I recently got an iPad to mount to the wall as a hub to control the home and of course, all the various apps are great doing their thing, but I was wondering if anyone knows of any great apps that are built specifically for this purpose and can unify the experience? Switching between apps is clunky and most apps don’t have a great “wall feel,” if that makes sense.

I’m looking for features/UI designed specifically to be an always-on, easy to use control panel that’s highly customizable, with various sizes of action tiles that can placed and programmed on multiple pages.

Anything fit this bill y’all like?

Apparently it’s possible to create a shortcut that uses a notification from another app as a trigger. It’s been so long since I’ve played with shortcuts that I’ve forgotten how to do them.

What I’m wanting to achieve is to have a notification from the local emergency app trigger my phone or HomePod to play something like an air raid siren (I have a sound effect for that) so it will wake me if I’m asleep. Maybe only if the phone is locked as if it’s unlocked I’m awake and will hear the notification.

I’ve moved to a high fire risk area and have whacky sleep patterns so it’s quite a big problem if the emergency app alerts me that I need to evacuate and I sleep through it. Unfortunately I’m not able to just change the notification tone.

Is someone able to walk me through how to do this? I’d very much appreciate it.

I have two light switches that I have grouped that I would like to work together when using the actual switch the same way they do from the home app. Ie. if I turn off one light switch, I want the other switch to turn off as well.

Ideally I would be able to dim both switches by using one as well.

Any advice is appreciated!

Hey everyone,

Looking for indoor temp sensor with display, eve room/weather $ is a turn off, I did notice the QingPing Temperature monitor HomeKit for $26 Canadian on AliExpress. Any other options?

Thanks

I have just purchased a HomePod mini for my desk, is there any tips or tricks for automations?

I’ll take any advice you can give

The Matter update went smoothly and I can control the lock with the Level App, but it will not install in HomeKit.

HomeKit says the device is not found.

I rebooted the lock, but it still will not add to HomeKit.

Anyone else have this issue or know what to do?

I currently have a dumb LED strip in my kitchen that can be controlled by waving my hand under the motion sensor. The LED uses a transformer.

I would like to be able to add this LED to my Apple Home so that I can control it with my phone or voice, but at the same time have the option to turn the light on and off with a motion sensor.

Can I make I the LED strip smart with SwitchBot Smart Relay Switch (or Merossi Smart Wi-Fi DIY Switch) so that turning the light on/off with the motion sensor would also work?

Switchbot - https://www.switch-bot.com/products/switchbot-relay-switch-1pm?srsltid=AfmBOorSF5D6SGrPmn9AgY_ftUveoUvKL1R4bk0-miqvJxyE4wvwwQ81

Merossi - https://shop.meross.com/collections/smart-switch/products/smart-wifi-switch

Hey guys ! I’m gonna have my first real appartement soon and even tough I already have a bunch of HomeKit and Matter devices, I was wondering if you would have a few to recommend to me. I primarily use Nanoleaf products and I’m curious about cheaper (or not) alternatives ! :)

Hey all,

I just moved into a new space, and would like to try out some “smart” tech with something simple —

I’m very familiar with iPhone shortcuts, and would like to have a couple to turn off/on lights in my apartment.

Maybe I don’t even need a shortcut? Is there a Home app?

I have a 5ghz WiFi network, and I don’t own a HomePod or any “Home” hub — frankly I don’t even know what that means. I have no interest in asking Siri to turn the lights off… I just want to use my phone instead of walking over to my lamps.

Where do I start? What’s the cheapest?

Hey everyone, Just recently bought the switch but I'm having trouble to connect them to HomeKit, I have an Apple TV and HomePod mini (thread router) but for some reason when I try to add it, the switch starts to blink as if its trying to connect but it fails to pair. Any suggestions? Thank you

I have a Deco M5 mesh system. It was running on Spectrum internet (400 mbps) and a couple weeks ago we changed to a fiber internet at 1 gig speeds. We are constantly getting the “couldn’t connect to network” message on our iPhones and constantly have to keep turning the wifi off on our phones to get anything to load. Anyone have a solution for what the issue might be?

