Reminder: HomePod can replace an Apple TV or iPad as a HomeKit hub

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV
Not only can Apple's HomePod be used to control HomeKit devices, but it can take the role of a HomeKit hub, allowing for access and control of compatible peripherals from outside the home.




The HomePod is third class of device that can act as a HomeKit hub. The HomeKit hub feature was previously limited to the Apple TV fourth generation and newer for all HomeKit functions, or an iPad capable of running iOS 11.

What you can and can't do in HomeKit without a home hub

Without using an Apple TV, an iPad, or a HomePod as a home hub, you can organize devices together in a room, control accessories, and create a scene to control multiple accessories with a single tap when you're in range of your wireless network.

Just using an iPhone will also allow you to control these devices, rooms, or scenes with Siri.

Activating your devices manually outside of the home, sharing access to your HomeKit setup to other users, or setting up a series of HomeKit responses to do something at a certain time of day or in response to a stimulus from a sensor requires a home hub.

The third generation Apple TV can be used as a HomeKit hub, but it won't be able to be used to remotely access HomeKit cameras, change user permissions, or create automations from the device.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    Yes. I need to start movie on home display when I am far away from my home. That would be "great" feature. BTW how do I deactivate microphone permanently? Should I take it apart and cut it or install physical switch?
  • Reply 2 of 25
    tjwolftjwolf Posts: 424member
    A couple points: in my (limited) experience "home hub" is not very reliable - at least on iPad: I've set up a "When Anyone Arrives" automation and it worked nicely.  But 2 weeks ago, it no longer worked.  Nothing on the iPad changed, other than an iOS update.  Yesterday, I also noticed that when I tried to turn on the lights from my front yard (using cellular), Siri responded that it couldn't (in typical Apple "style", it didn't give any clue why!)  So I went inside and finally looked a little closer at the iPad's Home app and noticed that, for whatever reason, it had a little cloud on the app's icon - which denotes that it had been offloaded by iOS (perhaps as part of the iOS update?).  I re-downloaded and opened it and everything seemed kosher.  Today, I was able to remotely turn on the lights - I assume that the automation will now work again also.

    But it's this little sort of thing - why the he11 is Apple offloading the Home app when it's designated a "hub" and is needed???  With usual lack of help from Siri, one is left to ones own devices to debug these things.  With an iPad, at least there's a user interface, but what do you do if you designate HomePod as your hub and something goes wrong???

    As an aside: are you sure the third generation Apple TV can be a home hub?  This is the last version before the "Siri" enabled Apple TV, right?  I have two of those - and I looked for a "hub" menu item when I started my automation journey and didn't see it.  I believe I read somewhere that Apple disabled it for 3rd-gen on some upgrade to tvOS?  I might be wrong - will check again once I get home.

    Second aside: there's no clear tutorial on what you need to do to get geo-fenced based automation working for multiple devices.  Currently, only my iPhone turns on the lights when I get home.  If my wife comes home, nothing happens.  Related: there's a "When Anyone Leaves Home" - why isn't there a "When Everyone has left Home" - a much more useful condition?  Where is all the home automation documentation???

    dacharyojimbo007cornchipAirunJae
  • Reply 3 of 25
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
    The third generation Apple TV can be used as a HomeKit hub, but it won't be able to be used to remotely access HomeKit cameras, change user permissions, or create automations from the device.
    But the 4th generation Apple TV can do all that?
    edited January 2018
  • Reply 4 of 25
    (Seemingly unrelated, but important): Why is Apple tanking today, when the rest of market seems to be doing fine?

    (Vaguely related): Anything to do with the HomePod product launch?
    cornchip
  • Reply 5 of 25
    JanNLJanNL Posts: 327member
    tjwolf said:

    As an aside: are you sure the third generation Apple TV can be a home hub?  This is the last version before the "Siri" enabled Apple TV, right?  I have two of those - and I looked for a "hub" menu item when I started my automation journey and didn't see it.  I believe I read somewhere that Apple disabled it for 3rd-gen on some upgrade to tvOS?  I might be wrong - will check again once I get home.

