HomeKit in iOS 18 Includes Guest Access, Hands-Free Unlock, Electricity Usage Integration and More

[FitzSitzQuitz]

There's still one fundamental issue that Apple needs to fix that will dramatically increase HomeKit stability: Let us pick which Apple device to use as our primary home hub.

For HomeKit setups with Apple TV's, HomePod's, and HomePod Mini's, there is a constant issue with devices going unresponsive because HomeKit decided - for what ever reason - to swap from one device to another for the primary hub. If you're running a HomeKit network with Matter and Thread devices, it's a nightmare at times to keep them all connected if HomeKit decides it wants to use a HomePod as the hub instead of an Apple TV.

I do smart home work as a side gig, and this drives me absolutely bonkers - for customers and for my own home network.

It's a known issue that's been around for years, and while there are "hacks" to try and prioritize one hub over others, this lack of a simple admin-facing control is a fundamental flaw with HomeKit that would make a huge impact to overall stability.

 

[DrPangloss1759]

Sigh. HomeKit is a PITA. For So.Many.Reasons.

Why is it so hard to add a device (of any sort??). Why are we still relying on QR codes and ID numbers? If I have a SmartPlug plugged into the wall, how am I supposed to take a picture of the QR code? It SHOULD work like this: Plug in new device. HomeKit recognizes there is a new device on the network and asks you to auto-add it and to what room. Done.

Not to mention how buggy Siri and HomeKit are. I have a dimmer switch and if I ask Siri, "please turn off the dimmer" she asks "What should I set it to?" Huh?

The HomeKit App itself has always felt like some 3rd party app Apple bought and barely integrated into the ecosystem. It does not work like an "Apple app" at all. For this, and other reasons, I am thinking of abandoning some of my rock-solid loyalty to Apple since 1984...

 

[Anijake]

did they add timed events? On Alexa I can say "turn on ceiling fan for 2 hours" but can't to that in Siri. Really annoying.

 

[MallardDuck]

Have they fixed the horrible UI in the home app?

 

[szilske]

Matter 1.2 fully implemented?

 

[hagar]

This looks bad!

Where the heck is home key sharing? You know… the feature they announced a few YEARS back?!

Got the Schlage locks specifically for that reason.

Sidenote: I want to deliver my condolences to anyone with a Vision Pro. I mean… what have they been doing? Just because they started WWDC with VisionOS, does not mean it was not basically skipped over.

Back to the topic…

HomeKit should not be this hard! Unless they don’t really care to support it anyways.

I have a feeling Steve would be cutting the fat off these lines.

We need more competition. Google and Amazon are no-go’s for me any my home.

Apple and their OEMs can’t even deliver a decent HKSV Doorbell! 🤬 2k+ Resolution HKSV video… where is it?

This should be a clear indication on where things stand with Apple and HK.

—

Two down votes?? 😂🤣. I only expressed the truth of things that can’t be debated.

1. HKSV Doorbells = Suck

2. Homekey Sharing keys without giving the whole home access. = DOA (We were shown to be able to text keys)

3. VisionOS got boned, and in fact, possibly the worst WWDC across the board in years.

Less time showing the campus, jumping out of planes, and trying to be cool please. This activity was called “Smoke and Mirrors” in the past.

4. As far as the comment about Steve, I highly doubt he would be cool with the antics and half baked products under the current umbrella.

Seriously no excuse for the state of HK at this point.

91 devices here

I would LOVE to hear a defense for this.

I agree there were a lot of smoke and mirrors. And HK is pretty much dead at this moment. It has been surpassed by many other platforms, especially as device support remains lacklustre. Even with Matter in the picture.

Automations are extremely basic, the entire platform stability remains wonky, the app UI is a mess and a lot of essentials are still missing in action.

 

[name99]

Ok, this is good stuff! I would love to have my door open when I approach it! Is this feature available in the 1st beta?

You can get that today with an August Yale lock. It works fairly well. I got the model that also has a keypad (in case the auto-unlock fails) and a physical key (in case the batteries die).

Based on Bluetooth, and fails every few weeks in the usual way that Bluetooth is kinda a 95% protocol. I don't know how well it works in a multi-phone family.

 

[name99]

Robot vacuum support will be great! I am in the supported PG&E region, and it’s pretty cool to be able to see my home energy usage. I signed into my account and verified it’s my account. I see my energy usage going back to January 2022, and as recent as yesterday’s usage. The electricity rate tile is stuck on “loading rate data”. Will I do much with this data? I don’t really know, but if my data is being collected anyway I might as well have access to it.

If that sort of thing interests you, get a Sense box, which will give you VERY fine-grained electricity usage.

Sense - Control your home energy use

Sense's consumer app makes homes smarter, empowering people to make better use of their energy, lower electricity bills, and reduce their carbon footprint.

sense.com

You will probably want an electrician to install it.

 

[name99]

Now, if it would only differentiate negative (below freezing) temperatures from positive ones..
“Hey siri, what’s the temperature outside?”
“It’s 7.2 degrees!”

I’ll tell you, -7.2℃ is pretty far from 7.2℃. But to Siri/Homekit, they’re the same.

There are places all over HomeKit where there's a confusion over Celsius vs Farenheit. Hard to believe these still exist (and I have reported them) but here we are!
After a brief period around a year ago when they fixed many of the (terrible!) problems with HomeKit, the team seems to have resorted to their usual torpor, incapable of fixing even obvious bugs let alone adding anything new.

