# Itsyhome – HomeKit guides and troubleshooting (full content) > Itsyhome is a fast, native smart home controller for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV (HomeKit everywhere, Home Assistant on Mac). This file contains the full text of every guide at https://itsyhome.app/guides. Product overview: https://itsyhome.app/llms.txt ## Fix HomeKit accessories showing "No response" URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-accessory-not-responding Updated: 2026-07-02 "No response" is the most common HomeKit problem, and in the vast majority of cases it is a network problem, not a broken accessory. HomeKit discovers devices with multicast DNS (mDNS, also called Bonjour), so anything on your router that blocks or filters multicast traffic makes accessories vanish even though they are powered on and connected to Wi-Fi. Start by narrowing the scope: force-quit and reopen the Home app (or any HomeKit app), then check whether one device is unresponsive or all of them are. If everything shows "No response", the cause is your network or your home hub. If it is a single device, the cause is usually that device's power, pairing, or Wi-Fi band. ### The fix, in order 1. **Power-cycle in the right order** Restart your router first, then any bridges (Philips Hue, Aqara, Lutron), then your home hubs (unplug the Apple TV or HomePod for 20 seconds), and finally the affected accessory. The order matters: hubs and bridges need the network up before they reconnect, and accessories need their bridge up before they re-announce themselves. 2. **Enable mDNS / Bonjour on the router** HomeKit cannot work without multicast DNS. On most routers the setting is called "mDNS", "Bonjour", or "Multicast DNS" – on UniFi it is under Networks as "Multicast DNS" (an mDNS reflector). Make sure it is enabled on the network your accessories and hubs share. 3. **Disable AP or client isolation** Guest networks and some "IoT" presets enable "AP isolation" or "client isolation", which blocks devices from talking to each other. HomeKit requires device-to-device traffic on the local network, so this must be off for the SSID your accessories use. 4. **Use WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode, not WPA3-only** Many accessories, especially older or 2.4GHz-only ones, cannot join a WPA3-only network. Set Wi-Fi security to WPA2/WPA3 transitional (mixed) mode. 5. **Keep 2.4GHz on and tame band steering** A large share of Wi-Fi smart home devices are 2.4GHz-only. Keep the 2.4GHz band enabled, and if your mesh system aggressively "band-steers" (sometimes called Smart Connect), soften it or temporarily split the SSIDs so 2.4GHz devices get a stable network to sit on. If devices keep dropping, also try disabling 802.11r fast roaming for the IoT network – cheap Wi-Fi chipsets often handle it badly. 6. **On managed networks: fix IGMP snooping and VLANs** On UniFi and other managed gear, IGMP snooping can silently drop multicast after about a minute, so devices connect and then flip to "No response". Either disable IGMP snooping on the IoT network, or configure it fully (flood known protocols, forward unknown multicast to router ports). If accessories and hubs sit on different VLANs, mDNS must be reflected across them – if you are not sure how, keep everything on one subnet. VLAN-separated HomeKit without an mDNS reflector is the most common self-inflicted failure. 7. **If a single device still fails** Open the manufacturer's own app and check the device there. If it responds in the vendor app but not in HomeKit, remove it from the Home app, factory-reset it, and pair it again. If it does not respond anywhere, the problem is power or Wi-Fi signal at the device. ### Why it happens after a router change If everything worked until you replaced the router or ISP box, the new router almost certainly ships with different multicast defaults: mDNS off, a guest network with isolation on, WPA3-only security, or merged bands with aggressive steering. Walk the steps above against the new router's settings and accessories typically come back without re-pairing. Devices that show "No response" until you open the manufacturer's app are a classic sign of blocked mDNS: the vendor app wakes the device over its own cloud connection, while HomeKit's local discovery stays blocked. ### Remote access shows "No response" but home works If accessories respond while you are home but not when you are away, the problem is your home hub, not the accessories. All remote traffic routes through a hub (Apple TV or HomePod). Check Home Settings → Home Hubs & Bridges and make sure one hub shows "Connected" – if none do, follow the hub troubleshooting guide below. ### FAQ **Why do my HomeKit devices say "No response"?** Usually a network issue: the router is blocking multicast DNS (mDNS/Bonjour), AP isolation is on, the network is WPA3-only, or band steering keeps kicking 2.4GHz-only devices. If all devices are unresponsive at once, restart the router, bridges, and home hubs in that order, then check those router settings. **Why does an accessory work in the manufacturer app but show "No response" in HomeKit?** The vendor app talks to the device through its own cloud, while HomeKit uses local mDNS discovery. If the vendor app works but HomeKit does not, your router is blocking or filtering multicast traffic – enable mDNS/Bonjour and disable AP isolation. **Does HomeKit work across VLANs?** Only if mDNS is reflected between the VLANs and multicast is forwarded correctly. Without an mDNS reflector, accessories and hubs on different VLANs cannot discover each other. If you do not run managed networking gear deliberately, keep everything on one subnet. **Do I need to re-pair accessories after changing routers?** Usually not. If the new network has the same SSID and password, accessories reconnect by themselves once mDNS, isolation, and security settings are correct. Re-pairing is only needed when the accessory itself lost its network credentials. ## Fix "No home hubs responding" and hubs stuck on standby URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-hub-not-connected Updated: 2026-07-02 A home hub (an Apple TV or a HomePod) is what runs your automations and relays remote access. When the Home app says "No home hubs responding", or every hub sits on "Standby" with none "Connected", automations stop firing and the home is unreachable when you are away – even though every accessory still works locally. The usual causes: a hub got stuck after a software update, multiple hubs are fighting over the connected role, or the iCloud account state on an Apple TV has gone stale. ### The fix, in order 1. **Check hub status** Open the Home app → Home Settings → Home Hubs & Bridges. Exactly one hub should show "Connected"; any others show "Standby". If none is connected, continue. 