The Ultimate Guide to Apple Home App Automation

Apple Home app lets you turn on the lights, adjust the thermostat, or set a scene to control both. With the Home app, you can easily and securely control the products that you use in your home from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, or Mac. with the Home app you can control the following products or devices.

with the Home app you can control this products or devices

How to set up this?

Update your device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) to the latest version of iOS. To use the Home app on a Mac, make sure your Mac updated to the latest version of macOS.
And also, Make sure that you have one or more products that support HomeKit or AirPlay 2. Check the labels “Works with Apple HomeKit” or “Works with Apple AirPlay“ on the product packaging or online to know whether it supports or not.
To use and manage your home accessories in the Home app, the user has to sign in to iCloud with Apple ID on their devices. And then turn on iCloud Keychain or Home in iCloud Settings.

Add accessories

Before you add an accessory to the home app or set up your accessory, check the following things first:

Make sure that the “Accessory” is powered on and nearby.
Check your accessory’s manual to see if it needs additional hardware to work with HomeKit.

Home app Add Accessory accessory appears

Then follow these steps:

Open the Home app and tap on “Add Accessory.”

Use the camera on your iOS device to scan the eight-digit HomeKit code or QR code on the accessory or accessory documentation. If you have an iPhone 7 or later and see the “Right wave” icon on your accessory, hold your iPhone near the accessory to add it.

When your accessory appears, tap it. If asked to Add Accessory to Network, tap Allow.

Name your accessory and assign it to a room to help you identify it in the Home app and control it with Siri.
Tap Next, then tap Done.

(Some accessories, like Phillips Hue lighting and Honeywell thermostats, require additional setup with the manufacturer’s app)

Change information about your accessory

After adding an accessory to your iOS device, you can edit information of it on your iOS device. Press and hold an accessory, then tap Settings.

From here, you can change its name and room where it’s located. Turn on Include in Favorites to access and control your accessory in Control Center, the Home tab, and on your Apple Watch. You can gather the accessories to a group that makes it easy to control as one accessory. like lights. The Control Center will allow you to control up to nine accessories that you add to Favorites.

Control your accessories

You can use Siri to turn on and control your accessories. Or you can manually control them in the Home app. To turn on or off an accessory:

On your device or Apple Watch, tap an accessory. Find and adjust extra features, like brightness, color, and temperature controls:

On your iOS device or Apple Watch, press and hold an accessory. If you want to control your home when you’re not there? Just set up a home hub with a HomePod, Apple TV, or iPad.

Set a scene to control multiple accessories

Scenes let you control multiple accessories at the same time. For example, you can create a scene called “I’m here” that turns on all of the lights and unlocks the front door — all at once.

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In the Home app, tap “+” icon in the upper-right corner, then tap Add Scene.
Choose a scene. Or create a custom scene, then give your scene a name.
Tap Add Accessories.
Tap the accessories that you want to add, then tap Done.
To adjust the settings for an accessory, press and hold it. To preview the scene, tap Test This Scene. Turn on Include in Favorites to access your scene in Control Center, Home tab, and Apple Watch.
Tap Done.

To turn on a scene, tap or click it. Or ask Siri. If you set up a home hub, you can also automate a scene.

To add or remove accessories from a scene on your iOS device, press and hold a scene, then tap Settings. On your Mac, double-click a scene, then click Settings.

Organize accessories by room and zone

Organize your accessories by room to help you keep track of where your accessories are located and control rooms with Siri. You can also group rooms into a zone, like upstairs or downstairs.

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Add a room

In your Home App:

Tap the Rooms tab, tap on the “Hamburger” icon in the upper-left corner, then tap Room Settings.
Tap Add Room.
Give your room a name, then tap Save.

To navigate between different rooms, tap the Rooms tab at the bottom, then swipe right or left across the screen.

Assign accessories to a room

Press and hold an accessory and tap Settings > Room, choose a room, then tap Done.

Organize rooms into a zone

Group rooms together into a zone, like upstairs or downstairs, to easily control different areas of your home with Siri.

On your iOS device:

Tap the Rooms tab, tap on the “Hamburger” icon in the upper-left corner, then tap Room Settings.
Tap a room, like Living Room.
Tap Zone. Tap a suggested zone or tap Create New.
Tap Done.

Delete your home or remove accessories

To remove an accessory from the Home app:

Press and hold an accessory and tap Settings, then scroll to the bottom and tap Remove Accessory.

If you remove your home from the Home app, It will remove all of its data, like accessories, scenes, and people you’ve invited to control. You need to reset each of your accessories before you can set them up again. To reset your accessory, look for a button on the accessory, check its manual, or contact the manufacturer.

To delete your Home and all of its data from the Home app: