Apple Outlines What to Do If You Have Issues Accessing a Home in iOS 16.2

[Surf Monkey]

Thread is the connection between the devices. Matter is the language. Two different things.

Thanks for the downvote, friend.

Making your home more helpful with Matter and Thread

Learn how your home can be more helpful with Matter and Thread, the new compatibility standards to let your smart devices work better together.

store.google.com

What is Thread and how will it help your smart home?

A better Thread for the smart home

www.theverge.com

Matter is the application layer that runs on Thread. They work together.

 

[akmedia]

I done it when 16.2 come out and it was flawless and now home app is working much better and quicker its a great update shame they pulled it

While the new architecture offers some improvements with many accessories responding more quickly, Apple pulled the upgrade because it's clearly not working for most of the folks that installed it. You, and other people for whom it's working, are the edge case or Apple wouldn't have pulled it. And by the way, I'm happy it's working for you.

I'm one of the people that had — and continues to have — multiple and very frustrating issues with the architecture upgrade, including, but not limited to: problems inviting others to the home; home hubs disconnecting and then reconnecting intermittently; location-based automations not working normally; HomeKit Secure Video-compatible cameras not turning on when we're out of the home; and issues with accessories not responding for some members of the home while the same accessories are responding for other home members.

I have been working with Apple Support to troubleshoot these issues mentioned above. Apple is still investigating and will likely issue a fix in the coming weeks.

 

[averagenerd81]

I am currently going through this process, rebooting all devices, removed my wife from the shared home, etc. She has been unable to control any device when not on the network for a couple of months now, even with that option enabled. HomeKit is a train wreck.

Edit: After following all of this advice from Apple, the situation has improved! Now my wife can't use the Home app to control our home AT ALL because the invitation isn't being delivered to her. Amazing work Apple, just pure genius!

 

[DualShock]

discoveryd all over again

 

[Aston441]

Thread is the connection between the devices. Matter is the language. Two different things.

So thread is like Zwave? What's was wrong with Zwave, it works perfectly.

 

[Aston441]

So thread is like Zwave? What's was wrong with Zwave, it works perfectly.

ok to answer my own question, the difference is that thread assigns standard IVP addresses to devices, and Zwave uses it's own internal addressing scheme.

This makes it difficult to access Zwave devices with existing internet protocols. Same with Zigbee (e.g., Philips Hue)

 

[Squirryl]

worked well for me!

 

[rembert]

Had quite different issues with this update. When the wired connection to the Apple TV is disconnected (turning off the switch), the Apple TV used to fall back to wifi. It still does. But after a while, the Apple TV isn't reachable anymore remotely and geofencing ceases to function. When in-house, the Apple TV is responsive as ever - but the homekit didn't detect we were at home.

Fix was easy: keep the switch powered. Apple has been informed about this issue, has something to do with homekit remote access.

Anyway, with the high gas prices, the bug saved me a lot of money as the heating didn't turn on in the mornings and didn't turn on when arriving at home. In many cases the colder house was bearable.

 

[zapmymac]

Well it tanked my household. I updated everything other than my g/f’s ip14, and series 8 watch first. A few days later she tells me she can access anything. now, the re-invite is stuck, even after removing her for the Home. Sheesh. We have a dozen HomeKit devices.

 

[Itinj24]

Apple’s support document seems to be ripped right from the end users posting them here and on Reddit. Apple is clueless about HomeKit.

 

[Powerbooky]

Is it possible… just hear me out…is it possible that even though things went well for you they may not have for others? Could there maybe be a reason Apple yanked the update and had to issue this? Just…is it possible…?

o come on. No software is perfect. It is guaranteed that there always is someone whose setup will get yanked at some point. The root cause isn't always the iOS update itself. Since Homekit can have so many different brand devices and ways that they connect, there's always a combination of devices possible that has problems.
I borked a few rules myself by editing them in the wrong app (Home app, Eve app or Home+ app). And a couple of versions back I had issues with Homekit where some buttons (not all) randomly reacted extremely slow or were sometimes completely ignored. It turned out to be an Hue bridge issue that surfaced when the new HK version rolled out. I had to reboot the Hue bridge every few days as a workaround. It was network bug that had to be fixed by Signify, not Apple in this case.

What I've seen so far is that for many wifi devices the trouble is related to the AP being used. Bad range or incorrect handling of the mDNS data. I use Thread now and that proved to be much more reliable than wifi.

