Home HomePod and home automation - Hey Siri

[fabian9]

I recently got some HomePod minis, and they’re working nicely with our smart home setup.

We also upgraded our window roller shutters to be HomeKit compatible. So now via Hey Siri on the HomePods we can open and close the roller shutters.

It got me wondering… if we’re not at home, does Hey Siri still work? The scenario I’m thinking about is somebody outside the house shouting “hey siri, open the shutters” and opening the shutters before making their way into the house.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Don’t know about your shutters specifically but HomePods can’t open locks via Hey/Siri. They can lock though.

Edit: scratch that, just tried on mine running audio OS 17.3 beta 2 and HomePod has unlocked my front door. That’s never worked before. I hope they get rid of that because that is a security risk.

 

[fabian9]

Don’t know about your shutters specifically but HomePods can’t open locks via Hey/Siri. They can lock though.

Edit: scratch that, just tried on mine running audio OS 17.3 beta 2 and HomePod has unlocked my front door. That’s never worked before. I hope they get rid of that because that is a security risk.

Right! And it doesn’t seem to distinguish between difference voices…

 

[StumpyBloke]

Just put my phone into Airplane Mode and it no longer works. So it looks like the phone has to be very close to the HomePod for it to work. So I guess that has a little bit more security. I think a bit more testing is needed though.

 

[Itinj24]

Right! And it doesn’t seem to distinguish between difference voices…

The HomePod should have voice recognition. Go into HomeKit settings and enable it.

 

[fabian9]

The HomePod should have voice recognition. Go into HomeKit settings and enable it.

Doesn’t look like it does! These are minis, maybe that makes a differenxe?

 

[Itinj24]

Doesn’t look like it does! These are minis, maybe that makes a differenxe? View attachment 2332918

I said “HomeKit” settings, not “HomePod” settings lol. Minis have this option too.

Anyways, go into HomeKit settings:

1. Top right, the circle with the three horizontal dots. Click on that.

2. Click on Home Settings.

3. Click on your name.

4. See this :

 

[Beerstalker]

In my experience the homepods will not lock or unlock a door lock. However, if you have a watch or phone on you and ask Siri to lock/unlock the door they will override the homepod and do it.

I am not sure about window shades, as I haven't bought any yet. Which ones did you get?

 

[fabian9]

In my experience the homepods will not lock or unlock a door lock. However, if you have a watch or phone on you and ask Siri to lock/unlock the door they will override the homepod and do it.

I am not sure about window shades, as I haven't bought any yet. Which ones did you get?

The roller shutters are just bulk standard motorised shutters. The thing that HomeKit-enables them are these Meross roller shutter buttons:

Meross Interrupteur Volet Roulant (FIL NEUTRE REQUIS), Lot de 4 Interrupteurs Rideau de Fenêtre Compatible avec HomeKit, Alexa et Google Home, Commande Vocale et Contrôle à Distance

Interrupteur Volet Roulant (FIL NEUTRE REQUIS), Lot de 4 Interrupteurs Rideau de Fenêtre Compatible avec HomeKit, Alexa et Google Home, Contrôle de Pourcentage, Commande Vocale et Contrôle à Distance

amzn.eu

 

[flynz4]

In my experience the homepods will not lock or unlock a door lock. However, if you have a watch or phone on you and ask Siri to lock/unlock the door they will override the homepod and do it.

I am not sure about window shades, as I haven't bought any yet. Which ones did you get?

I will need to do some experimenting.

I have Yale locks. When I ask my HomePod mini to lock the doors, it will. When I ask it to unlock the doors, it tells me I’ll have to use my iPhone or iPad. It seems to be a well thought through algorithm to allow locking but not unlocking with an unauthenticated HomePod. You would not want an stranger unlocking your house by shouting through the front door.

I am always wearing an Apple Watch and almost always have my iPhone, so maybe that is a factor, hence my need to experiment. However, this interaction appears to be 100% conducted through the HomePod mini.

 

[Beerstalker]

I installed the Schlage Encode Plus at my mother-in-law's house when we were visiting over the holidays. From what I remember it wouldn't lock or unlock using Siri on the HomePod mini alone. I could be wrong about that, and maybe it will lock but not unlock? I don't have any smart locks installed at my house yet, so I can't verify. I do have the Meross MSG100HK garage door controller. I know for a fact it will not open or close the garage door from the HomePod alone. If you try it will tell you that you need to use a iPhone or iPad to authenticate or something like that.

Rather than do that I tend to just use Siri directly on my Apple Watch/iPhone/iPad. Usually my watch is easiest since it is already on my wrist and unlocked, I just push & hold the crown for a second to initiate Siri and tell her to open the garage door (I don't have "Hey Siri" enabled on my watch). If you are actively using your iPhone or iPad then you should be able to just tell Siri on them to lock/unlock the door. Otherwise if you are not using them and you tell Siri to unlock the door it will have you authenticate with FaceID/Touch ID before it will do so.

As others have said I am sure Apple did this on purpose so you don't have someone outside yelling for Siri to unlock the doors and getting in. I'm guessing they aren't confident enough in voice recognition to rely on it for authentication, or maybe they are afraid of thieves getting recordings of people's voices.

So my guess is if you can just tell Siri on your HomePod to open/close the blinds and it does it without authenticating thru your watch/iPad/iPhone, then anyone will be able to open/close them. I suppose you could try turning off all your watches/iPads/iPhones and trying it yourself.