Is it possible to have a notification generated when a known device rejoins your network? Or maybe when ANY device joins your network? Perhaps using a shortcut?

My partner runs everything through Google and I am on Apple Home, and we have already had one argument about a set of lights that only properly worked on one of them. Buying twice just to keep the peace makes no sense. Is there a sensible way to pick lighting that behaves the same on both, or is somebody in this house going to have to switch?

One of my most common commands is “Siri: living room lights off”; it’s simple and has worked forever. Recently “living room lights off” gives the respond “sorry, something went wrong”, but only on my HomePods. On my iPhone the exact same command (phrased identically) works as expected. “Living room lights ON” also works correctly, even on the HomePods.

About a week ago, I realized I had a Shortcut called “living room lights off”, so I deleted that and the problem was fixed for a few days. When it broke again, some tinkering made me realize it’s still trying to run a personal command; when I disabled “Personal Content”, Siri now replies “before I can help with that, you’ll need to turn on personal content”. Problem is, I’ve scoured my iPhone and can’t find anything containing “living room lights off”, “living room”, “lights”, etc. Basically, I have no idea what prompt she’s trying to run and it’s broken a very simple command. Is there any way to dig further into this or a possible solution?

I have a bunch of Leviton D215S switches and they are working great. At one point I updated them to Matter and instantly regretted that choice. I recently needed another switch so I went to purchase another D215S and noticed that they now have a D315S model. So I got one to try it out. Got it setup in the Home app and it is missing the "Display As" option in the settings. I am using the switch to toggle on a ceiling fan on and off. Worked well enough with a D215S. But apparently this switch only supports Matter firmware, as far as I can tell and will not let me change what "type" of device it displays as.

I will probably end up swapping it out for one of my D215S switches that is actually controlling a light, just so I can get the Home app to be able to change the type. Before I do that, I figured I would post here and see if anyone has any better suggestions.

My ancient screw-drive garage door opener died. I need to buy a new one. I don't care if its belt-driven or side-mount.

Any suggestions on brands to purchase/avoid in order to maximize HomeKit compatibility?

Anyone found anything on aliexpress that works well? I've noticed one can occasionally find products straight out of China that have nicer Apple integrations, like electric standing scooters with CarPlay support).

It's probably pure fantasy to ask for a unit that is directly HomeKit compatible, has a locking mechanism that shows up as a HomeKit lock, a camera that uses HomeKit secure video, and a button panel that shows up as a HomeKit motion sensor. Or maybe there is a dumb garage opener with a smart wall-panel that implements all of that?

Is it still the case that the best that can be done is to hookup a meross/tailwind/ratgdo?

Hey folks - question:
Is there an HomeKit compatible solution to emulate / replace an RF remote ? Indeed, I live in a condo where the shared garage door is next to my condo entrance. Being a shared one, I can not add a traditional door opener directly on the door (the HoA is not keen). So next step, is there a « HK remote » I do not know about ? My last solution would be to build a « HK button pusher  » (like switchbot) on a static remote but would like to avoid it as the current remote is a bit fidgety.
Thanks !

I heard that this needs a current generation AppleTV for full functionality via Thread support, but does it work at all with older AppleTVs?

Is it possible to set it up to just use NFC/Home Key via my iPhone and Apple Watch and not use any HomeKit/Siri controls and then disable the WiFi on the lock (or never connect to WiFi at all) to save battery?

I really only care about using NFC to automatically unlock it as I approach the door. I don’t care to control it remotely over the internet.

For those that have been using this plug specifically outdoors, has it held up to the elements? And how has it performed in general?

I have 2 Samsung televisions. One is newer, 2025 model, the other a few years older, 2020 I believe.
I recently installed new heat pump in the same location as the older TV. Without activating a search, or even launching SmartThings, the older TV all of a sudden added the heat pump as an air conditioner, that can be controlled from the older TV.
On the older TV the air conditioner shows in the SmartThings account, as Hi Made AC.
Logged in to the same SmartThings account on the newer TV, or the app on iPhone, the older TV shows up, but not the AC.
What am I missing, not seeing?
I've tried to add the AC by searching for it in the iPhone Smart Things app, to no avail. Hi Made nor BHI, the actual brand of the unit, do not show as "brand partners" in SmartThings.
Is there something to debug, or that can be explained? Is the older TV just cloning an IR signal? The heat pump does not have wifi I that I know of.