I've noticed Homekit via Siri turns on the HVAC in heat / cold mode, I would prefer to turn it on in heat mode only

Is there a way for me to do it?

Hi everyone,

I’m just now realizing how great HomeKit can be. I bought my first home about four weeks ago and started researching alarm companies - only to be shocked by the high monthly subscription fees for 24/7 monitoring.

That led me to look into DIY home security systems. However, I haven’t found an all-in-one solution that covers everything. Do these exist, or do most people mix and match different devices?

I came across Eve, and their door/window sensors look great, but they don’t seem to offer motion sensors without built-in lights or a standalone alarm box that makes noise when triggered.

I’m looking for a HomeKit-compatible system with: • 8+ door/window sensors • 2 motion detectors • 2 outdoor security cameras • 1 video doorbell • 1 security alarm (the box that makes noise when triggered - I’m not sure of the proper name) • 1 alarm control panel

Abode seems to have some interesting options, but they don’t appear to support HomeKit. My main reason for wanting HomeKit compatibility is iCloud storage.

Does an all-in-one system exist, or do I need to build one from multiple brands? Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

Been using the Linksys Velop MX4000 (1 master and 2 relays) for about a year. Accessories are CONSTANTLY dropping out of HomeKit -> No Response.

I'll spend 2-3 hours fixing one thing, then another will go down. NOTHING stays connected to HomeKit for more than 24h. They are still visible in their respective apps (Hue, Eve, Nanoleaf, etc.).

I only have:

- 1 Hue Bridge

- 1 Hue Lightstrip

- 1 Eve Water Leak Sensor

- 1 NanoLeaf Lightstrip

I am beginning to think it's the router/network. The latest posts about Velops on Reddit are 3-4 years old, so I'm not sure what their reputation is today...

Does anyone have a stable network with these routers?

If it'll fix the problem, I'm happy to ditch them and start over, but obviously don't want to spend a bunch of money for nothing...

I recently added an IKEA bulb to my hue bridge, which had been functioning perfectly. In order to get the ikea bulb to appear in HomeKit, I updated my Hue bridge. That’s when I started randomly getting the dreaded “no response” on all of my hue bulbs.

I found another Reddit post suggesting to factory reset the hue bridge and reconnect to HomeKit - only selecting the bridge that was not under the “matter devices” section. I did this - factory reset, then select the bridge and then add all bulbs. Things seemed great for a couple hours until I left and came back to find all hue bulbs in “no response”.

I am beyond frustrated. Of all of my smart home stuff, hue has always been rock solid. It doesn’t help that there are no logs to review or any troubleshooting tools available.

Anyway - any suggestions on other things to try? I suppose I could factory reset again and not connect the ikea bulb….though I have no idea why that would break “everything”. Any help is appreciated.

Hi, I need help finding a good smart door latch lock that works well with HomeKit, HomeAssistant, and Google Home. I also need it to have a fingerprint sensor and be able to add up to atleast a dozen fingerprints. Also, I need it to be able to be controlled remotely and I need it to be responsive.

I was going to purchase the Aqara U300 but figured I would ask first to see what you guys recommend since there are a lot of smart locks out there and it is a bit overwhelming.

Edit: the smart door lock is for an interior door!

I've been searching everywhere for any kind of reviews for the Avia Smart Deadbolt, and can't find anything. Which is kind of making me a little nervous. Consumer Reports and The Wirecutter don't even list it. There are ZERO customer reviews on Amazon. And almost all the reviews on YouTube came out 1 month ago, they're all pretty much exactly the same language, show a small demo door and stock video of the exact same camera angles.

It all just makes me a little nervous about getting the device. Even though the buttons are a little ugly, I like that it's low profile, has multiple ways to unlock, and works with HomeKey. But the absolute lack of real user reviews is making me a little nervous about getting it.

