What You Need to Know to Start an Apple HomeKit Smart Home

[@PaulHows-b6j]

I have to say as an old guy getting into my smart home the info and delivery Craig gives is spot on. At 62 im gettting into it a bit late i think the wife want me to set up a smart coffin so she can keep turning the lights on and off . Great work young man thankyou

[@JuliaSmith-n5o]

I just got some Nanoleaf essentials smart bulbs today, but I don’t see the adaptive lighting in the home app. Am I doing something wrong?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Unless you bought the specific HomeKit bulbs, you have the matter version. Those were not out when I made this video. In the upcoming TVOS (HomePods Use it) adaptive lighting is coming to Matter devices. I am excited to see that. Matter not having it has kept me from using some lights.

[@mikebedford4362]

Excellent video! For those of us just starting out it can be quite confusing and your video simplifies things to give you confidence. Thanks heaps and keep them coming

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you very much Mike. I am glad that it was helpful for you. That is great to hear.

[@Rev.HughBradley]

Question: I have 2 HomePod minis as speakers for Apple TV. Can I use the same two as speakers with my new MacMini? I'm thinking, I'll need tow additional mini pods. Thanks, Hugh

[@alphafoxtrotzulu4235]

I hi I’ve got a question about the mini. I have set it up but it is stuck on configuration. I have resented it multiple times but nothing has worked. Could I have some guidance

[@grahamrussell6014]

If you want to publish into HomeKit home assistant can put a lot of items into that echo system, I run this way as the return home automations are much faster.

[@javtimestwo]

Fantastic video. There are many novices out there who are intimidating by the tech but are also very invested in the Apple ecosystem. How you showed the ease of setting up and starting the HomeKit is refreshing. Keep up the great work 👏🏽

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you very much. Glad to help. I hope you enjoy your smart home journey.

[@rider46dusky]

Hi, very helpful video. Thanks for sharing, keep it up. I just have a quick question, I am using apple home pod Mini with my LG smart tv which is compatible with the home kit. Apart from switching the TV on and off Siri doesn't do anything, if I ask Siri to open youtube it says I can't find any Tvs to open apps nearby. Could you please help me with that?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Unfortunately the only voice integration is Siri with HomePods or Apple TVs. The HomeKit support should offer you input control too. Which can be nice for automations or voice commands if you switch sources to moves or consoles. In order to get the voice control on my LGs I would have to use Google or Alexa.

[@rider46dusky]

@@CraigsTechTalk Thanks for replying. Appreciate it. So if I use apple tv with my LG will that open apps like KZbin or Netflix through Siri voice command?

[@pug_63]

My first HomeKit related purchase was a HomePod Mini, followed by a couple of Nanoleaf Essentials bulbs. I’ve recently got a second Mini for another room. I’m loving Thread because the walls in my house are too thick to be Bluetooth friendly, and the Wi-Fi’s not fibre so would struggle with a lot of connected devices.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Good to hear Thread has been working well.

[@PaulHows-b6j]

i had same problem concrete walls look at a mesh system i got a deco and it extended my wifi right our to the garden boundry but agee thread is deffo a great way as is matter hope it becomes more common on products

[@myHomeKithome]

Oh man what a great video, Craig! If I had it to do all over again, I would definitely start with either an Apple TV 4K or HomePod mini, some Thread devices, and a very good Zigbee Hub. This really makes me think!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you very much 🙏. That is a great point about picking an Apple TV 4K instead of the mini. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.

[@dennisjulius_021]

“If you’re an android user” and then indirectly tells you that your android is useless in this situation 😂

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Sorry, I know a lot of Android users that use iPads. I had not thought of it that way. That is funny. Thanks for watching.

[@realitybites02]

Hi Craig. For some reason my Automation are all grayed out except the Time of the day. I only have my Homepod mini. I want it to play music as soon as i arrive home but again cant seem to setup automation. Any ideas?