2. **Unplug all hubs at the same time** This is the key step. Rebooting hubs one at a time while the others keep running often does not fix it, because the stuck election state survives. Unplug every Apple TV and HomePod together, wait 30 seconds, and plug them all back in. 3. **Update every hub** Version mismatches between hubs cause flapping and stuck standby states. Update tvOS on every Apple TV and HomePod software on every HomePod, then power-cycle again if needed. 4. **For a stubborn Apple TV: reset the accounts** On the Apple TV go to Settings → Users and Accounts, remove the iCloud user, sign out of Home Sharing, restart, then sign back into both. Stale account state on the Apple TV is a known cause of a hub that never reconnects. ### You cannot choose which hub is active Apple picks the connected hub automatically, and there is no setting to prefer one hub over another. If you want a specific device to be the hub (say, the wired Apple TV rather than a HomePod mini in a far room), the only lever you have is what is plugged in: hubs on Ethernet with strong network positions tend to win the election, and removing a problematic hub from the home takes it out of the rotation entirely. ### What breaks when no hub is connected - All automations stop running – they execute on the hub, not on your iPhone. - Remote access fails: accessories show "No response" whenever you leave home. - HomeKit Secure Video stops recording, because the hub does the recording and encrypted upload. - Sharing your home with other people remotely stops working. ### FAQ **What does "No home hubs responding" mean?** None of your Apple TVs or HomePods is currently acting as the home hub. Automations, remote access, and HomeKit Secure Video recording all depend on a connected hub, so they stop working until one reconnects. **How do I change my active home hub?** You cannot – Apple selects the connected hub automatically and offers no setting to override it. Wired hubs in good network positions tend to be chosen. The only way to exclude a hub is to remove it from the home. **Why is my home hub stuck on standby?** Most often a stuck election after an update. Unplug all hubs simultaneously (not one at a time), wait 30 seconds, and plug them back in. If an Apple TV still refuses to connect, remove and re-add its iCloud and Home Sharing accounts. **Can a Mac or iPad be a home hub?** No. Only an Apple TV (4th generation or later) or a HomePod / HomePod mini can be a home hub. iPads lost hub support with the new Home architecture, and Macs never had it. ## iPad home hub not working: the 2026 legacy architecture shutdown URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/ipad-home-hub-legacy-architecture Updated: 2026-07-02 If your iPad used to run automations and remote access for your home, it stopped being supported as a home hub with the new Home architecture introduced in iOS 16.2. Only the Apple TV (4th generation or later) and the HomePod or HomePod mini can act as home hubs now. There is also a deadline: Apple ends support for the legacy HomeKit architecture on 10 February 2026. Homes that never migrated stop working entirely after that date – not just iPad hubs, the whole home. If your home still shows an upgrade banner, migrate now. ### Check whether your home is on the old architecture 1. **Open Home settings** In the Home app, tap the more (…) button → Home Settings → Software Update. If you see "Home Upgrade Available", your home is still on the legacy architecture. 2. **Update every device first** Before upgrading the home, update every hub (Apple TV, HomePod) and every household member's iPhone and iPad to the current OS. A single household member on an old iOS version blocks the upgrade or loses access to the home afterwards. 3. **Run the upgrade** Tap the upgrade banner and follow the prompts. The migration takes a few minutes; accessories, scenes, and automations carry over. Do this on your own schedule rather than being forced when support ends. ### If you relied on an iPad as your hub You need a real hub to keep automations and remote access: a HomePod mini is the cheapest option, and an Apple TV 4K is the most capable (it is wired, and also acts as a Thread border router in current models). Without any hub, accessories still work while you are home on the same Wi-Fi, but automations, remote access, camera recording, and remote sharing all stop. ### Known migration problems The original iOS 16.2 rollout of the new architecture was pulled after breaking some homes and was re-released in 16.4. On current OS versions migration is routine, but two failure modes still get reported: HomePods stuck on "Configuring", and third-party accessories disappearing after the upgrade. Stuck HomePods recover with a full reset and re-add. If a home is badly corrupted, the last resort is removing the home and rebuilding it – see the guide on fixing a broken HomeKit home before you take that step. ### FAQ **Why is my iPad no longer a home hub?** Apple removed iPad hub support with the new Home architecture (iOS 16.2). Only Apple TV (4th gen or later) and HomePod / HomePod mini can be home hubs. iPads only ever worked under the legacy architecture, which Apple shuts down on 10 February 2026. **What happens on 10 February 2026?** Apple ends support for the legacy HomeKit architecture. Homes that never migrated to the new architecture stop working, and iPad home hubs stop functioning entirely. Migrate via Home Settings → Software Update → Home Upgrade before then. **Do I lose my automations when upgrading the home architecture?** No – accessories, scenes, automations, and users carry over. Update all hubs and all household members' devices first; outdated devices in the household are the main cause of upgrade problems. **Do I need a home hub at all?