    Yes, the last paragraph of the article is 100% correct. It's my setup.
  • Reply 6 of 25
    JanNLJanNL Posts: 327member

    (Seemingly unrelated, but important): Why is Apple tanking today, when the rest of market seems to be doing fine?

    (Vaguely related): Anything to do with the HomePod product launch?
    Yes, why? Looked for news I may have missed, but nothing "big"...
    So maybe it's because of the HomePod, but strange. Think the news about health data would be a (great) positive!?
  • Reply 7 of 25
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    The third generation Apple TV can be used as a HomeKit hub, but it won't be able to be used to remotely access HomeKit cameras, change user permissions, or create automations from the device.

    I have not yet been able to set up an ATV3 as a hub. Does not show up in the Home App and nothing in the ATV3 iCloud setting mentions Home as the web site says it should. Everything is updated to latest rev. 2-factor authentication is active.

    Anybody help solving this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    cornchip
  • Reply 8 of 25
    tjwolftjwolf Posts: 424member
    JanNL said:

    (Seemingly unrelated, but important): Why is Apple tanking today, when the rest of market seems to be doing fine?

    (Vaguely related): Anything to do with the HomePod product launch?
    Yes, why? Looked for news I may have missed, but nothing "big"...
    So maybe it's because of the HomePod, but strange. Think the news about health data would be a (great) positive!?
    Apple's been going up & down (mostly down) based on concerns by some analysts that iPhone X didn't sell as well as expected.  Today, it was "Instinet"'s turn and I think also  a guy from Bernstein expressed concern for the current quarter.  But I think, mostly, it's the usual pull-back before earnings announcements (which I think this time is Feb 2?)
     
  • Reply 9 of 25
    JanNLJanNL Posts: 327member
    mike1 said:
    The third generation Apple TV can be used as a HomeKit hub, but it won't be able to be used to remotely access HomeKit cameras, change user permissions, or create automations from the device.

    I have not yet been able to set up an ATV3 as a hub. Does not show up in the Home App and nothing in the ATV3 iCloud setting mentions Home as the web site says it should. Everything is updated to latest rev. 2-factor authentication is active.

    Anybody help solving this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    And iCloud Keychain in use?
  • Reply 10 of 25
    The picture of the Home app on an iPad shows a vacuum. Anyone know of a HomeKit enabled robotic vacuum?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 25
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    The picture of the Home app on an iPad shows a vacuum. Anyone know of a HomeKit enabled robotic vacuum?
    That's Neil's personal HomeKit setup. I'll ask.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 25
    The picture of the Home app on an iPad shows a vacuum. Anyone know of a HomeKit enabled robotic vacuum?
    That's Neil's personal HomeKit setup. I'll ask.
    Also interested in that answer. Also what his Watch TV and Play PS4 are doing. I didn’t know it was possible to control those with Home Kit.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    Does homepod support multiple users/voices?
  • Reply 14 of 25
    Yes. I need to start movie on home display when I am far away from my home. That would be "great" feature. BTW how do I deactivate microphone permanently? Should I take it apart and cut it or install physical switch?
    Are we talking about the frontal lobes here?! No but seriously...what do you do with your phone’s mic? 
  • Reply 15 of 25
    (Seemingly unrelated, but important): Why is Apple tanking today, when the rest of market seems to be doing fine?

    (Vaguely related): Anything to do with the HomePod product launch?
    I doubt that.. its nervousness and manipulation before the feb1 earnings call .
    edited January 2018
  • Reply 16 of 25
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    tjwolf said:
    JanNL said:

    (Seemingly unrelated, but important): Why is Apple tanking today, when the rest of market seems to be doing fine?

    (Vaguely related): Anything to do with the HomePod product launch?
    Yes, why? Looked for news I may have missed, but nothing "big"...
    So maybe it's because of the HomePod, but strange. Think the news about health data would be a (great) positive!?
    Apple's been going up & down (mostly down) based on concerns by some analysts that iPhone X didn't sell as well as expected.  Today, it was "Instinet"'s turn and I think also  a guy from Bernstein expressed concern for the current quarter.  But I think, mostly, it's the usual pull-back before earnings announcements (which I think this time is Feb 2?)
     
    Stock manipulation! WS Anal yst always target Apple because it's most volatile vs others.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    The picture of the Home app on an iPad shows a vacuum. Anyone know of a HomeKit enabled robotic vacuum?
    A little Google search goes a long way! iRobot Roomba 980,966,960 (Series 900) works with Homekit and Siri
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 25
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    tjwolf said:
    A couple points: in my (limited) experience "home hub" is not very reliable - at least on iPad: I've set up a "When Anyone Arrives" automation and it worked nicely.  But 2 weeks ago, it no longer worked.  Nothing on the iPad changed, other than an iOS update.  Yesterday, I also noticed that when I tried to turn on the lights from my front yard (using cellular), Siri responded that it couldn't (in typical Apple "style", it didn't give any clue why!)  So I went inside and finally looked a little closer at the iPad's Home app and noticed that, for whatever reason, it had a little cloud on the app's icon - which denotes that it had been offloaded by iOS (perhaps as part of the iOS update?).  I re-downloaded and opened it and everything seemed kosher.  Today, I was able to remotely turn on the lights - I assume that the automation will now work again also.

    But it's this little sort of thing - why the he11 is Apple offloading the Home app when it's designated a "hub" and is needed???  With usual lack of help from Siri, one is left to ones own devices to debug these things.  With an iPad, at least there's a user interface, but what do you do if you designate HomePod as your hub and something goes wrong???

    As an aside: are you sure the third generation Apple TV can be a home hub?  This is the last version before the "Siri" enabled Apple TV, right?  I have two of those - and I looked for a "hub" menu item when I started my automation journey and didn't see it.  I believe I read somewhere that Apple disabled it for 3rd-gen on some upgrade to tvOS?  I might be wrong - will check again once I get home.

    Second aside: there's no clear tutorial on what you need to do to get geo-fenced based automation working for multiple devices.  Currently, only my iPhone turns on the lights when I get home.  If my wife comes home, nothing happens.  Related: there's a "When Anyone Leaves Home" - why isn't there a "When Everyone has left Home" - a much more useful condition?  Where is all the home automation documentation???



    As a growing Homekit house, it's very reliable for me!!! I'm almost always controlling everything with my Apple Watch. No problem controlling away from my house either. Using the iPad never made much sense to me as a Hub. For me, my semi new 12.9" iPad Pro comes with me to work and other places. If I take it with me, it's not going to work at all as a Hub for the home.

    My Apple TV 4 is my Homekit Hub. If I remember right, there's a setting to turn it on.

    As for Homekit on a AppleTV 3, look at this link and maybe it'll be of some help

    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7904164

    Did you go into the HOME app and add you WIFE to your Homekit settings? If you go into the HOME app, on the top left is a arrow, click on that, then scroll down to People and click on Invite and add your Wife and anyone else here.
    edited January 2018
  • Reply 19 of 25
    The picture of the Home app on an iPad shows a vacuum. Anyone know of a HomeKit enabled robotic vacuum?
    That's Neil's personal HomeKit setup. I'll ask.
    While you're at it, ask what a "Bedroom Noisemaker" is...

    ...on second thought, maybe I don't want to know! :#
    jony0Rayz2016
  • Reply 20 of 25
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Yes. I need to start movie on home display when I am far away from my home. 
    Yes indeed, since the device can’t fix a lack of imagination then you really shouldn’t buy one. 
    StrangeDays
Sign In or Register to comment.