Now version 16 has improved the response time for my setup. Quicker and more consistent. The fact that I recently added a couple of more devices and rules, didn't slow it down. It still works, even the more complex rules.

 

[thewhitehart]

I upgraded to the new architecture. I want to buy a new AppleTV 4K today with Thread support. If I buy it, can I add it to my Home?

 

[TonyC28]

o come on. No software is perfect. It is guaranteed that there always is someone whose setup will get yanked at some point. The root cause isn't always the iOS update itself. Since Homekit can have so many different brand devices and ways that they connect, there's always a combination of devices possible that has problems.
I borked a few rules myself by editing them in the wrong app (Home app, Eve app or Home+ app). And a couple of versions back I had issues with Homekit where some buttons (not all) randomly reacted extremely slow or were sometimes completely ignored. It turned out to be an Hue bridge issue that surfaced when the new HK version rolled out. I had to reboot the Hue bridge every few days as a workaround. It was network bug that had to be fixed by Signify, not Apple in this case.

What I've seen so far is that for many wifi devices the trouble is related to the AP being used. Bad range or incorrect handling of the mDNS data. I use Thread now and that proved to be much more reliable than wifi.

Now version 16 has improved the response time for my setup. Quicker and more consistent. The fact that I recently added a couple of more devices and rules, didn't slow it down. It still works, even the more complex rules.

So Apple pulled this update because no software is perfect? I don’t expect perfection from them. But I would like for them to at least pretend to take HomeKit seriously. Clearly they missed that a hard reset of all hubs would be required after the update and therefor users didn’t know it and were left scrambling.

 

[TonyC28]

Apple’s support document seems to be ripped right from the end users posting them here and on Reddit. Apple is clueless about HomeKit.

You really have to wonder how they missed it. Did they really not test a scenario with multiple members of one home??

 

[Burger Thing]

I upgraded to the new architecture. I want to buy a new AppleTV 4K today with Thread support. If I buy it, can I add it to my Home?

Yes, you can. But be prepared that your bathroom's Homepod in the Northeastern Wing of your basement will be the primary hub - and not your new Apple TV in the living room in the center of your mansion.

 

[vesalius]

And I just bought an Apple TV 4K 3gen to get Thread support. All our devices are already updated to the new architecture, and now Apple pulls the update, so I wont be able to update the ATV as well which basically means it wont work as a border router with Thread until Apple decides to re-introduce the option of updating to the new architecture. I am furious! Unless they in the coming days allow us to fall back to the old architecture.

Matter was added to iOS in 16.1 and further upgraded with 16.2. the matter addition is there for everyone to use, regardless of whether the user separately upgraded to the new homekit architecture or not. You can use matter product or not the same as before.

apple pulling the homekit architecture upgrade for other users to install won’t impact those of us that chose to upgrade or HomeKit homes already. your home won‘t be crippled because your neighbor no longer has the option to do the upgrade. Things will continue to work as well (or as poorly) as they did before.

if your home is already using the new HomeKit architecture then a new HomePod or current generation appletv commissioned into your HomeKit home “should” just use the whatever HomeKit version (new or old) that is in place. Only thing that I can think of that may be an issue is getting the HomePod or appletv on 16.2 before adding them to your HomeKit iCloud account.

 

[vesalius]

Thanks for the downvote, friend.

Making your home more helpful with Matter and Thread

Learn how your home can be more helpful with Matter and Thread, the new compatibility standards to let your smart devices work better together.

store.google.com

What is Thread and how will it help your smart home?

A better Thread for the smart home

www.theverge.com

Matter is the application layer that runs on Thread. They work together.

Well for everyone else you are both correct. Matter and thread are separate and Thread and matter work together; however, we can all use matter without a single thread capable device in our home.

exactly the same as homekit and thread. Homekit is the application layer (language) and thread/Ethernet/Wi-Fi/BLE are the network that can be used to carry that communication. Homekit homes obviously work fine without thread And with thread devices

with Matter as the application layer (language) consumers have the option to use Thread/wifi/Ethernet as the networks to carry/traffic that language. Matter homes can also work fine without or with thread devices.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Well for everyone else you are both correct. Matter and thread are separate and Thread and matter work together; however, we can all use matter without a single thread capable device in our home.

exactly the same as homekit and thread. Homekit is the application layer (language) and thread/Ethernet/Wi-Fi/BLE are the network that can be used to carry that communication. Homekit homes obviously work fine without thread And with thread devices

with Matter as the application layer (language) consumers have the option to use Thread/wifi/Ethernet as the networks to carry/traffic that language. Matter homes can also work fine without or with thread devices.