** Only for automations, remote access, HomeKit Secure Video recording, and remote sharing. Purely local, manual control keeps working without one – but most homes want at least a HomePod mini. ## HomeKit automations not running: how to fix them URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-automations-not-working Updated: 2026-07-02 HomeKit automations do not run on your iPhone. Every automation – time-based, sunset, sensor-triggered, or presence-based – executes on your home hub (an Apple TV or HomePod). That single fact explains most "my automations stopped working" cases: if no hub is connected, nothing fires, no matter what your phone shows. The other common causes are disabled system location services (which break time zone and sunrise/sunset math) and automation records corrupted by an iOS update. ### The fix, in order 1. **Confirm a hub is connected** Home app → Home Settings → Home Hubs & Bridges. One hub must show "Connected". If none does, unplug all hubs simultaneously for 30 seconds and plug them back in – see the hub guide for the full procedure. 2. **Check time zone and location services** On your iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services → enable "Setting Time Zone" and "HomeKit". Then Settings → General → Date & Time → set automatically. Sunrise and sunset automations depend on the home knowing where and when it is. 3. **Recreate broken automations** After iOS updates, individual automations sometimes stop firing even though they look fine. Editing them rarely helps – delete the affected automation and recreate it from scratch. This is the consensus fix for post-update breakage, especially for sunrise/sunset and time-based automations. 4. **Check "Ask Before Running"** Arrival automations that involve locks or security systems prompt for confirmation on your phone by design – if you miss the notification, the automation appears to have silently failed. Where Apple allows it, disable "Ask Before Running" per automation, or move security actions out of presence automations. 5. **Reboot everything once** If a specific automation still misbehaves, power-cycle all hubs and the accessories involved. Stale characteristic state on a bridge can make a trigger never fire. ### Conditions HomeKit cannot express Apple's Home app can only build simple automations, and its editor silently destroys conditions created in other apps. If you have automations with multi-condition logic made in Eve, Controller, or Home+, editing them in Apple Home wipes those conditions. Itsyhome's automation editor preserves foreign triggers and conditions on save, shows them in the editor, and lets you build multi-condition automations (time window + presence + any number of accessory state conditions, including numeric thresholds like "temperature ≥ 21°C") from scratch on iPhone and iPad. Some conditions HomeKit simply cannot compute at all – "door open for 15 minutes" being the classic. See the guide on door-left-open alerts for how to do it with virtual sensors. ### FAQ **Do HomeKit automations need a home hub?** Yes. All automations execute on a connected Apple TV or HomePod hub, not on your iPhone. With no connected hub, no automation runs – time-based, sensor-based, or presence-based. **Why did my automations stop working after an iOS update?** Updates occasionally corrupt automation records. The reliable fix is to delete the affected automations and recreate them – editing them in place usually does not help. Also re-check that a hub shows Connected after the update. **Why don't my sunset automations trigger at the right time?** Sunrise/sunset times come from the home's location and time zone. Enable Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services → "Setting Time Zone" and "HomeKit", and set Date & Time to automatic. **Can I edit automations made in Eve or Home+ without breaking them?** Not in Apple's Home app – its editor discards conditions it cannot display. Itsyhome preserves multi-condition predicates, extra triggers, and end events from other apps when you save, and can edit or build multi-condition automations directly. ## HomeKit arrive and leave automations not triggering URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-presence-automations Updated: 2026-07-02 "When I arrive" and "when I leave" automations depend on your iPhone reporting geofence crossings to your home hub. When they fail, it is almost always a permissions or settings problem on the phone – not the hub. Work through the checklist below on every phone that participates in presence detection. In multi-user homes, one household member with broken settings silently breaks every "when anybody arrives / when the last person leaves" automation. ### The fix, in order 1. **Set Home location access to Always** Settings → Home (the app's own entry in Settings) → Location: choose "Always" and enable Precise Location. "While Using" is not enough – geofence events happen when the app is not open. 2. **Enable Significant Locations** Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services → Significant Locations: must be ON. This is the most commonly disabled setting that breaks HomeKit geofencing. 3. **Confirm the presence device** In the Home app, tap your profile and confirm the correct iPhone is set as the device that determines your location. If you switched phones recently, the old device may still be selected. 4. **Check every household member** For automations like "when the last person leaves", every member's phone needs the same settings: Always location for Home, Significant Locations on, and the right presence device selected. 5. **Look for delay-inducing settings** Low Power Mode postpones background location work, and iCloud Private Relay / VPNs with "Limit IP Address Tracking" can delay geofence events. If automations fire late rather than never, these are the usual suspects. 