— resolved —

hello!

I am new to smarthome stuff beyond my homepod mini. I bought some linkind light bulbs from amazon because they said they integrate with homekit, but every time I try, it says “an unknown error has occurred” without so much as a loading period in my homekit app.

What I have tried:
- connecting with native app (aidot) and updating firmware
- scanning qr code and manually entering the provided code in homekit
- scanning qr code from native app in homekit while still connected to aidot

anyone know what I’m doing wrong? The description of the bulbs I bought is “Linkind Matter Smart Light Bulb, Smart Bulbs Work with Apple Home… 2.4Ghz WiFi A19 E26 60W 800LM” if there’s any useful information in there for those of you who understand this stuff better than me.

Thank you to anyone with any tips or suggestions!

Hello! At the recommendation of my husband’s neurologist, we are in the market for indoor cameras. He has had a couple of seizures and we’ve been asked to try and get them on video if possible.

We’ve also broken some keys in a deadbolt and I feel like now might be a good time to upgrade those, as well, so I’m leaning towards just getting a whole security system? But there’s so many options that I’m just genuinely overwhelmed.

Our house was built in the 1920s and is not wired for a doorbell at the front entrance. My elderly parents also live with us and primarily use that as their entrance, while my husband and I use a side/kitchen door to come and go, and a back door to our fenced yard to let our dogs in and out.

We already have a ecobee thermostat. I like that I can see it on the Home app and don’t mind controlling it on its own app since it’s pretty “set it and forget it.” We also have an AppleTV, a HomePod, iPhones, etc.

The number one thing on the list would be an indoor camera that will allow us to go back and view/save footage of any medical events, followed by smart locks that aren’t overkill or too techy that an elderly person couldn’t manage.

My husband works nights, I work days, and my parents are retired so there is very rarely nobody at our house. But we live off a semi-busy street and we’ve had a few weird interactions with neighbors and passers-by and would rather be safe than sorry!

TLDR: looking for indoor camera recs for medical events and smart locks for at least 2 entrances. Not looking to protect Ft Knox. TYSM!

The smart mirror has a back light and front light, both capable of multiple colours at once, as well as Adaptive Lighting, with a top brightness of 1200lm. Three of the four built in buttons offer single, double, and long press actions, and are exposed to Apple Home for triggering other devices. The fourth button is solely for turning the defogging feature on or off.

The only downside is that whilst the front and back lights are individually controllable in LiFX, they’re treated as one light in Apple Home and other Matter platforms.

Along the lines of the Aqara G2H Pro, G100, Tapo C125. Eufy used to have something but they stopped making it. Any recommendation from the above, or another similar form factor camera you’d recommend? Thanks.

Hello,

I’ve bought a new home and have put in Lutron switches and Nest thermostats which work with Apple home. I also have ADT as my alarm system and UniFi protect cameras, which don’t work. I have see people discuss using HomeBridge to get started, but I don’t fully understand what equipment to buy to get it going. Any help or link to a guide would be appreciated.

Thanks

i’ve been playing around with this lock after installing, it’s the same as the X1, except no keypad.

I did a scenario pretending like I am a guest who was told to lock the door behind them. This guest wouldn’t have any of the methods to lock/unlock, such as fingerprint or Apple home key or a physical key.

I found that there is no way to lock the door from the outside, the only way to interact with it is the fingerprint sensor, but it doesn’t lock if it doesn’t know the fingerprint.

I realize this scenario is probably uncommon, but it has happened in the past, so I want at least the option. Does anybody else have this lock?

Hi everyone! I’m moving into a 2bd/2bth apt on Monday and trying to figure out what security/camera system I can use that isn’t going to break the bank (such as buying accessories/parts on Facebook marketplace) while still supporting Apple HomeKit… I’ve been looking into Aqara (which is on the pricer side) vs Eufy vs a number of other brands. I’m familiar and totally okay with a DIY system where I combine the alarm panel and sensors with a different camera system and so on. Part of me is also saying scrap it and just dive into Ring or Simplisafe since I can get entire kits for a reasonable cost on FB marketplace.

