Explained: The Apple hubs that control your home

[@pghatak]

Hi Eric, I'm glad you brought up this topic, and I'd like to add to this with difference between a hub and a bridge in the Apple Homekit ecosystem. As I understand, A hub is a device that acts as the central point of communication for all your Homekit devices. It also serves as an Open Thread Border Router, which allows your Thread devices to connect to the internet. In the Apple Homekit ecosystem, the hub is always an Apple TV or a Home Pod. However, some devices from other vendors (such as Philips, Tuya, etc.) use different protocols, such as Wifi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee, to communicate with each other. These devices require a separate device from the same vendor to act as their hub. This is called vendor-locking, meaning that you can only use devices from the same vendor together. For example, IKEA devices will only work with their own hub. But if you want to use these devices in the Apple Homekit ecosystem, you need to connect their hub to your Apple hub. This is what we call a bridge. A bridge is a device that links two different hubs or protocols together, so that you can control all your devices from one app or voice assistant. And I believe, this is what MATTER is trying to solve, but it has it's own nuances?. For example, I'm missing the Adaptive lighting on Matter based ligjht-bulbs. Agree?

[@GaryHardyInc]

I've been at it with HomeKit for a while. Just moved and started with a clean HomeKit slate. THIS video (and a couple of your others) got me over the hump. Thanks Eric!

[@EricWelander]

Thank you Gary! I appreciate the support

[@mcmdm50]

That…….was extremely helpful. Thank you!

[@Jaspermoises1835]

Had to put all my HonePods on smart plugs so I can turn them off whenever one of them takes over as the hub rather than my TV4k. For some reason every time a HomePod takes over my automations decrease in operation speed by a factor of 2. Most infuriating thing ever that Apple can’t give us the ability to pick which hub we want in control. A simple toggle switch that says “Make this device the primary hub” on every Apple TV and HomePod would be ideal. And if they can’t do it (hard to believe) then they should at least write the logic so that the AppleTV 4K takes priority, then AppleTV HD is next AND THEN a HomPod/Mini as a “break glass in case of emergency” option.

[@1BSDjunkie]

I have the same issue. Usually wind-up unplugging and re-plugging in the offending “connected” hub. Would be great to have something like an Eve smart plug on it! Great idea!

[@netmanswe]

Similar issues. At regular intervals my HomeKit devices becomes slow to respond or not respond at all. Only fix that works is to disconnect all AppleTVs and HomePods for a minute or two and then power them on again. Annoying, Apple should be able to fix that problem with HomeKit.

[@keeganbriskey9185]

Heads up, if you hard-wire Ethernet to the Apple TV it will always default to that. HomeKit has an algorithm that picks the best default hub based on factors like speed of connection, reliability, and placement with accessories. That being said, when you hard-wire your Apple TV it is ALWAYS the most reliable and fastest connection and it will default to it :) Hope this helps!

[@jonathanbutton1]

I am in need of a thread border router...I currently have 2 older Apple TVs but they cannot act as that. I was thinking about the Apple HomePod Mini . This will work...but is wireless. I am wondering which one will work best solely as a thread border router ? The TV/music functions are not important to me.

[@martyparshall4368]

I know this has been out for a bit but today I use an AppleTV connected by either net. However I have an old MacBook that I can’t upgrade so looking again at Mac mini since so powerful now. Would you recommend that setup?

[@retiredfdnyhm1]

Your videos are very helpful. Having problems connecting home hubs to HomeKit. Can you give me some help. Apple couldn’t fix the problem

[@myHomeKithome]

Your spiel on the difference between a hub and a bridge I think is the best I've heard yet. Oh how Internet loves to jump on people for semantics.

[@EricWelander]

Haha thanks Dustin! Yes it does

[@Sergesouszero]

Very well explained. Thank Eric!

[@microsnook3]

I updated my ATV and restarted it and I cannot get it to work for the home hub....I'd prefer to use apples homekit but I am having to use the Tapo app..... not sure why its not working.

[@mikewolf5367]

2:58 this has changed in iOS 18. Now you can manually choose which device is the hub or leave it on automatic.

[@alastairclarke]

Another great video. Thank you for these explaners.

[@michaelgore115]

How few or many bridges do you NEED to run Apple home kit - is it enough with Apple TV and Phililps Hue bridge or do you also need an eva bridge for Matter etc with Homey pro ???

[@glenmcfarlane]

Thank you so much for this video. I love Apple’s Home Kit but have been so limited by the support by 3rd parties.

[@ElevationEveryWeekend]

Good info. I have four Apple TV’s (three are the current gen) and the latest HomePod. I have yet to set up Apple Home and any smart function, but have been curious how the home devices would control/manage the Smarthome with so many in the house.

[@derekluk2246]

I have an incident that one or more of my HomeKit Hub was having problem. It seems work perfectly but It is not. I cannot add/edit automation. I was having problem with my Schlage Encode Plus. I thought there was something wrong with the lock and I ordered a new one and it has exact problem. It took me 3 weeks or so troubleshooting and realized that it is the HomeKit Hub problem. I have 3 HomePod mini and 1 Apple TV. I factory reset them all and re-add them. Once it is done, all problem resolved.

[@jmoya06]

This is probably one of the key points where non-tech folks usually struggle on when trying to set up a smart home, they don’t even know where to begin, what to buy and then why the need “2 hubs”. Thankfully this is changing with Matter over Thread 🔥

[@stevedenruyter4902]

I’ve recently bought a tahoma somfy switch for my screens, do I also need to have a hub for using the screens with Siri etc?