6. **Expect confirmation prompts for locks** Arrival automations that unlock doors or disarm security require a confirmation tap on your phone by design ("Ask Before Running"). If you ignore the notification, the door stays locked – that is the security model, not a failure. ### Testing presence properly Geofences trigger on crossing a boundary a few hundred metres around your home, not at your doorstep, and iOS batches location work to save battery. Test by actually leaving and returning (a walk around the block is often too small a radius), and give events a minute or two. If tests never fire, re-check Significant Locations first – it is the setting people turn off during privacy cleanups and forget about. ### FAQ **Why doesn't my HomeKit automation trigger when I arrive home?** Check three things: the Home app has "Always" location access with Precise Location, Significant Locations is enabled (Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services), and your current iPhone is set as your presence device in your Home profile. **Why does my arrival automation ask for confirmation instead of just running?** Automations that unlock doors or disarm security systems require confirmation by design. Apple calls it "Ask Before Running" – it prevents someone driving past your house with your phone from unlocking it. Move non-security actions into a separate automation if you want them to run silently. **Do presence automations work for multiple people?** Yes, but every household member's phone must have correct settings: Always location for the Home app, Significant Locations on, and the right presence device chosen. One misconfigured phone breaks "last person leaves" automations for the whole home. ## HomeKit camera live view or recording not working URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-camera-live-view Updated: 2026-07-02 HomeKit Secure Video recording is done by your home hub: the hub pulls the stream, analyses it, encrypts it, and uploads clips to iCloud. So when recording stops or live view fails remotely, the camera is usually fine – the hub or your iCloud plan is the problem. One useful diagnostic split: if live view works at home but not away, it is a hub problem. If streaming works but recording is missing, it is the HSV recording session or your iCloud tier. ### The fix, in order 1. **Check the hubs** Home Settings → Home Hubs & Bridges: one Connected, rest Standby. If not, unplug all hubs simultaneously for 30 seconds. Recording and remote viewing both die with the hub. 2. **Reset the recording session** If the camera streams but does not record: open the camera's settings in Home, change "When Home" / "When Away" from "Stream & Allow Recording" to just "Stream", wait a minute, then switch it back. This forces the hub to rebuild the recording session and is the consensus fix for silently stopped recordings. 3. **Check your iCloud+ plan** HomeKit Secure Video needs iCloud+: the 50GB plan supports 1 camera, 200GB supports up to 5, and 2TB or higher supports unlimited cameras. Recorded footage does not count against your storage. Clips are kept for 10 days. 4. **Check the camera's network** Cameras are bandwidth-hungry and often 2.4GHz-only. All the "No response" network rules apply: mDNS enabled, no AP isolation, decent signal. A camera at the edge of Wi-Fi coverage streams at home and fails remotely because the relay through the hub needs more sustained upstream bandwidth. ### Viewing cameras beyond the Home app Apple's Home app shows cameras on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, but the viewing experience is minimal – no camera wall on the Mac, no zoom, and camera access buried among rooms. Itsyhome adds a customisable live camera mosaic on every platform: a camera wall on Apple TV, live feeds with zoom and on-screen accessory controls in the Mac menu bar, and a camera grid on iPhone and iPad. Doorbell rings automatically pop the camera view, and on the Mac the doorbell stream pins to the corner of your screen. Home Assistant cameras stream over WebRTC for low latency. ### FAQ **Why is my HomeKit camera not recording?** Usually the hub or the HSV session. Confirm a home hub shows Connected, then toggle the camera from "Stream & Allow Recording" to "Stream" and back – this resets the recording pipeline. Also confirm your iCloud+ plan covers your camera count (50GB = 1 camera, 200GB = 5, 2TB = unlimited). **Does HomeKit Secure Video footage count against my iCloud storage?** No. Recorded clips are stored encrypted in iCloud but do not count against your storage quota. Clips are retained for 10 days on a rolling basis. **Why can't I view my HomeKit camera when away from home?** Remote streaming relays through your home hub. If live view works at home but not remotely, the hub is offline or struggling – power-cycle all Apple TVs and HomePods simultaneously and check Home Hubs & Bridges status. **Can I see all my HomeKit cameras at once?** Apple's Home app has limited multi-camera viewing. Itsyhome offers a customisable live camera mosaic on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV – including a full camera wall on the TV and camera feeds in the Mac menu bar with zoom and overlay controls. ## Matter and Thread pairing failures: fix "accessory not found" URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/matter-thread-pairing-problems Updated: 2026-07-02 Most Matter pairing failures come down to one of two things: the device is still commissioned to another ecosystem (or a previous home) and needs a factory reset, or the commissioning path is blocked – Bluetooth proximity, a stuck Thread border router, a VPN on the phone, or a WPA3-only network. Thread devices that pair fine but keep dropping offline are a different problem: usually multiple border routers that have split into separate Thread networks. ### Fix pairing failures, in order 1. **Factory-reset the accessory** "Accessory not found" is most often a device that is still commissioned to Google Home, Alexa, or a previous HomeKit home. Follow the manufacturer's factory reset procedure (not just power-off) before trying again. 2. **Update and restart the hub** Update your Apple TV or HomePod first, then unplug it for 20 seconds. Thread border router functions genuinely get stuck after updates; a hub power-cycle fixes a surprising share of pairing failures. 