[@forangelok]

Hi Craig.. thank you for your video.. but just to understand…do I have to connect the nano leaf bulb to my Wi-Fi to use them? Or do they just connect to my iPad ? Is a HomePod necessary to make them work or can you just use an iPhone or iPad? Thx.. I want to smart my home my husband doesn’t… so I would like to start very small … one bulb in our bedroom… 😂😂😂 with no homepod…

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is great you are starting your smart home. I have learned baby steps is definitely a good thing to keep your spouse happy. In order to build an Apple smart home you have to have a HomeKit hub. That would be either a HomePod or Apple TV. You do all of the setup of the devices you buy with your phone. You can control smart devices through the manufacturers app from your phone or tablet. But if you want it to work within Apples Home app you need that HomeKit hub and HomeKit or Apple Home supporter devices. I hope that helps. An Apple TV or HomePod is a must for an Apple Home.

[@forangelok]

@@CraigsTechTalk thank you so much for answering … I appreciate it very much! Following you from Rome by the way!!!

[@HylianHero17]

I'm moving houses right now and starting a smart home completely from scratch. I'm really considering switching everything over from Alexa to Homekit because of all the nice features it has.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

If you have HomeKit devices, other than the Nanoleaf essentials bulbs, most everything will work with Alexa. You can run both assistants in tandem. Get the best out of both worlds

[@brianchandler8727]

I would see more , but can it hook up the Amazon echo

[@CraigsTechTalk]

No it cannot hook up the echo

[@brianchandler8727]

What hub would you use

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Brian, I personally use only hubs that are required for a manufacturer and stick with their hub. For example, I have hubs for my Philip Hue, Aqara, Lutron, Flic & SwitchBot devices. I have not tried the single hub approach.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

Can you show home kit working without the internet connected???

[@mikejackson2888]

Great video! I am currently switching from Alexa to Apple Home. Still learning and searching for all the videos I can on how to and what to do. Learning that most of my current switches and plugs are not compatible with Apple Home so doing a lot of research on what I should buy and what I should stay away from. I have the HomePod Mini (2) and the Apple TV to start, now need to build the system. I am leaving some of the switches because they control lights that are on a set schedule, so that will save some money 😅.

[@Techlifeandmore]

You may want to consider hoobs. It will probably allow you to migrate 99% of your Alexa smart home stuff over to HomeKit.

[@mikebedford4362]

Hi Craig I’m a new user and only have a few nano leaf globes at this stage. We are about to move to a new house and so I will disconnect and reconnect the globes. I read somewhere that this can be a problem as you need to re-scan etc? Is there anything I need to be careful of? Thanks again and keep up the great work it’s really informative and helpful

[@CraigsTechTalk]

No you will not need to reconnect them. They will connect back to your Apple device. That device will need it's WiFi updated.

[@chrisdeverill9857]

Excellent video and knowledge..Craig is the best

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you Chris. You are too kind. I am glad to be able to help. Have a great day.

[@cheddarmac7935]

I have a question. I bought a Apple mini and when I play my Apple Music sometimes it just shuts off. Any idea why? I am new to Apple world.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is odd that it shuts off. I would first do a power off and on restart. If that doesn’t work, I would consider removing it from the home, giving it a reset and adding it back in. Here are Apples directions to reset. support.apple.com/en-us/HT208244

[@cheddarmac7935]

@@CraigsTechTalk thanks, very much for your response on the issue I am having.

[@ronnutt8891]

I’m thinking about changing from Amazon Alexa to Apple HomeKit

[@DuckingAround58]

Really good video. Anyway I can integrate my Ring cameras into home ?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I use hoobs hub, or you can use Homebridge, to act as an in between to make it work. I talk about it more in a recent video on why I still use ring with HomeKit.

[@Buharialtinee]

Thanks for sharing

[@curtispazarjr4985]

Yes I would love to see more video!!!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you Curtis. There is so much to explore.

[@terkfranks1538]

Not on topic, but I have a question you or viewers may be able to answer. I am thinking about using an oil filled space heater for garage to keep above a certain temperature. Can you use the wyze smart outlet for a basic oil filled heater from Walmart? (Figured I could make it come on/off automatically depending on garage temperature, but want to make sure it's electrically safe) *I am talking about a sealed oil radiator style heater.

[@BreakTime10101]

I would be very careful using that type of heater in your garage.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

When it comes to things that generate heat, I get very cautious like BreakTime101. The big thing to consider is how many amps can the plug support and the heater draws. But the other issue you will probably have is that once you unplug the heater and plug it back in, you will probably need to turn the heater power back on. Most heaters default to being powered off when plugged in.

[@dennisjulius_021]

I’m relatively new to the smart home space, so if you actually wanted to start afresh with your smart home setups then that’ll be a great tutorial for me and other people that are starting from scratch.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you Dennis for your thoughts. It is finding the time and making the commit to all I will be undoing with automations. But I think it would be great for helping others.

[@BenjaminCutting]

My HomePod mini is on route and I’m a few weeks away from moving into my new flat - this is all gonna come in so handy. Thank you!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Very cool. I hope you enjoy it Benjamin. Thanks for watching.

[@scottyd2903]

I have just bought an Apple TV and got to thinking that, hey Apple do good products, wouldn’t it be good to switch from our 6 Google Home Speakers to Apple, since the Google devices have given me so much pain and frustration over the years. We had our outside light switches connected so that might prove difficult to bring over to Apple, but we could keep one Google device, no big deal. Hey thanks for the video. You sold me!

[@RobertoOrtis]

Hello Craig, excellent content! I just found about you yesterday and immediately subscribed to your channel. I am about to convert my dumb home into an smart one and decided to go the homekit route. I have one question, i want to buy a 2021 Samsung tv, can i control it with hoobs bridge and does hoobs work with thread? I am a bit confused there. Or should I buy a tv that supports homekit natively?

[@annewatman677]

My husband and I have Echo Dots, but everything else is Apple. We wanted to see if we liked the Apple HomePod Mini, and just thankful for your channel!!

[@moniquem783]

Can you use an old iPad? I have an iPad Air 2 which must be close to 10 years old now. It’s still doing software updates but I expect that will stop in the next couple of years. Still, if I could start with what I’ve got that would be better.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Apple does not specify models. Here are their steps. You can see if yours has the option. support.apple.com/en-us/HT207057

[@moniquem783]

@@CraigsTechTalk it looks like it will work! Bonus! I suspect the iPad is going to die fairly soon, but it will do to play around and see how it all works with just a couple of smart items and then when I move I can really start having fun and buy HomePods for rooms I haven’t seen yet which makes it tricky to choose a colour. Thanks heaps!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is great to hear it works. I think it’s great to see how you feel about it before spending money. Thank you for the follow up.

[@moniquem783]

@@CraigsTechTalk I did it! I ordered a power board and 2 Nanoleaf bulbs!! So I’ll have the tv etc on the power board (I think you call them power strips there) and the bulbs will be in lamps. It was really hard to decide what to get when I haven’t found the house I’ll be moving to soon. I wanted to try the bulbs in my ceiling light but the next house might have different fittings and then they’ll be wasted so the lamps will have to do for now. Scrolling through everything available resulted in many things added to my wish list for the next place. I’m gonna have so much fun with this!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Congratulations. Glad to hear your excited about adding more. That is a great start. You have bulbs to play with and control of TV power. Yes, we say power strips. That’s funny you mentioned that. Have fun with your new smart home journey with your HomePod Minis.

[@misstubbie1313]

Little by little I have faded out almost all my Meross products and replaced them either with Philips Hue or Lutron dimmers. I’m much happier. Yes those are more expensive but worth it. The constant disconnecting issues of the Meross gave me enough headaches. My three Meross smart plugs are now three very nice paper weights. How I’ve been wanting to try Aqara but the brand doesn’t ship to my country 🥺 I’ve found a few devices on my local Amazon but at double the US price. Crazy. Im now at my 4th HomePod mini. I love them but they do have some occasional issues like “I have problems connecting to the internet” stuff. They work fine 95% of the time.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

It is annoying those little issues. But I love it for smart home control. Love the Lutron switches. I am about to do the same thing with a couple of meross switches for my backyard lights. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@marlon9683]

Unfortunately you need wifi right ??

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Yes you do.

[@Zakariah1971]

Tiny blue Home Pod kicks ass in the bedroom. Bass is Amazing. I would pay $300 for the mini based on sound quality if it could detach from the tether. Cord and brick should match the color of the homepod. Common sense.

[@Mbakwems]

Glad to have found ur channel. We r an apply family. Upgraded all lights to everything Philip Hues and using their app to control things. Now I can utilize this video to get going with my HomeKit. Thx 🙏

[@wlf9108]

I wish simplisafe was compatible.