Correct, and I’d note that I never claimed that they were dependent on each other. I simply pointed out that they work together (they do) and that they’ve been positioned as a potential solution to the chaotic landscape of smart home devices.

 

[Itinj24]

You really have to wonder how they missed it. Did they really not test a scenario with multiple members of one home??

Apple engineers are all single. Which is why we still don’t have family sharing with the AirTag.

 

[0987654321abc]

I got Homekit upgraded to the new infrastructure a week ago. It was a challenge for a few reasons.
1) I had to make sure all my family members icloud accounts had devices associated that were upgraded
2) After the upgrade, my wife lost full access. I tried a variety of things on her phone (only device in icloud) and I got it working after unplugging all the Apple TVs in my house and only plugging in one of them.

I finally narrowed it down to the one Apple TV 4K device (1st gen) I have upstairs. It was always causing trouble before the upgrade so I intentionally disabled it from Homekit but after the Homekit ugprade, you can no longer disable devices intentionally. I've since had the device unplugged all week and had no issues. I plan to do a full wipe of the Apple TV 4K after Christmas and see if that resolves it.

FWIW my remaining Apple TV hubs are a 4K 2nd gen and an Apple TV HD (last gen).

This was exactly my problem too. Like you, narrowed it down to the AppleTV, unplugged it, tada…. Everything has worked smoothly since. It works out really, ‘cause I was looking for a new paperweight.

 

[averagenerd81]

Well it tanked my household. I updated everything other than my g/f’s ip14, and series 8 watch first. A few days later she tells me she can access anything. now, the re-invite is stuck, even after removing her for the Home. Sheesh. We have a dozen HomeKit devices.

While I hate this .. I am glad I am not the only one. My re-invite is stuck too.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Apple engineers are all single. Which is why we still don’t have family sharing with the AirTag.

There’s probably a lot more truth to this than any of us care to admit. I often speculate that the drastic issues with HomeKit are probably at least partly related to the (presumed) fact that the bulk of Apple’s engineers live alone in apartments with their collage furniture.

 

[averagenerd81]

o come on. No software is perfect. It is guaranteed that there always is someone whose setup will get yanked at some point. The root cause isn't always the iOS update itself. Since Homekit can have so many different brand devices and ways that they connect, there's always a combination of devices possible that has problems.
I borked a few rules myself by editing them in the wrong app (Home app, Eve app or Home+ app). And a couple of versions back I had issues with Homekit where some buttons (not all) randomly reacted extremely slow or were sometimes completely ignored. It turned out to be an Hue bridge issue that surfaced when the new HK version rolled out. I had to reboot the Hue bridge every few days as a workaround. It was network bug that had to be fixed by Signify, not Apple in this case.

What I've seen so far is that for many wifi devices the trouble is related to the AP being used. Bad range or incorrect handling of the mDNS data. I use Thread now and that proved to be much more reliable than wifi.

Now version 16 has improved the response time for my setup. Quicker and more consistent. The fact that I recently added a couple of more devices and rules, didn't slow it down. It still works, even the more complex rules.

You’re right, no software is perfect. HomeKit sucks more than others. On my device it’s “good enough” but it hasn’t worked for my wife well now for 2 months, and for the past two days doesn’t work at all after following their garbage advice because she now can’t even receive the invitation.

It isn’t a configuration at home problem, it’s a trash software problem.

Apple themselves have yanked the recent update to HomeKit so even apple seems to agree it’s bad. I’m glad it works for you, it doesn’t for a lot of other people.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Apple themselves have yanked the recent update to HomeKit so even apple seems to agree it’s bad. I’m glad it works for you, it doesn’t for a lot of other people.

They pulled it so quickly that they must be pretty serious. Usually Apple will let things like this linger for a while and stonewall while they work on a fix. Someone likened it to the Maps debacle and I think that’s apt. This is a bigger screw up than usual.

 

[Ribitsch]

Since iOS 16 timed automations are a mess
sometimes they work, most times they don’t…