3. **Pair up close** Matter commissioning starts over Bluetooth LE. Stand within a metre of the accessory with your iPhone, and keep the hub reasonably close for Thread devices joining the mesh. 4. **Enter the code manually** If the QR code will not scan (glossy stickers, tiny codes), tap "More options…" in the Home app's add-accessory flow and type the numeric setup code printed next to the QR code. 5. **Clear the network path** Turn off any VPN on your iPhone during pairing, make sure Wi-Fi security is WPA2/WPA3 mixed (not WPA3-only), and put your phone on the same network the accessory will join – with 2.4GHz available for Wi-Fi accessories. ### Thread devices keep dropping offline If Eve, Nanoleaf, or other Thread devices pair fine but fall off the network, suspect a Thread partition: multiple border routers (for example an Apple TV and a Google or Amazon hub, or even two Apple hubs after a bad update) forming separate Thread networks instead of one. Devices then sit marooned on the wrong partition. Update all border routers to current firmware and power-cycle them simultaneously so a single network re-forms. The Eve app's Thread network view is the de-facto diagnostic tool – Apple exposes no Thread topology UI at all. Mixed-ecosystem border routers are getting better with Thread 1.3 credential sharing, but community reports say partitions still happen; keeping border routers within one ecosystem remains the stable choice. ### FAQ **Why does the Home app say "accessory not found"?** The device is usually still commissioned to another ecosystem or a previous home. Factory-reset it using the manufacturer's procedure, then restart your Apple TV or HomePod and pair again with your phone within a metre of the device. **What do I do if the HomeKit QR code won't scan?** In the Home app's add-accessory screen choose "More options…" and enter the numeric setup code manually – it is printed beside the QR code on the device, its packaging, or its manual. **Why do my Thread devices keep going offline?** Most likely a Thread network partition caused by multiple border routers. Update all border routers (Apple TV, HomePod, and any Google/Amazon hubs) and power-cycle them at the same time so one network re-forms. The Eve app can show your Thread topology. **Can one Matter device be in Apple Home and Google Home at the same time?** Yes – Matter supports multi-admin. Pair it with the first ecosystem, then use that ecosystem's share/pairing-mode option to generate a new setup code for the second one. ## Fix a broken HomeKit home: invites, ghost accessories, and resets URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/fix-broken-homekit-home Updated: 2026-07-02 Some HomeKit problems are not about one accessory but about the home itself: invitations that never arrive, ghost devices you cannot delete, and homes so corrupted that only a rebuild helps. This guide covers all three, from least to most drastic. ### Home invites not arriving 1. **Check the basics on both sides** Both people need a current OS, need to be signed into iCloud, need the Home toggle on (Settings → your name → iCloud → Home), and must not have each other blocked in Contacts. 2. **Know the hub requirement** With the new Home architecture you need a connected home hub to invite people remotely. Without one, invites only work while both of you are at home on the home Wi-Fi. 3. **Try the trailing-space trick** Repeatedly community-reported (though never confirmed by Apple): type the invitee's email address and add a single trailing space before sending. It has unstuck invites that silently failed for weeks. 4. **Reset the sender's HomeKit cache** As an advanced last resort, Apple publishes a "HomeKit Reset" configuration profile that clears the local HomeKit cache on the sending device without touching the home itself. Install it from Apple's troubleshooting profiles page, restart, and retry the invite. ### Ghost accessories and "accessory already added" 1. **Factory-reset the accessory itself** "Already added" means the accessory still holds pairing data from a previous home – the pairing lives on the device, not in iCloud. Factory-reset it per the manufacturer's instructions, then add it again. 2. **For bridged ghosts, reset the bridge** Devices that came in through a bridge (Hue, Aqara, Lutron) cannot be removed individually if orphaned. Remove the bridge from the Home app (which removes all its children), factory-reset the bridge, and re-add it. 3. **Re-add via the vendor app first** If a device has a manufacturer app, pair it there first and then link it to HomeKit from within the vendor app – this often succeeds where direct Home app pairing loops. ### The nuclear option: remove and rebuild the home If the home database itself is corrupted – accessories half-present, settings that will not stick, upgrades that fail – the last resort is Home Settings → Remove Home, then rebuilding from scratch. Before you do it, know exactly what it costs: every scene, automation, camera setting, and user assignment is deleted, and there is no export or backup of a HomeKit home. Remove your HomePods and Apple TVs from the home first (Settings → reset/remove on each), otherwise they end up orphaned and need factory resets. Then remove the home, create a new one, and re-pair accessories one by one – factory-resetting each as you go, since they all still hold old pairing data. ### FAQ **Why isn't my HomeKit invitation arriving?** Check that both sides are signed into iCloud with the Home toggle on and current OS versions, and that you have a connected home hub (required for remote invites on the new architecture). If it still fails, the community-reported fix of adding a trailing space after the invitee's email is worth trying. **How do I fix "accessory already added"?** Factory-reset the accessory itself – HomeKit pairing data is stored on the device, so it believes it still belongs to a previous home until reset. Power-off is not enough; follow the manufacturer's reset procedure. **Can I back up my HomeKit home before resetting it?