will be ordering a few more for around the apartment. I was pleasantly surprised that arra blew my expectations out of the water for a Matter enabled button.

Got this on March 5, 2025. It looked good, setup was easy, and when it worked, it was fine. But let’s be real it barely made it through 3 months.From the start, the connection was sketchy. Had to reset and re add it to my home app 2–3 times because it kept dropping. Super annoying, but I dealt with it.Now on day 86, it’s straight up dead. Swapped the battery, held the button forever, nothing. No lights, no signal, no life. Just sits there like it’s retired early.Honestly, I expected way better for the price. This thing quit on me faster than a knockoff gadget. Unless they fix or replace it, I’d stay away.

Constantly going “no response” and I just have to wait for it to decide to join back up to my Thread network whenever it wants to.Response time is incredibly slow when it is actually working.