Since its earliest days, the Matter ecosystem has aimed to make the connected home more interoperable, enabling secure communication between devices and controllers regardless of manufacturer. Matter 1.4 advanced that goal with Enhanced Multi-Admin, which simplified the process of sharing devices across ecosystems, or “Fabrics.”
Now, Matter 1.6 takes that interoperability a step further with Joint Fabric, a new feature that brings multiple ecosystems together in one shared network that can be co-administered temporarily or permanently.
As part of CableLabs’ participation in the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), we’ve helped develop enhancements to the Matter technical standard that strengthen security and improve the user experience. Joint Fabric opens new opportunities for smart home services that give customers more choice while making it easier for trusted administrators to securely share access in the connected home.
What Is the Matter Standard?
Matter is an open standard that enables secure, interoperable communication between smart devices and controllers, regardless of manufacturer.
When a user sets up a Matter device, they pair it with a controller — typically a smart hub or smartphone app — and everything communicates through a secure overlay network called a “Fabric.” All communication within that Fabric is encrypted and authenticated.
With Matter, devices are no longer locked into a single manufacturer’s ecosystem. As examples, a Google Nest Hub, an Apple Home app and a Home Assistant controller can all manage the same devices.
What Problem Does Joint Fabric Solve?
In most households, one person maintains a single Fabric and manages all the devices on it. But real-world scenarios often call for shared administration, such as a property manager who oversees rental equipment alongside a resident, a service technician who needs temporary access during installation, joint tenants/roommates, or a family where multiple members manage different parts of the smart home.
Previously, adding multiple administrators meant manually pairing every device with each controller and repeating this tedious process whenever a new device was added to the network. Matter 1.4 introduced Enhanced Multi-Admin to address this problem by automating the sharing of device access across multiple ecosystems with a single user consent.
What Is Joint Fabric in Matter 1.6?
Joint Fabric is a Matter 1.6 feature that allows two separate Matter Fabrics to merge into a single shared Fabric that can be co-administered temporarily or permanently.
Enhanced Multi-Admin, introduced in Matter 1.4, simplifies the process of sharing devices across separate Fabrics. Joint Fabric goes a step further by bringing administrators into a shared Fabric, where they can automatically access and manage devices added in the future without separately sharing each one.
Once an invitation to join the shared Fabric is accepted, both systems synchronize through an intra-Fabric repository called the Joint Fabric Datastore, which maintains the list of controllers, devices, security permissions and access control information for the merged Fabric. Both administrators can manage all connected devices, and any devices added in the future are automatically accessible to both.
Can a Matter Device Belong to Multiple Fabrics?
Yes. Matter devices can belong to multiple Fabrics simultaneously. Devices are required to support connections to at least five Fabrics, although some may support many more. A Joint Fabric counts as one Fabric, allowing a device to participate in a Joint Fabric while maintaining connections to other Fabrics.
Can a Joint Fabric Be Separated?
Yes. Joint Fabric also makes it easier to separate two previously merged Fabrics when an administrator needs to be removed. For example, when a tenant moves out of a rental property, the operator may prefer to keep the equipment in place for the next tenant rather than remove and reinstall it. With Joint Fabric, the operator can unmerge their Fabric from the departing tenant’s in a single action, cleanly separating the systems.
Who Benefits From Joint Fabric?
Joint Fabric enables multi-administrator Fabrics without vendor-specific implementations, creating space for interoperable, professionally managed deployments across the Matter ecosystem. This provides greater flexibility and choice without locking users into a single manufacturer’s ecosystem.
Here are some of the benefits for key players:
Cable Operators
Joint Fabric paves the way for cable operators to play a leading role in smart home orchestration. By functioning as a Matter administrator alongside existing ecosystems, operators can deliver innovative smart home services that coexist with platforms like Apple, Google and Amazon.
For example, an operator’s gateway would gain access to rich application-layer data from every Matter device, including product IDs, vendor IDs, device types and real-time operational telemetry. The data can be used to map network topology, understand traffic patterns, identify device performance issues and correlate smart home activity with network behavior. This translates to actionable intelligence that operators can use to improve customer experience and create new opportunities for differentiated services.
Field Technicians
During installation, troubleshooting or maintenance, technicians often need temporary administrative access to diagnose issues or configure devices. Joint Fabric simplifies this workflow. A technician can be invited as a temporary co-administrator, gaining full access to the shared Fabric without complex pairing processes. Once the visit is complete, the technician’s access can be revoked cleanly. This reduces installation time, improves troubleshooting efficiency and enhances customer experience during service calls.
Customers
For customers, Joint Fabric delivers genuine choice without sacrifice. Residents in rental properties or apartment buildings can use their preferred smart home platform while benefiting from operator-managed equipment. Families can distribute administrative responsibilities across different devices, and property managers can maintain oversight of building systems while residents retain autonomy over their personal devices.
Get Involved in the Future of Joint Fabric
Joint Fabric is the product of collaboration within the CSA. Developed as part of an initiative chaired by Comcast and co-chaired by CableLabs, Joint Fabric’s inclusion in Matter 1.6 represents a significant step forward for interoperable smart home administration. But there are still many opportunities for enhancement.
For example, Joint Fabric is an optional feature in Matter, which means both Fabrics must support the capability for the merge to succeed. This means that widespread adoption depends not just on the feature’s existence, but on implementation across the ecosystem. Operators, device manufacturers and platform providers must all choose to support it. Now, we are planning enhancements that will streamline Joint Fabric’s adoptability and improve the user and administrator experience.
CableLabs welcomes all conversations about Joint Fabric implementation, testing and deployment. We encourage members to watch for new Matter releases to stay informed. CSA members can join us to contribute directly to the technical work and strategic direction.
Shape the future of Matter and Joint Fabric by getting involved. If you are a CableLabs member or part of our vendor community, we invite you to join our IoT Working Group.