[@mark_downunder]

Thank you for giving a good overview on how to get started. Well done.

[@Techlifeandmore]

It is worth noting that iPads can no longer be used as HomeKit hubs.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you for mentioning this. I will have to update this video.

[@cb58016]

Craig, After watching your video I decided to dive into HomeKit. I set up a basic Home with two lamps in the Living room, then I invited my wife to have access to the home but she never received the invite. I tried a couple of times with the same result. I feel I am missing a step in the invite process but could not determine what. From the home screen I selected "Add People" then added her email address from my contact list and selected "Send Invite" We searched her email, including junk mail, messages, etc. but could not locate the invite. Any suggestions.

[@bonitavickrey55]

Just starting

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Very cool. I hope you enjoy your new HomeKit home. Check out Shane Whatley’s channel. He only covers setting up a HomeKit smart home.

[@ronm6585]

👍🏻Thanks Craig.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you Ron. Hope you are doing well

[@marymadigan9707]

Nice one Craig 👏🇮🇪😎

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you Mary 🙏.

[@curtispazarjr4985]

Great review!!!!!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I appreciate it. 🙏

[@T3CHGY007]

Really great video Craig! I am still using amazon devices, but on the fence with homekit! The reason being is alot of the devices that do have support for homekit is not the cheapest in price! Plus there are still not that many devices that currently support homekit! Other then that I would use it as my main! Also waiting for apple to come out with a homepod with a screen for i use my show 5 as my bedside alarm clock!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you very much. I really want an echo show version of the HomePod. I think Apple would make a speedy touch device. I do recommend trying out the HomePod Mini if you are curious. Even without the smart devices, the other apple integration is nice. You can use it along side your echos.

[@sg1ds919]

@@CraigsTechTalk do you really need a HomePod mini? I can use Siri on my iPad and my iPhone to control my devices.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

You need either a HomePod or Apple TV for smart home control. Other than that, no reason you can’t use Siri on other devices.

[@shorelifeliving4858]

Hi Craig, our Apple TV is set up with my husband as main account holder. I want to set up Apple Home using my appleID though (his forte is entertainment, mine is smart home set up). Is it going to be possible to use the Apple TV as the home hub? I can’t seem to figure it out 😩

[@thomastevis8655]

Awesome videos sorry I’m so late

[@CraigsTechTalk]

You are right on time. Thank you for checking it out and glad you enjoyed it.

[@accattmoon]

Yes

[@katsoutofthebox]

My automations just don't start up no matter what I do :(

[@bl54913]

Hey Craig! I am having a real problem with my Homekit devices that started with updating to iOS 16.2. My devices are no longer working! Worse, I cannot add them back into my Home! Are you familiar with this issue? Everything was working perfectly prior to the iOS update!!!

[@georgebrodie9795]

Craig just finished watching your video about how to setup your home with the Apple home hub and software. I see that you have to scan the QR code on each item so than I guess if I want to add my ring security system I have to scan every sensor and cameras or could I scan just the base station and would it recognize all my sensors and cameras attached to the base station. And I guess the most important question is this would work with ring. Thanks for your help.

[@supercanardo]

So basically, without a hub Homekit is totally useless. Before the latest update, I could invite members of the family to remote our home (just a couple of plugs), now I need a hub to do this? Please...

[@CraigsTechTalk]

To remotely control devices from apples home app you have always needed a hub. That hub is either a HomePod or an Apple TV. You can control wifi devices through other manufacturers app. But the reason Homekit is secure is because you talk to the Apple TV or HomePod. Not every device talking to the internet like the way Google and Amazon do it. But nothing has changed from how HomeKit has always been. If you are having issues, its not HomeKits fault.

[@supercanardo]

@@CraigsTechTalk Before the latest update, you could use it without a hub, as long as you were on the same wifi (i.e. at home), and you can share. Now you can still use it at home without a hub but you can't share the home, so only my iPhone can switch on the lights, not my wife's. Frustrating.

[@annewatman677]

You are really good, but I have to say that I’m overwhelmed!

[@jonashdzh]

gonna switch from Alexa to Homekit in the New House. Its just better

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Very cool. Let us know how it goes as you make the move. Nice thing is you can keep Alexa in the mix for the few items that don’t carry over.

