SONOFF MINIR4M

SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4M) is the first Matter-certified home automation device from the company and appears to be based on the same hardware design as the SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4) ESP32 WiFi smart switch that we reviewed last March and is still working fine in my bedroom.

Support for the Matter protocol means better interoperability with other brands of Matter-certified products, so you should be able to use the MINIR4M wireless switch with a Samsung Matter-certified Smart Home gateway instead, as well as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and other apps besides the eWelink mobile app. The main visual difference I see between the MINIR4 and MINIR4M is the color with Orange referring to WiFi support and Green to Matter support.

SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4M) specifications:

Besides Matter support, the latest MINIR4M WiFi switch has the same key features as the MINIR4 including support for “detach relay” mode in which the states of external switches and relay are separated, so operating the external switch button won’t affect the relay state and eWeLink-Remote Control mode where the MINIR4M acts as a local gateway for wall switches such as the R5 and S-MATE model, so a single light bulb can be controlled by multiple switches. The company also says it works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa voice assistant, as well as Home Assistant, eWelink Web, and IFTTT with the last two only available in the paid version (Advanced Plan) of the eWelink app.

While Matter would allow you to use a single app to control devices from multiple brands, it’s likely that some brand-specific features like the one mentioned above would not be accessible from a competing app (TBC). So unless I’m mistaken, while Matter is great for interoperability, you may lose some of the features of a specific device if you stick to a single app. One question that remains is whether the MINIR4 will get a Matter firmware update, or at least whether it’s possible to install MINIR4M Matter firmware on the MINIR4. We will be reviewing the new MINIR4M soon, so we should be able to get more details and see how well it works with third-party Smart Home hubs.

As mentioned in the introduction, I’ve been using the SONOFF MINIR4 wireless switch for several months and I’m very happy about it. I’m a bit less satisfied with the SONOFF R5 scene controller which I use to turn on and off the MINIR4 (and my bedroom ceiling light), as the magnets are not powerful enough and it drops easily. As a result of several falls, two of the on/off switches are broken. It’s still working but not exactly aesthetically pleasing.

The new Matter-enabled SONOFF Mini Extreme (MINIR4M) wireless switch is now up for pre-order for $12.90, which compares to $9.90 for the MINIR4 model, so either Matter requires some more flash, it’s more expensive because of Matter certification, or a combination of the two. You can use coupon code CNXSOFTSONOFF to get 10% off any order on the ITEAD shop.

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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