Home Assistant Thread Border Router Not Found: Check Discovery, Credentials and the OTBR App

Confirm a standalone Thread overview observation. Pairing failures and commissioned-device outages each exit to their own diagnosis.[2][4]

• Yes, standalone overview observation → Is the Thread integration present with a reachable overview?
• No, noticed while pairing a device → Use the commissioning diagnosis instead
• No, noticed after a device went unavailable → Use the post-commissioning diagnosis instead
• Cannot confirm the context → Establish the observation context

Record whether any Matter device pairing or outage is under diagnosis alongside the missing router.[2]

Only a device-independent overview observation continues on this page.[2]

• Standalone overview observation → Is the Thread integration present with a reachable overview?
• Noticed while pairing a device → Use the commissioning diagnosis instead
• Noticed after a device went unavailable → Use the post-commissioning diagnosis instead
• Cannot establish the context → Collect a border-router evidence packet

A router questioned only because pairing failed belongs to the Matter-over-Thread commissioning diagnosis, which owns its own border-router branch.[4]

A router questioned only because a commissioned device went unavailable belongs to the unavailable-device diagnosis, which owns its own continuity branch.[4]

Confirm the Thread integration exists and its Configure overview opens. The integration normally appears automatically when a border router is detected and can also be added manually. The panel lists border routers grouped by Thread network.[2]

• Yes, integration and overview reachable → Does the overview list the expected border router?
• No, integration missing or unreachable → Make the Thread integration available, then re-check discovery
• Cannot confirm the integration state → Confirm the Thread integration state

Record whether the Thread integration exists under Devices and services and whether Configure opens.[2]

Router reasoning requires the overview panel.[2]

• Integration and overview reachable → Does the overview list the expected border router?
• Integration missing or unreachable → Make the Thread integration available, then re-check discovery

Add or open the Thread integration per the documented setup to reach its Configure overview, then re-check the overview for the expected router before any router reasoning. The integration normally appears automatically when a border router is detected, so a missing integration may mean no router has been discovered yet; absence alone does not identify why the router was not discovered and never ends the diagnosis as a root cause.[2]

Compare the exact panel listing against the expected router. A listing is visibility evidence only, never credential evidence.[2]

• Yes, the expected router is listed → Does the indicator show Home Assistant holds the credentials?
• No, the expected router is absent → Is the expected router the OTBR app or a third-party router?
• Cannot confirm the listing → Record the exact panel listing

Record every listed router and network grouping exactly as shown, without assuming the expected entry.[2]

Listing and credentials remain separate observations.[2]

• The expected router is listed → Does the indicator show Home Assistant holds the credentials?
• The expected router is absent → Is the expected router the OTBR app or a third-party router?

Check the credentials indicator separately from the listing. Announcements carry no credentials, so a bare listing never proves credential availability.[2]

• Yes, credentials are held → Router and credentials both observed — preserve the state
• No, credentials not held → Router visible but credentials not held
• Cannot confirm the indicator → Record the credentials indicator state

Record the info indicator state for the expected network without changing credentials.[2]

Visibility without held credentials cannot proceed to commissioning reasoning.[2]

• Credentials are held → Router and credentials both observed — preserve the state
• Credentials not held → Router visible but credentials not held

With the router listed and credentials held, the standalone visibility symptom is not reproduced at this layer. Preserve the exact panel state and investigate the originally observed context instead of changing Thread state.[2]

Synchronize the target network credentials through the documented flow without changing the preferred network as a probe. A bare listing never substitutes for held credentials.[2]

Only OpenThread routers with the REST API can be configured and controlled from Home Assistant; third-party routers are usable but not configurable there.[2][3]

• OpenThread Border Router app → Confirm the OTBR app path without reinstalling as a probe
• Third-party border router → Confirm the third-party router path from the vendor side
• Cannot confirm the router type → Identify the expected router type

Record whether the expected router is the OpenThread Border Router app or a third-party device.[3][2]

The router type determines which evidence can be collected from Home Assistant.[2]

• OpenThread Border Router app → Confirm the OTBR app path without reinstalling as a probe
• Third-party border router → Confirm the third-party router path from the vendor side

Confirm the OpenThread Border Router app installation and running state and whether any announcement reaches the overview. Hand that evidence to the operator; do not reinstall, reconfigure, or reset radio state as a diagnostic test.[3]

Confirm vendor power, proximity, and firmware state and whether announcements reach the local network. Home Assistant cannot configure this router, so vendor-side evidence decides the next step, never Home Assistant reconfiguration of it.[2]

Preserve the Thread integration state, the exact overview listing, the router type, and the credential indicator with all datasets and secrets redacted. Send the sanitized evidence for upstream review.[2][3]