[@ricstanden]

I watched you vido will I was drunk! It made no sense! I feel great!

[@HisShadowX]

Yeah, I’m thinking of switching over myself. I have two Google home nest maxes with a ring camera and at this point HomeKit works just so well.

[@broinchrist2024]

Quite actually, i swapped from google entirely! I used to have an android, and a google alarm clock, and lightbulbs to control with the google hub! I had so many problems with it though! Especialy with the google nest cameras. Who knew how glitchy they could get?! Then when the iPhone 8 came out, i swapped! Ever since then, i have been an apple geek! I was bit by the apple bug! Uh oh!!

[@forangelok]

Hi Craig!!! Had to do it had to go it!!! I want a smart home…so I got an HomePod mini to start !!! my husband is a Siri and smart home hater hater! Had an echo but he never wanted me to set it up!!! He is scared that we could be spyed in some way!!! He puts Wi-Fi off every night… so I have a big battle waiting for me! But as soon as he sees what the HomePod mini can do especially the intercom function I’m sure he will change idea… I hope! We have a teen in the house so we yell all the time… or when we are out and he is at home he never answers his phone .. do the interphone will be a good help!!! Worth every dollar even if we used it just for that 😂😂😂😂… we’ll have iPhones…

[@Soneoak]

Such a huge headache to setup my iPhone for all my smart home devices. Siri is so dumb/stupid it’s ridiculous. I switched to Samsung 2 years ago as money came rolling in and decided to switch back to iPhone for shallow blue bubble reasons for work recently, still using ok google as it just works even if the Samsung is sitting in my bedroom as I’m calling out from my office. My iPhone 15 pro max just doesn’t want to work or when it does, it doesn’t. It’s ridiculous how Siri doesn’t just automatically connect lifx and other generic smart devices, or even know how to recognise my voice. They need to fix Siri before smart devices start to make sense as I don’t want to pick up my phone every time I want to turn off my office lights, change brightness or colour, set moods, turn on the air con/dyson purifying heater, check fridge.

[@adam62385]

A few years ago I used tp link lights. Those fuckers would disconnect like crazy.... Especially in summer weather. They wouldn't disconnect AT ALL in winter. Confused the hell out of me because I have really good Charter internet. I'd only go back to smart home tech if you could assure me the damn things will stay connected.

[@mbvx7]

my advice. don't set up a Homekit anything. I have a Mac mini, Homepod, Homepod mini, iPhone, iPad and AppleTV. all I ask of it is to control my home lighting. I have to reboot (unplug, plug in) my homepod at least 3 times a week. it got so bad I bought a 3rd party "plug" so I could cut power and re-power the homepod without having to get up. if fails about 50% of the time. Siri can't understand any commands. I can say Turn Off Lamp. I have ONE device called Lamp because it's a Lamp. Siri responds, that device didn't communicate with me. That device couldn't be found etc etc over and over. I can say TURN OFF THE F***ING LAMP and all of a sudden she finds it. each and every time I can switch and say Hey google do whatever and boom. done every single time. never fails. never have to reboot it. never have to cuss at it. Homekit is the worth thing ever.

[@MrShalvayez]

Thanks for turning my lights off... jerk. lol

[@CraigsTechTalk]

You are welcome, it was too bright in the room anyways. Thank you for only calling me a jerk. 😆 Thanks for watching.

[@MrShalvayez]

Here in Iowa, it stays pretty dark for awhile. 7, 8 AM, still need lights.@@CraigsTechTalk

[@flethacker]

1984 and apple fullfilled it

[@Nylgk]

Hate my HomePod Minis. Not ready for Primetime. Hey Siri “what’s the temperature”, Siri “ I can’t seem to find your location”. Hey Siri “turn off the lights” Siri “working on it” or “setting the scene”, then nothing. Hey Siri, set floor lamp 2 to warm white”, Siri “I can’t do that for you”. Occasionally these commands work, more times than not they do not. I will be moving back to Amazon Alexa, never had any issues with those. HomePod Minis are HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE, DO NOT BUY. Not worth the headaches. And yes all my settings are correct, including location services. Apple tech confirmed.