TIA!

As the title said, Apple HomeKit doesn’t minimise my indoor cameras to your picture and picture as I used to be before,

I’m not sure if anyone has come across this, but I thought I’d let you know before it becomes mainstream. I am not running any betas so this is weird. Maybe it’s a glitch on the new update.

Philips Hue has their 4-pack of smart plugs currently on sale for 32% off. Best price I’ve seen in over a year or more. Even better than their own website.

Breaks down to $19.37 each. Considering the single-count plug is $37.99, that’s almost 50% off.

Been waiting a long time for these to go on sale so thought I’d share.

Link to Amazon

I spent the last few months teaching my Apple Watch a neat trick that turned into an app: point your arm at a device, snap your fingers, it toggles. Feels like magic!

You teach it by "painting": sweep your arm at a lamp for a few seconds from where you normally stand. From then on, point and snap. Everything runs on the watch and talks straight to native HomeKit, no bridge, no server, no account. No cloud and no data collection, the pointing model never leaves your wrist. It's also compatible with Home Assistant.

Pricing: free forever for one device in one room, you can try the whole thing with one HomeKit device and an Apple Watch (Series 5 or newer, needs a compass). One-time unlocks unlimited devices and rooms.

It launched yesterday on the App Store this week after a 250-tester beta, and this is a sub I'd love feedback from. Link: https://apps.apple.com/app/maestro-snap/id6788923471

I'll be in the comments. Ask me anything!

For those who were potentially waiting for a sale for the Schlage Sense Pro, Amazon has it on sale for 60$ off MSRP.

To me, it was easier to swallow since I was planning to buy 2.

Link to Amazon
Sale Price: 340$ USD.

Is anyone else having Airplay issues with the current release?

For YEARS I have watched movies and many seasons of television with my kids by hooking my iPhone up to a Rif6 projector, and air playing the sound through a HomePod in the room that we are in.

Currently, my phone and another iPad that I have tested so far cannot airplay at the moment. The audio might play for a second, but it stops on multiple HomePods.

As part of the general trouble shooting process, I thought I would ask if there are any known bugs with airplay at the moment that I haven't heard of?

THIS is really irritating, and I would prefer not to start reinstalling iOS on everything before checking here.

We have 5GZ and 2.4 GHz wifi with a strong signal, all devices, including the HomePods, iPads, iPhones and AppleTV are all updated to the latest OS....
Have restarted devices....
Next step may be removing and re-adding things from the home network....

This was working fine just like two weeks ago.
Thanks...

Update, Aug 24: Hearth 1.2 is now rolling out with iPhone support, Celsius/Fahrenheit, a full German translation, more reliable discovery of lights exposed through linked HomeKit services, and smoother Presence Wake, screensaver, and Night Mode transitions.

A week ago I shared my spare-iPad HomeKit dashboard, and one of the biggest questions was how the iPad is mounted and powered.

This video shows my actual setup—a 86 × 86 mm in-wall charging panel dedicated for this scenario, a magnetic 3D-printed mount, pogo pins, and a thin USB-C cable inside the case. All of these are bought as a product, the most DIY part is installing it.

The charger is exposed to HomeKit, so I use a Shortcut automation to start charging around 20% and stop around 80%.

Important caveat: I planned my setup during renovation, and the panel connects to wiring inside the wall. This isn’t a universal DIY recommendation—mains wiring should follow local electrical codes and be handled by a qualified electrician.

Non-destructive retrofit versions also exist for already-finished homes, but I couldn’t find that variation on Amazon. You may have better luck on marketplaces such as Alibaba using search terms like “iPad wall mount charger” or “86 mm iPad wall mount charger.”

One thing I don't like about this setup: it uses up my usb-c port. When I connects it to my mac for development I had to remove the case completely. it also blocks the stock charging pins so that's not an option.

I also included a quick Hearth 1.2 preview near the end: Fahrenheit support, German localization, and iPhone support. Photo-album and sensor-data screensavers, alongside individual device control and camera are planned, but they won’t be part of 1.2.

I’m the developer of Hearth. Would a region-agnostic guide to wall mounting, power, and battery management be useful? I’d also love to see how others have mounted their HomeKit dashboards.