[@Brian-rp5cv]

I just wish I could set a primary hub in case of power outages, sometimes it goes to an AppleTV and Matter accessories stop working until it switches to a HomePod. Additionally HomePod’s randomly will stop working as HomeHub’s, how do you fix that?

[@dankelley9361]

Great video, offhand does the Aqara hub link up to the HomeKit hub, like the Lutron hub does? Is there any info as what links up to the Apple HomeKit hub? Thanks

[@Chenny0]

On the lastest Apple TV I’ve noticed there a ton of issues with HomeKit. I’m not sure if the device is overheating since the new one doesn’t have a fan or is it because the OS corrupted. When I check the cameras on the Apple TV the camera view does not go away I have to unplug the Apple TV to close the camera view.

[@Dr_Cole]

Eric, this was great. I have always suspected the role of non-“connected” or non-“boss” Apple hubs was as you described, but never came across confirmation until this video. I presume that the other hubs also transfer wifi data to the boss hub should there be an accessory that uses wifi in the Apple Home? There is also a way to keep a specific Apple hub as the boss, it’s just not simple. I have all of my Apple hubs connected to Eve Power devices. Each night, I power cycle my intended boss hub and let it back onto the network for 30 minutes before I begin to power cycle, one at a time, every other Apple hub. This gives me over 99% of the time that my boss hub is my centrally located ATV 4K 2023 connected via Ethernet.

[@m.j.r.technologyreveiws1075]

My wish. For Ring to add Matter to all their bridges.

[@ulugbekmuslitdinov3728]

How can I connect my Roborock S8 Pro Ultra to my Apple Home?

[@GG_on_wheels]

So you still have to buy an apple hub even though you’ve already got Aqara’s new hub

[@reserpa1987]

I would love to plug my Apple TV into my nest wifi pro, but when I do I lose the ability to airplay to that Apple TV. It drives me nuts. So I just keep said Apple TV on wifi. Unless I’m missing something.

[@edwardh8853]

Such a helpful video.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

You don't mention if it acts locally, (without Internet)...

[@EricWelander]

Pretty much all HomeKit activity is local to your network, unless a provider you use requires a cloud service to work.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

​@@EricWelander what??? It is local or it is not... Does homekit work WITH OUT Internet??? And prove it, show us by disconnecting the Internet...

[@danielmorelli3989]

@@SolarizeYourLife do you know how to read plain English?

[@JayMartinez]

I suffer from seeing that dreaded apple no response stuff. Unifi wifi is not enough. 10-12 apple home hubs and still. I defaulted to using home assistant to see if things work better. great video 🙃

[@markfletcher_atx]

I can't seem to get help from Apple support, but most of the time when I ask one of my homepods to play music, it will return a comment such as "There was a problem with your Apple Music subscription" and other similar responses.

[@tld8102]

homekit and homebridge is pretty good ngl

[@thomastevis8655]

Awesome videos sorry I’m sooo late

[@joshuaychung]

All my Apple TVs are wired directly to the network. None of my Homepod minis, but Apple insists on making my Homepods the main hub, and all my Apple TVs are "Standby"s.

[@EricWelander]

Ugh! I’ve seen that happen to me too.

[@edbouhl3100]

I hope that smoke alarms are added back to smart home integration. Google did all the Nest Smoke Alarm users a great disservice when they killed its integration ability. They also haven’t come out with a new smoke alarm model since acquisition. Guess the lawyers are anxious about anything life safety related.

[@EastMontana1]

That is like Siri. It never works right.. 👎😤

[@KingCharles-o6z]

The fact you can’t select which Apple device is the main hub is stupid AF

[@devilsadvocate783]

You can pick your hub. Unplug all but the one you want to be boss. Wait a sec and plug all other hubs back in. I do this all the time when I want to change the boss hub to a different one...

[@eagle56786]

Only works if you don’t have any wireless hubs, ie homepods. Also this isn’t real “switching” functionality. All they have to do is add a button to every Home Hub entry in the menu, then run the normal switchover process any time that button is pressed by the user. It’s mind-numbingly easy to fix idk why they don’t just do it

[@cbasacik]

@@eagle56786I completely agree👍

[@devilsadvocate783]

That's rather strange. I just did it! home pods and all... Cant add pictures here or I would.

[@devilsadvocate783]

Just read the second half of your reply. I agree it should be as you say a simple click of a button or at minimum in the app.@@eagle56786

[@Jaspermoises1835]

@@eagle56786agreed. Exactly the same thing I posted separately. At this point my guess is Apple just doesn’t care what we’re saying because there have been literally THOUSANDS of users that have asked for this exact same functionality. For me, every time a HomePod/Mini takes over ALL of my automations slow down to a crawl. They still work, but when the ATV4k is the hub everything works instantaneously and the connectivity is spot on perfect. I always know when a HP/Mini has taken over because it takes forever (relatively speaking) for things to work. I’ve had to put all HP on their own smart plug so i can turn them off remotely and let the ATV4K take over again. I know, I know, first world problems, but the struggle is real nonetheless.

[@Burritosarebetterthantacos]

Why would anyone do this.

[@soumalyaghosh88]

Why would anyone not do this

[@thefather414]

Hoobs is terrible.

[@garethde-witt6433]

Don’t do the smart home thing its useless and pointless

[@Howard-de1gs]

Homebridge is a save