** No. Apple provides no export or backup for a HomeKit home. Removing the home permanently deletes all scenes, automations, and settings. Photograph your automation list before rebuilding, and remove HomePods and Apple TVs from the home first so they do not get orphaned. ## Control HomeKit from the Mac menu bar URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/control-homekit-from-mac Updated: 2026-07-02 Apple's Home app on the Mac is a Catalyst port of the iPad app, and it comes with real limitations: it cannot add new accessories (pairing must be done from an iPhone or iPad), a Mac cannot act as a home hub, and there is no menu bar presence – you switch to a full window to flip a light. If you spend your day at a Mac, a menu bar controller is the missing piece: your rooms, devices, scenes, and cameras one click or keystroke away, without leaving what you are doing. ### What Apple's Home app on Mac can and cannot do - Can: view and control already-paired accessories, run scenes, view cameras and HomeKit Secure Video clips, edit some automations. - Cannot: pair new accessories – adding devices always happens on iPhone or iPad. - Cannot: act as a home hub. Only Apple TV and HomePod can. - Cannot: live in the menu bar. Catalyst apps cannot be menu bar apps; only native AppKit apps can. ### Full HomeKit control from the menu bar with Itsyhome Itsyhome is a native AppKit menu bar app for macOS 14 and later: every HomeKit room, device, scene, and group in a compact menu, one click from anywhere. It is free to download and use. Beyond basic control, it adds what power users on a Mac actually want: pin rooms, devices, or scenes as their own menu bar items with global keyboard shortcuts; live camera feeds with overlay buttons to control nearby accessories; doorbell rings that pop a pinned live stream in the corner of your screen; 30-day sensor history charts; and iCloud sync of your setup across Macs. It also opens HomeKit up to automation tools: URL schemes for Shortcuts, Alfred, and Raycast; a built-in webhook server with a CLI for scripts; a Stream Deck plugin; and an SSE event stream for real-time state changes. On top of HomeKit it can also connect directly to Home Assistant. ### Setup 1. **Pair accessories on iPhone first** All pairing happens on iPhone or iPad in the Home app (this is an Apple platform restriction, not an app limitation). Your Mac then sees the same home automatically through iCloud. 2. **Install Itsyhome from the Mac App Store** Download Itsyhome and grant HomeKit access when prompted. Your rooms, devices, and scenes appear in the menu bar immediately – same data, same local HomeKit network, no third-party cloud. 3. **Pin what you use most** Pin favourite devices, scenes, or whole rooms as separate menu bar items and assign global keyboard shortcuts, so toggling the office lights never requires the mouse. ### FAQ **Why can't I add accessories in the Home app on Mac?** Apple's Home on Mac is a Catalyst port without the accessory pairing flow – adding devices is only possible on iPhone or iPad. Once paired there, accessories appear on the Mac automatically via iCloud. **Can a Mac be a HomeKit home hub?** No. Only an Apple TV (4th generation or later) or a HomePod / HomePod mini can be a home hub. A Mac can control the home but cannot run automations or relay remote access. **Is there a HomeKit menu bar app for Mac?** Yes – Itsyhome puts your entire HomeKit home in the macOS menu bar: rooms, devices, scenes, groups, live cameras, and sensors, with global keyboard shortcuts and pinnable menu bar items. It is free to download, with a one-time Pro unlock for cameras and advanced features. **Can I control HomeKit with keyboard shortcuts on a Mac?** With Itsyhome, yes: assign global shortcuts to any device, scene, group, or pinned menu bar item. You can also trigger devices from Shortcuts, Alfred, Raycast, a Stream Deck, or shell scripts via URL schemes and the built-in webhook server. ## Control HomeKit from Apple TV URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-on-apple-tv Updated: 2026-07-02 Every Apple TV 4K can be a HomeKit home hub, but as a controller its built-in abilities are surprisingly narrow. The Control Center Home panel on tvOS shows scenes and cameras only – you cannot control individual accessories from it, you cannot create scenes or automations on the TV, and the panel only appears at all once you have cameras or at least one scene created on another device. The one place per-accessory control exists natively is inside a camera view, where an Accessories button controls devices in that camera's room. Siri on the Apple TV can also control accessories by voice. For everything else, you need an app. ### What the built-in Home panel offers - Run scenes from Control Center (but not create or edit them). - View cameras, including multi-camera view and picture-in-picture. - Control accessories in a camera's room via the Accessories button in the camera view. - Doorbell notifications with a live camera picture-in-picture. - Siri voice control of accessories through the Siri Remote. ### Full control on the big screen with Itsyhome for tvOS Itsyhome for Apple TV (tvOS 17 or later) is a full HomeKit controller built for the Siri Remote: browse rooms, toggle lights and switches with a click, and long-press for expanded controls – thermostat modes and temperature, blind position, fan speed. Locks require a confirmation step, matching how you would want a TV remote to handle your front door. It also brings a live camera wall to the TV: all your HomeKit cameras in one grid, with full-screen detail views. Sensors – temperature, humidity, motion, contact – show live values per room. Real-time state updates come straight from HomeKit on your local network. ### Setup 1. **Make sure the Apple TV is in your home** The Apple TV must be signed into the same iCloud account as your HomeKit home (Settings → Users and Accounts). If it already works as a home hub, it is set up correctly. 2. **Install Itsyhome from the App Store on tvOS** Search for Itsyhome on the Apple TV App Store, install, and grant HomeKit access. Rooms and accessories appear immediately. 3. **Navigate with the remote** Click to toggle a device, long-press for expanded controls where a device has them (thermostats, blinds), and press Back to exit. It is one purchase across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. ### FAQ **Can I control HomeKit devices from Apple TV?** Natively, only in a limited way: the tvOS Control Center panel runs scenes and shows cameras, plus Siri voice control. For direct control of individual lights, thermostats, blinds, and locks from the Siri Remote, you need a tvOS HomeKit app such as Itsyhome. **Why doesn't the Home panel show on my Apple TV?