Does anybody have any experience with it? Or have you heard anything positive/negative about the company?

Their USA website has details of what I'm looking at getting.

This is the battery for the door window sensor from Eve. Thanks in advance.

I sadly can’t find the post where someone mentioned this, to give them credit, but I’ve had a situation with both of my SEPs that they would suddenly appear dead. Offline in Home app. Buttons on the outside wouldn’t work. I knew the batteries were good. I’d pull out the battery pack, put it back in, and it would work again for a while, until it didn’t. The aforementioned poster mentioned that the battery packs can warp, or perhaps it’s a defect, and the contacts would no longer contact correctly. So I wadded up a few layers of electrical tape to make a soft wedge, and wedged it into the top as displayed. So far, the issue has not returned. Wanted to share this info.

I'm building a new kitchen and want to add a smart (Matter supported for Homekit) under cabinet led strip. The entire length of the cabinet is 3 meters, but there is a 60cm range hood in the middle, where the LED strip would break. So I need to cut the led strip into segments and connect them back together (for example with a soldered extension cord). At the moment I haven't found any good information about which led strips can be cut into segments like this and then connected again.

What led strips do you use or what would be the best fit?

It is important that it can be connected to Homekit (I don't have Homebridge or Home Assistant at the moment) and can be cut into segments. Also, are there any good remote switches that could be used with these led strips?

I have a Nest doorbell that bring into HomeKit via Starling hub. I can view video anytime I want, but would like for the video feed to pop up n my ATV when someone comes to the door. I cant seem to find a setting.

I have Lutron caseta throughout my home. It all works great except for 3 switches in my detached garage. They don’t respond to commands in the Lutron or HomeKit app consistently. I’m thinking it might have to do with the distance from the house and the Lutron hub.
I have an access point in the garage so the WiFi is good out there. I’m thinking maybe WiFi switches would be my best bet in this case ? Has anyone had any luck with WiFi HomeKit switches and can you recommend any?

I recently set up a Thread network with two Thread Border Routers: Nanoleaf Shapes (WiFi) and Apple TV 4K (2nd Gen) (Ethernet). I also have an Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) (WiFi only), which can act as a Home Hub but not as a Thread Border Router.

For the most part, my Thread network runs smoothly. However, I’ve noticed a weird issue. Whenever I wake up my Apple TV 4K (2nd Gen) in the living room (which is wired via Ethernet) and start a movie or TV show, some or all of my Thread devices go unresponsive. The only way to fix this is to reboot the Apple TV, after which the Thread devices come back to life.

I’m running tvOS 18.3 on all devices. Has anyone experienced this before? Any known fixes?

I've considered switching the Apple TV to WiFi or adding a cheap HomePod Mini in the room where my Thread devices are, but I’m not sure if that would help. Any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: Issue seems to be fixed after resetting my 2nd Gen Apple TV 4K which acts as a border router. No issues so far while connected via Ethernet.

Hello everyone! So we live in an apartment. We have the August Smart Home lock and it works fine I guess - except about every 3 weeks I have to delete it from HomeKit and then reinstall it to HomeKit, because Apple stops seeing it every couple of weeks.

Can anyone recommend a better lock that I can use in an apartment? I can't replace the key part, because of the rules at my particular complex.

I recently installed an Aqara U100 lock. I’ve read time and time again that utilizing an Aqara Hub will greatly increase the responsiveness of the lock, as it communications to the Home Hub via Zigbee instead of Bluetooth once on an Aqara Hub. My question is, does HomeKit intelligently utilize the hub once it’s paired in HomeKit? Or is there another step to take in order to make sure HomeKit is communicating via the Aqara Hub. The hub has been bound to the lock within the Aqara app.

I'm surprised to see with the number of air quality monitors out there, none of them seem to have radon sensors? All the ones that do (at best) require home bridge.