HomeKit HomeKit devices No Response

[HWJunkie]

iOS 18.2
I recently installed a Meross garage door opener module. I guess I already had HomeKit installed and my Ecobee Thermostat was on there already, although I never looked at it. I added the Meross garage door opener to HomeKit and right after that it worked. Then later that day I tried asking Siri to open the garage door, No Response. So now, throughout the day, I look on HomeKit and sometimes it says No Rsponse, sometimes it says the garage door is closed. The thermostat is also frequently No Response. The garage door opener works on the Meross app and the thermostat works on the Ecobee app. I don't see any issues with the Wi-Fi either...

Any idea what could be causing this?

 

[waw74]

reboot any home hubs (appleTV & homepods) and your router.

 

[HWJunkie]

I'm new to this stuff, I am now just hearing that HomeKit doesn't work well without a hub. I wish I would have known that beforehand.... So I'm thinking of getting some more Meross accessories, including some Smart Smoke Detectors, that comes with a hub. Does the hub that comes with this work for my situation? https://www.meross.com/en-gc/smart-sensor/homekit-smoke-detector/120

 

[danniexi]

I'm new to this stuff, I am now just hearing that HomeKit doesn't work well without a hub. I wish I would have known that beforehand.... So I'm thinking of getting some more Meross accessories, including some Smart Smoke Detectors, that comes with a hub. Does the hub that comes with this work for my situation? https://www.meross.com/en-gc/smart-sensor/homekit-smoke-detector/120

no, you need a Homekit hub, which is either a 2nd or 3rd gen Apple TV 4K (Thread enabled), HomePod, or HomePod mini.

 

[HWJunkie]

no, you need a Homekit hub, which is either a 2nd or 3rd gen Apple TV 4K (Thread enabled), HomePod, or HomePod mini.

I don't really need any of those, but, I just bought a used Apple TV 3rd Gen on ebay, it's not the 4k version, will that work?

 

[waw74]

hub is a very general word, it's just a thing that connects 2 or more other things. Basically it's just a generic name that manufactures give to a "box" that needs to sit on your network somewhere.
Some hubs have special hardware, like the radio in the hub for hue bulbs.

Apple's Home hubs (appleTVs or homepods) act as a network relay when you're outside your home so you can access your devices from anywhere with network connection. they also now act as a "central controller" so they will keep track of the state of your home devices, then when you open your app on the phone, your phone just gets all the info from the homehub. They also act as a device that's always at home and can run automations. Want your lights to come on at sunset, or have a motion sensor turn on a light, both things need some sort of device on your home network to monitor status and send those turn on commands.

As danniexi suggested, if you get one of the newer models with thread, it will greatly expand your choice of devices you can add to your house in the future. Thread is just a new kind of radio designed with home automation in mind, It's mesh, so can easily expand to cover larger homes, every plugin thread device must be a repeater. It's low power, so battery powered devices last longer. By moving devices off your wifi network, it can help with the connection on your other devices. Any HomePod mini, or the 2nd gen full size HomePod has thread, and the appleTVs vary by model.

AppleTVs are great streaming boxes, so if you stream TV, they're a good option.
HomePod minis, are fairly cheap, plus it's nice to be able to yell at siri to have her turn things on/off.

The appleTVs do really want to be hooked to a TV. people have tired to use them screen-less, but for configuration, you need to be able to see.

Any of the appleTVs with siri remote will work as a homehub (will have a microphone button on the remote). Apple has changed the model names a couple times (the 4th has now become the HD), and can lead to a little confusion with what people call them, but the official "3rd gen" isn't supported as a homehub. Another thing to look for is optical audio, those with the optical ports are not supported.
it it was a true third gen that you bought, they aren't even really supported any more as a streaming box, they've been out of production for 8 years.

 

[HWJunkie]

hub is a very general word, it's just a thing that connects 2 or more other things. Basically it's just a generic name that manufactures give to a "box" that needs to sit on your network somewhere.
Some hubs have special hardware, like the radio in the hub for hue bulbs.

Apple's Home hubs (appleTVs or homepods) act as a network relay when you're outside your home so you can access your devices from anywhere with network connection. they also now act as a "central controller" so they will keep track of the state of your home devices, then when you open your app on the phone, your phone just gets all the info from the homehub. They also act as a device that's always at home and can run automations. Want your lights to come on at sunset, or have a motion sensor turn on a light, both things need some sort of device on your home network to monitor status and send those turn on commands.

As danniexi suggested, if you get one of the newer models with thread, it will greatly expand your choice of devices you can add to your house in the future. Thread is just a new kind of radio designed with home automation in mind, It's mesh, so can easily expand to cover larger homes, every plugin thread device must be a repeater. It's low power, so battery powered devices last longer. By moving devices off your wifi network, it can help with the connection on your other devices. Any HomePod mini, or the 2nd gen full size HomePod has thread, and the appleTVs vary by model.