** The Control Center Home panel only appears when your home has cameras or at least one scene, created on another device. It never shows individual accessories – that is a tvOS limitation, not a configuration problem. **Can I see all my HomeKit cameras on Apple TV?** The built-in panel shows cameras one at a time or in a limited multi-view. Itsyhome for tvOS adds a live camera wall – every camera in one grid on the TV, with full-screen detail views. **Can I create scenes or automations on Apple TV?** No – tvOS offers no scene or automation editing. Create them on iPhone, iPad, or Mac; the Apple TV then runs them (and, as a home hub, executes your automations). ## Home Assistant on the Mac menu bar: setup guide URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/home-assistant-mac-menu-bar Updated: 2026-07-02 Home Assistant's web dashboard is powerful but heavy for everyday control – opening a browser tab to turn off a light gets old. On a Mac, the natural place for your home is the menu bar. Itsyhome for macOS connects directly to your Home Assistant server over its WebSocket and REST APIs using a long-lived access token. There is no intermediary cloud: the app talks straight to your server, locally or remotely via Nabu Casa, DuckDNS, Tailscale, or any URL your server answers on. ### Setup 1. **Create a long-lived access token** In Home Assistant, click your profile (bottom-left) → Security tab → Long-Lived Access Tokens → Create Token. Give it a name like "Itsyhome" and copy the token – it is shown only once. 2. **Connect Itsyhome** Install Itsyhome from the Mac App Store, choose Home Assistant as the platform on first launch (or switch in Settings → General), and enter your server URL and the token. Local URLs (http://homeassistant.local:8123), Nabu Casa remote URLs, and reverse-proxy or VPN addresses all work. 3. **Control your entities** Entities are grouped by device and area automatically. Lights (with brightness, RGB, and colour temperature), switches, climate, covers, locks, fans, humidifiers, valves, alarm panels, scenes, and sensors all get native menu rows – every numeric sensor shows its value and unit. ### Cameras and doorbells over WebRTC Home Assistant cameras stream in Itsyhome with WebRTC for low-latency live video (the stream integration must be enabled on your server). Doorbell events pop a pinned live stream in the corner of your Mac's screen, and the camera mosaic works the same as with HomeKit cameras. ### HomeKit and Home Assistant together If you run both ecosystems, the standard pattern is: pair oddball devices (Zigbee, ESPHome, cheap Wi-Fi) into Home Assistant, then expose what you need to Apple Home with HA's HomeKit Bridge integration. Note the direction of each integration: HomeKit Bridge exposes HA entities to Apple Home, while HomeKit Device brings native HomeKit accessories into HA – a device paired directly to HA this way cannot simultaneously be paired to Apple Home, though it can be re-exported through the bridge, and Matter devices can live in both via multi-admin. On the Mac you do not have to choose: Itsyhome supports both platforms, and SSID-based auto-switching can even flip between homes or servers depending on which Wi-Fi network your Mac is on. If your HA bridge devices show "No response" in Apple Home, the usual cause is mDNS across VLANs or Docker – the bridge needs host networking or an mDNS reflector. ### FAQ **Is there a Home Assistant app for the Mac menu bar?** Yes – Itsyhome for macOS connects directly to your Home Assistant server over WebSocket with a long-lived access token and puts your entities in the menu bar: lights, climate, covers, locks, scenes, sensors, and WebRTC camera streams. No intermediary cloud. **How do I create a Home Assistant long-lived access token?** In the Home Assistant web UI, click your profile in the bottom-left, open the Security tab, scroll to Long-Lived Access Tokens, and click Create Token. Copy it immediately – Home Assistant shows it only once. **Does it work remotely, away from my home network?** Yes, as long as your server is reachable: Nabu Casa remote URLs, DuckDNS, a reverse proxy, or a VPN/Tailscale address all work. The app talks directly to whatever URL you configure. **Should I use HomeKit or Home Assistant for my devices?** They compose well: Home Assistant integrates almost anything (Zigbee, ESPHome, proprietary Wi-Fi), and its HomeKit Bridge integration exposes those devices to Apple Home and Siri. Itsyhome on the Mac speaks both natively, so you can run HomeKit, Home Assistant, or both at once. ## Control HomeKit from the terminal, scripts, and Stream Deck URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-webhooks-cli Updated: 2026-07-02 HomeKit has no public API: Apple's framework is only available to apps, so there is no official way to toggle a light from a shell script, wire your home into IFTTT or n8n, or put a lamp on a Stream Deck key. The gap is real – and the answer is a Mac app that bridges HomeKit to local HTTP. Itsyhome for macOS runs a built-in webhook server (default port 8423) that exposes your whole home – HomeKit and Home Assistant alike – to anything that can make an HTTP request, plus URL schemes for launcher apps and an official Stream Deck plugin. Everything stays on your local network. ### Pick your integration - URL schemes – for Shortcuts, Alfred, Raycast: open "itsyhome://toggle/Office/Spotlights" or "itsyhome://scene/Goodnight" from any launcher. - Webhook HTTP server – for scripts and automation platforms: curl http://localhost:8423/on/Kitchen/Light, /brightness/50/Office/Lamp, /temp/22/Hallway/Thermostat, /scene/Goodnight, /lock/Front%20Door and more. - Query endpoints – /status, /list/rooms, /list/devices, /list/scenes, /info/ return JSON, including battery levels for battery-powered accessories. - Server-Sent Events – curl -N http://localhost:8423/events streams every real state change as JSON, for dashboards and external automation. - CLI – brew install nickustinov/tap/itsyhome for a proper terminal client. - Stream Deck – the Itsyhome plugin on the Elgato Marketplace gives you buttons with live state: lights, scenes, locks, blinds, garage doors, thermostats, groups. ### Setup 1. **Enable the webhook server** In Itsyhome on the Mac, open Settings → Webhooks/CLI and enable the server. The default port is 8423; you can optionally bind it to a single interface (for example a Tailscale IP) so it is reachable only over your private mesh. 2. **Address devices by room and name** Targets are human-readable: Room/Device (Office/Spotlights), room-scoped groups (Office/group.All%20Lights), or global groups (group.Office%20Lights). URL-encode spaces as %20. 