 

[name99]

Matter 1.2 fully implemented?

Does anyone care at this point?
Thread was such a disappointment - supposed to be this rock-solid mesh network, while the reality is that it's impossible to debug (not least because APPLE provides no tools), randomly fails for no reason, and seems far worse than things like Zigbee (as implemented by Hue or Ikea).

So why should I care about Matter? Is it ACTUALLY better, or is it just a whole lot of badly performing hype?

 

[alexandr]

You can get that today with an August Yale lock. It works fairly well. I got the model that also has a keypad (in case the auto-unlock fails) and a physical key (in case the batteries die).

Based on Bluetooth, and fails every few weeks in the usual way that Bluetooth is kinda a 95% protocol. I don't know how well it works in a multi-phone family.

I have the Level + whatever it's called. It also has this function, but it works with a different range. I live on the 24th floor, and I don't want my door to unlock when I pull up to my parking spot, you know? I think this feature will be a lot more precise. But, seems it won't work with existing locks and will require UWB...

 

[goobot]

Would be nice if I could make it so certain devices aren’t accessible by other residents in the house

 

[hektor6tygr]

My stairs are right inside my front door. So are we saying that every time I run upstairs or downstairs my front door is going to unlock?

Or if I’m out mowing the front lawn the door will unlock when I approach? Too much automation.

Personally, I love express mode triggered by just waving my Apple Watch near my front door lock. I can do it with full hands. Super easy but still intentional.

I think the logical implementation would be to only enable express unlock once you left the radius of your house and came back. I hope this is the way it works.

 

[Arran]

I think the logical implementation would be to only enable express unlock once you left the radius of your house and came back. I hope this is the way it works.

That would work. Until I leave my house, lock the front door, get in the car, immediately realize I forgot something and then try to get back into the house. Would sitting in my car for a few seconds be long enough or far enough for me to have left the radius?

I’ve had a couple of cars with keyless automatic lock/unlock. Same challenges. I don’t really trust it to lock itself if I just walk away - so I’ve disabled that feature. Then there’s the two proximity sensors on different areas of the door handle (one area to lock and a different area to unlock) that are error prone if you don’t grab the handle the right way. And if you try to check it’s really locked by pulling the outside handle, the thing unlocks again! Admittedly the manufacturer added a delay of 5-10 seconds so you can “try“ the handle after locking it - but then if you need to get back into the car immediately because you’ve forgotten something (iphone!) it won’t unlock because it thinks you’re just confirming it’s locked!

Like Einstein said: “make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler”

 

[Driesdk]

So, if I understand correctly, this 'guest mode' will only work for garageopeners, locks and alarms?

I really, really don't understand why apple is making it so difficult for their users to do basic stuff.
Every year again I have high hopes for homekit and every year again I'm more disappointed that it takes apple such a long time to implement basic stuff.

I want my kids to be able to control their own room's lights, without allowing them to turn off my bedroomlights. They don't need to be able to stream my livingroom securitycam when they're in bed and I'm in the livingroom...
I don't want them to be able to put the thermostat on 30 degrees c. 'because they feel 20 is too cold for them'.
Currently it's all or nothing...

Finally after all these years, they make something that could actually make daily life more easy and then they limit it to a few devices only? Why? It's almost like they are are crippling homekit on purpose.

 

[sparky672]

Is anyone here able to get Guest Access for HomeKit working in iOS 18?

When I follow the simple steps, I don't see a "Guest" option. The only option I see is for adding more residents.

​

1. Go to the Home app
   
   on your iPhone.
2. On the Home tab, tap
   
   , tap Add People, then tap Guest.

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/invite-others-to-control-accessories-iphcbaf7e8f3/ios

"then tap Guest" - WHERE??

 

[QuarterSwede]

There's still one fundamental issue that Apple needs to fix that will dramatically increase HomeKit stability: Let us pick which Apple device to use as our primary home hub.

For HomeKit setups with Apple TV's, HomePod's, and HomePod Mini's, there is a constant issue with devices going unresponsive because HomeKit decided - for what ever reason - to swap from one device to another for the primary hub. If you're running a HomeKit network with Matter and Thread devices, it's a nightmare at times to keep them all connected if HomeKit decides it wants to use a HomePod as the hub instead of an Apple TV.

I do smart home work as a side gig, and this drives me absolutely bonkers - for customers and for my own home network.

It's a known issue that's been around for years, and while there are "hacks" to try and prioritize one hub over others, this lack of a simple admin-facing control is a fundamental flaw with HomeKit that would make a huge impact to overall stability.

Just in case you didn't see it, they did add this feature to 18. It takes a bit to show up (for me it was about 24 hours after I updated my ATVs and Homepods) but it's in Home > ... > Home Settings > Home Hubs & Bridges > Automatic Selection (turn that off) > Preferred Home Hub.

This is great for me since I have a wired ATV4K 2nd gen that is trash as a hub for some reason. My most stable are my Homepod minis off all things.

 

[sparky672]

Is anyone here able to get Guest Access for HomeKit working in iOS 18?

When I follow the simple steps, I don't see a "Guest" option. The only option I see is for adding more residents.

​

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/invite-others-to-control-accessories-iphcbaf7e8f3/ios

"then tap Guest" - WHERE??

View attachment 2420158​

It worked fine after I updated my Apple TV Home Hub to tvOS 18. Curious, because I did not think this particular feature depended upon having a hub.