AppleTVs are great streaming boxes, so if you stream TV, they're a good option.
HomePod minis, are fairly cheap, plus it's nice to be able to yell at siri to have her turn things on/off.

The appleTVs do really want to be hooked to a TV. people have tired to use them screen-less, but for configuration, you need to be able to see.

Any of the appleTVs with siri remote will work as a homehub (will have a microphone button on the remote). Apple has changed the model names a couple times (the 4th has now become the HD), and can lead to a little confusion with what people call them, but the official "3rd gen" isn't supported as a homehub. Another thing to look for is optical audio, those with the optical ports are not supported.
it it was a true third gen that you bought, they aren't even really supported any more as a streaming box, they've been out of production for 8 years.

Good to know, thank you! I guess the box I bought will be going in a drawer... It wasn't much money so no big deal. I'll go look for something that actually works now...

 

[waw74]

If you stream TV, then the aTV is good at what it does, biggest things that sets is apart is the TV app, which consolidates all of the other streaming services, so if you're subscribed to Max, amazon, and disney+. You can search the app for a show and it will pop up all the various ways you can watch, and it will show "rent from apple for $4" "buy from apple for $20" "stream for free on disney+" You do need a valid subscription to those other services. You'll click on the show in the TV app, and it will launch the app and start the media playing.

It's also cool because it keeps your watch status, and new episodes will appear in your up next section when they're available. shows from your different services will all be in the same place, so you don't need to remember that it's Tuesday and a new episode of ___ is available on ____. just go to the TV app, and you'll see all the shows that have episodes ready for you to watch.

On notable service missing from the TV app is Netflix. pretty much everything else is there. and if you've got access to a service from your cable subscription, depending on who your cable provider is, you may be able to log in once, and it will share that login with all of the apps you get through cable.

another point that's confused people, appleTV+ is apple's streaming service. It's accessed in the TV app, You do need a separate subscription to view their media, but you don't need an aTV+ subscription to use the TV app to access shows from other services.

 

[HWJunkie]

If you stream TV, then the aTV is good at what it does, biggest things that sets is apart is the TV app, which consolidates all of the other streaming services, so if you're subscribed to Max, amazon, and disney+. You can search the app for a show and it will pop up all the various ways you can watch, and it will show "rent from apple for $4" "buy from apple for $20" "stream for free on disney+" You do need a valid subscription to those other services. You'll click on the show in the TV app, and it will launch the app and start the media playing.

It's also cool because it keeps your watch status, and new episodes will appear in your up next section when they're available. shows from your different services will all be in the same place, so you don't need to remember that it's Tuesday and a new episode of ___ is available on ____. just go to the TV app, and you'll see all the shows that have episodes ready for you to watch.

On notable service missing from the TV app is Netflix. pretty much everything else is there. and if you've got access to a service from your cable subscription, depending on who your cable provider is, you may be able to log in once, and it will share that login with all of the apps you get through cable.

another point that's confused people, appleTV+ is apple's streaming service. It's accessed in the TV app, You do need a separate subscription to view their media, but you don't need an aTV+ subscription to use the TV app to access shows from other services.

Those features sound interesting. Roku works somewhat similarly where you can search in the "home" section and it will bring up what you search for, you have to click it and it shows you where you can watch it... But I have a feeling AppleTV may do it better??

So I have gone from not knowing I needed a "hub", to buying a 3rd gen Apple TV on ebay that's not going to work (itwas less than $10), to now looking at spending $100+ for an AppleTV 4K.... And while I'm at it, I may as well get at least the 2nd Gen 4k right?

 

[waw74]

depends on your TV, if you don't have 4k, the HD is fine. Or any of the HD, or 4k versions will work just fine.

been a while since I had Roku, but the aTV remote also has a mic built in for siri, which helps with search and typing. also any text box that pops up on your aTV should also pop up on phones so you can type on the phone instead. it also works with the password managers on the phone .

as before, if you get the thread version, it will give you a bit of future proofing to adding devices to your system. Even if you don't think you will, if you change your mind in the future, the little extra you spend now will prevent buying a third appleTV

If you have CarPlay, once you get the homehub, and have the garage in home, it will add a door button to car play.

and one small note, since you've got a garage door. Security devices, like garage doors or door locks, can't be controlled by siri unless your phone is unlocked. it's a security thing, otherwise, if you have a HomePod, and your window was cracked a bit, a thief could yell into your window, hey siri open the garage or unlock the doors.

