Thank you for your detailed response and questions. Here are my answers:
Pairing through Home.app: We cannot use the same configuration to set up in Home.app since we did not form a thread mesh network with the HomePod. The thread network is created by the border router with its own dataset. From our understanding, the Home.app uses the dataset of the HomePod. While it is possible to change the dataset of our border router to match the HomePod's, it is not preferred. The thread network can be created before the user uses iOS (e.g., setup using Android with thread devices already connected to the thread border router using the original dataset). Changing it would require reconfiguring all devices. Therefore, using Home.app will only add the thread device to the HomePod instead of our border router even thoguh both are in homepod and our border router are in same local wifi network.
Thread Credentials Configuration: My app has confirmed that the correct thread credentials are configured using THClient. This validation was done before starting MatterSupport pairing, as I understand that the extension cannot preceed if this data is unavailable.
Could you please advise on how we should verify that the thread credentials are configured correctly or if there is anything we cannot check? The dataset & Border Agent ID given to the device during commissioning is definitely correct, or else the device would not join the thread network of our border router to create the first matter fabric. or will MatterSupport check whether the device's thread network matches the preferred network in THClient before moving forward or other requirement checking? eg. Google Matter SDK has this requirement of using the preferred network only, and we have to change the preferred network in GMS before the setup.