3. **Wire it into your tools** Anything that speaks HTTP works: cron jobs, IFTTT and Zapier webhooks, n8n flows, Home Assistant rest commands, window manager keybindings, or an AI agent. The /events SSE stream lets external systems react to your home in real time. ### Why a local bridge instead of a cloud service Because HomeKit control never needs to leave your network. The webhook server runs on your Mac, talks to accessories over Apple's local HomeKit framework, and answers HTTP on your LAN – no API keys, no third-party cloud, no round trip to someone else's server to turn on your own lamp. It requires the Mac to be awake, which is exactly the machine already running your scripts. ### FAQ **Does HomeKit have an API?** Not a public one – Apple's HomeKit framework is only available inside apps, and there is no official HTTP API. The practical route is a bridge app: Itsyhome on macOS exposes your home over a local webhook server, URL schemes, a CLI, and an SSE event stream. **How do I control HomeKit from a shell script?** Enable Itsyhome's webhook server (Settings → Webhooks/CLI) and use curl: "curl http://localhost:8423/toggle/Office/Spotlights" toggles a device, /brightness/50/... sets brightness, /scene/Goodnight runs a scene. Or install the CLI with "brew install nickustinov/tap/itsyhome". **Can I use HomeKit with IFTTT, Zapier, or n8n?** Yes, via webhooks: point their HTTP actions at Itsyhome's local server (expose it over a VPN such as Tailscale rather than the open internet). For the reverse direction, the /events SSE stream pushes real-time device state changes to your automation platform. **Can I put HomeKit devices on a Stream Deck?** Yes – the Itsyhome Stream Deck plugin (Elgato Marketplace) provides buttons with live state for lights, scenes, locks, blinds, garage doors, thermostats, and groups. It works with both HomeKit and Home Assistant and requires the webhook server to be enabled. ## Get alerted when a door is left open: automations HomeKit can't do URL: https://itsyhome.app/guides/homekit-door-open-alert Updated: 2026-07-02 Ask HomeKit to notify you "when the garage door has been open for 15 minutes" and you hit a wall: HomeKit triggers fire on state changes, not on duration. There is no timer condition, so the classic left-the-fridge-open and forgot-the-garage-door alerts are impossible to build in Apple's Home app – and always have been. The workaround is a virtual sensor: a synthetic accessory that turns on only after a real accessory has held a state for a set time. Apple Home can then automate and notify on the virtual sensor like on any real one. ### How it works with Itsyhome Itsyhome for macOS can publish its own HomeKit bridge carrying read-only virtual sensors (contact, motion, occupancy, leak, smoke, CO, CO₂). You pair the bridge into Apple Home by scanning a QR code, and the sensors become first-class HomeKit accessories – visible in Apple Home, usable in any automation, and included in HomeKit notifications. The sensors are driven by built-in automations of the form "WHEN a HomeKit accessory holds a state FOR a duration THEN set a virtual sensor", with optional re-pulsing to repeat the alert. The Mac watches the real accessory, does the timing HomeKit cannot, and flips the virtual sensor. ### Setup 1. **Create the virtual sensor** In Itsyhome on the Mac, open Settings → HomeKit bridge, enable the bridge, and add a virtual sensor – for example a contact sensor named "Garage door left open". 2. **Pair the bridge into Apple Home** Scan the QR code shown in Itsyhome (or type the setup code) from the Home app on your iPhone, like adding any accessory. Pairings and the bridge identity persist across restarts. 3. **Add the duration automation** Create the built-in automation: WHEN the real garage door contact sensor is "open" FOR 15 minutes THEN set "Garage door left open" to triggered. Optionally enable re-pulsing so it re-fires every N minutes while the door stays open. 4. **Automate in Apple Home** In the Home app, enable notifications for the virtual sensor or build an automation on it – flash a light, announce on HomePods, anything HomeKit can do when a sensor triggers. To your whole household it behaves like real hardware. ### Other conditions this unlocks - Fridge or freezer door ajar for more than 2 minutes. - A window left open for 30 minutes while the heating is on (combine with a multi-condition automation). - No motion in a room for an hour → treat as vacancy and switch things off. - Repeated nagging: re-pulse the sensor every 10 minutes until the door is closed. - Webhook-driven states: any external system can set a virtual sensor over HTTP, bringing non-HomeKit signals into Apple Home. ### FAQ **Can HomeKit notify me when a door has been open for 15 minutes?** Not natively – HomeKit automations trigger on state changes and have no duration condition. The workaround is a virtual sensor: Itsyhome on macOS watches the real sensor, waits out the duration, then triggers a virtual HomeKit sensor that Apple Home can notify and automate on. **What is a virtual HomeKit sensor?** A synthetic accessory published over the HomeKit Accessory Protocol by software instead of hardware. Itsyhome's bridge publishes read-only virtual contact, motion, occupancy, leak, smoke, CO, and CO₂ sensors that appear in Apple Home like real devices, driven by duration automations or webhooks. **Does this need my Mac to be running?** Yes – the Mac runs the bridge and does the timing, so it needs to be awake for the automations to fire (a desktop Mac or a Mac that never sleeps is ideal). The virtual sensors live in HomeKit, so notifications reach every family member's iPhone as normal. **Can other apps or scripts set the virtual sensors?** Yes. Sensor state can be set by name through Itsyhome's webhook server, so any script, Home Assistant automation, or external system can flip a virtual sensor over HTTP and drive Apple Home notifications from it.