 

[BeatCrazy]

iOS 18.2
I recently installed a Meross garage door opener module. I guess I already had HomeKit installed and my Ecobee Thermostat was on there already, although I never looked at it. I added the Meross garage door opener to HomeKit and right after that it worked. Then later that day I tried asking Siri to open the garage door, No Response. So now, throughout the day, I look on HomeKit and sometimes it says No Rsponse, sometimes it says the garage door is closed. The thermostat is also frequently No Response. The garage door opener works on the Meross app and the thermostat works on the Ecobee app. I don't see any issues with the Wi-Fi either...

Any idea what could be causing this?

I also have the Meross garage door opener.

This is going to sound crazy, but reset/re-add the opener but don't change the default name from "Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener". Any time I changed the name, it would work for a few minutes then bork to No Response. Keeping the default name, it's been rock solid.

 

[HWJunkie]

I also have the Meross garage door opener.

This is going to sound crazy, but reset/re-add the opener but don't change the default name from "Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener". Any time I changed the name, it would work for a few minutes then bork to No Response. Keeping the default name, it's been rock solid.

That's interesting! Because I did change the name, to: Garage Door. So if you leave the name alone, it works using the HomeKit app when you are not on your home wifi? And what do you ask Siri when you want it to open the garage, do you have to say Hey Siri open smart wifi garage door opener?
What if I simply just rename it and see what happens rather than uninstalling and reinstalling? EDIT: I just tried that, it does not work, will have to try reset/reinstall tomorrow. Although I already ordered and AppleTV so it won't matter much in a week or so.

 

[HWJunkie]

depends on your TV, if you don't have 4k, the HD is fine. Or any of the HD, or 4k versions will work just fine.

been a while since I had Roku, but the aTV remote also has a mic built in for siri, which helps with search and typing. also any text box that pops up on your aTV should also pop up on phones so you can type on the phone instead. it also works with the password managers on the phone .

as before, if you get the thread version, it will give you a bit of future proofing to adding devices to your system. Even if you don't think you will, if you change your mind in the future, the little extra you spend now will prevent buying a third appleTV

If you have CarPlay, once you get the homehub, and have the garage in home, it will add a door button to car play.

and one small note, since you've got a garage door. Security devices, like garage doors or door locks, can't be controlled by siri unless your phone is unlocked. it's a security thing, otherwise, if you have a HomePod, and your window was cracked a bit, a thief could yell into your window, hey siri open the garage or unlock the doors.

I ordered a AppleTV 4k 2nd Gen, open box from ebay. Should have it in a week or so, I will let you know how it works for me. Thanks again!

 

[HWJunkie]

And here's stupid question. Does anyone make a garage door opener that has an app that integrates with HomeKit?
My garage door opener is like 30 years old, that's why I got the Meross, but you would think that there's an actual door opener that works without all the hassle?

 

[BeatCrazy]

And here's stupid question. Does anyone make a garage door opener that has an app that integrates with HomeKit?
My garage door opener is like 30 years old, that's why I got the Meross, but you would think that there's an actual door opener that works without all the hassle?

Yeah they have ones now with MyQ, which requires a subscription.

 

[b17777]

That's interesting! Because I did change the name, to: Garage Door. So if you leave the name alone, it works using the HomeKit app when you are not on your home wifi? And what do you ask Siri when you want it to open the garage, do you have to say Hey Siri open smart wifi garage door opener?
What if I simply just rename it and see what happens rather than uninstalling and reinstalling? EDIT: I just tried that, it does not work, will have to try reset/reinstall tomorrow. Although I already ordered and AppleTV so it won't matter much in a week or so.

I didn't change the name of mine in the Meross app. I only have used the app once I think when I installed it. As others have said I have an Apple TV as my main hub. I have mine hooked to my router with ethernet. In my home app there is a room called garage, and in it is a door, and all I have to do as I'm driving to my house with my phone unlocked, a half a block away, is say "Siri open the garage door" and it opens, and I drive in.

 

[HWJunkie]

I didn't change the name of mine in the Meross app. I only have used the app once I think when I installed it. As others have said I have an Apple TV as my main hub. I have mine hooked to my router with ethernet. In my home app there is a room called garage, and in it is a door, and all I have to do as I'm driving to my house with my phone unlocked, a half a block away, is say "Siri open the garage door" and it opens, and I drive in.

Got it.
How important is it to have the AppleTV plugged in via ethernet cable? My router is upstairs and the TV I want to put the AppleTV on is downstairs.

 

[waw74]

Got it.
How important is it to have the AppleTV plugged in via ethernet cable? My router is upstairs and the TV I want to put the AppleTV on is downstairs.

it makes it a bit more stable, but you'll probably be fine on wifi.

 

[SalisburySam]

…HomeKit doesn't work well without a hub…

…nor all that well WITH a hub. I have latest AppleTV4K thingie, newest HomePods, and have even used my iPadPro as a hub. Still get “No Response” on any number of connected devices, even worse after a network update. Either the HomeKit specs from Apple are insufficiently detailed, compatibility by other manufacturers’ is not complete, planets are not appropriately aligned, cats no longer living with dogs, whatever is the issue. Regardless, HomeKit control of HomeKit-compatible devices is hardly robust, and frequently requires the ever-popular always-annoying Windows-solution-to-everything: reboot. With most HomeKit devices, that means disconnecting from power for a few seconds, then re-connecting. Tremendously inconvenient when behind furniture, in a detached garage, as part of outdoor lighting, the list goes on. Same problem with Matter and Thread devices with Matter and Thread routers. The protocol is just not bulletproof enough.

 

[Bl0ckHe1d]

…nor all that well WITH a hub. I have latest AppleTV4K thingie, newest HomePods, and have even used my iPadPro as a hub. Still get “No Response”

I have ditched Apple HomeKit and adopted Home Assistant which is in my opinion far superior...not had any of this nonsense "No Response" since!

 

[b17777]

Got it.
How important is it to have the AppleTV plugged in via ethernet cable? My router is upstairs and the TV I want to put the AppleTV on is downstairs.

I plugged mine in just because it was only 20ft along a wall to get to my router. If you go in I believe the network settings in your AppleTV, it will show you the WiFi strength it's receiving. I can't speak to how well HomeKit works with a weak signal, but I took my old Apple TV with me traveling last summer and I was in some hotels with very crappy slow WiFi, and used it to watch baseball games that were recorded and saved in Hulu, and it surprised me how well it worked.
There are also some things to set up in your AppleTV under the HomeKit and Airplay settings. You have to allow access and give it a name and tell it what room it's in. If you ever wind up getting cameras or a doorbell you can set it up to see those on your TV as well.

 

[SalisburySam]

I can't speak to how well HomeKit works with a weak signal…

Weak WiFi certainly does not help but strength doesn’t seem to be the only issue with HomeKit things. One of my two AppleTV4Ks is Ethernet-connected, the other is WiFi. I’ve alternated which is the acting hub with little difference in the number of “No Response” issues shown over time. The WiFi device shows a decent signal strength but not dropping out nor all bars. The whole HomeKit problems just confuse me.

 

[dotme]

So now, throughout the day, I look on HomeKit and sometimes it says No Rsponse, sometimes it says the garage door is closed. The thermostat is also frequently No Response. The garage door opener works on the Meross app and the thermostat works on the Ecobee app. I don't see any issues with the Wi-Fi either...

Any idea what could be causing this?

I know I'm late to the party here, and that you've ordered an AppleTV (which is nice) but the symptoms you describe in the part I quoted above, if it's happening when you're at home, is indicative of a network issue. I mention this because your AppleTV, while useful for automations and out-of-home control, is unlikely to work any better if there's an underlying issue on your LAN.

The intermittent nature of your initial trouble description would hint that there's more than one Access Point your phone is connecting to, or it's dropping WiFi and resorting to cellular data (which, with no hub, would also lead to No Response on accessories).

The reason your 3rd party apps work is because they're using Cloud services to talk to your devices. As long as your phone, and the devices, can both see the Internet, things work. HomeKit is more private, and when you're home, doesn't use the Internet to talk to devices. It's peer-to-peer, meaning the devices need to see each other.

APs that don't pass mDNS, multiple DHCP servers on a network, or multiple WiFi networks, can all cause intermittent No Response issues with HomeKit. If your AppleTV doesn't help with the original issue, review your network... Hope this helps.

 

[HWJunkie]

I know I'm late to the party here, and that you've ordered an AppleTV (which is nice) but the symptoms you describe in the part I quoted above, if it's happening when you're at home, is indicative of a network issue. I mention this because your AppleTV, while useful for automations and out-of-home control, is unlikely to work any better if there's an underlying issue on your LAN.

The intermittent nature of your initial trouble description would hint that there's more than one Access Point your phone is connecting to, or it's dropping WiFi and resorting to cellular data (which, with no hub, would also lead to No Response on accessories).

The reason your 3rd party apps work is because they're using Cloud services to talk to your devices. As long as your phone, and the devices, can both see the Internet, things work. HomeKit is more private, and when you're home, doesn't use the Internet to talk to devices. It's peer-to-peer, meaning the devices need to see each other.

APs that don't pass mDNS, multiple DHCP servers on a network, or multiple WiFi networks, can all cause intermittent No Response issues with HomeKit. If your AppleTV doesn't help with the original issue, review your network... Hope this helps.

It could definitely be a network issue. Let me see how the AppleTV is working once I get it and I'll go from there. Thank you for the info!