HomeKit Switching from an iPad to an AppleTV for the hub?

[kat.hayes]

I just set up an iPad as my Homekit Hub and want to switch to an AppleTv when I get one.

1. Will this be as simple as disabling the hub feature on the iPad and enabling it on the AppleTV?

2. My older AppleTV would go to sleep and it would take a but for the remote app on my iPhone to connect to it. Does this same issue arise when using AppleTV as a hub? Is there a delay before it wakes up or does it not need to?

Thanks.

 

[JBaby]

1. You won’t need to do anything if you already have your iCloud account set up for 2-factor authentication, have iCloud Keychain turned on, and have all of your devices signed into iCloud. The Home Hub hierarchy is HomePod > tv > iPad. When you setup your tv it will become the hub. Just give it time to sort it out if it doesn’t happen right after setup. You won’t even notice when the change happens.

My tv was my home hub for years until I got a HomePod in 3 months ago. If you really just want to do something you can go to iPad Settings > Home > Use this iPad as a Home Hub. You can turn it off but it’s not necessary because as I said earlier the tv will take over. I have 4 Home Hubs. My second HomePod, tv HD, and iPad Pro 11” are in standby.

2. The Control Center remote is always super fast for me. Although I don’t use it all the time. I’m like one of the only people here who loves the remote. If you’re talking about the actual app you get from the App Store then I can’t answer that because I’ve never used it. Control Center remote is enough for me. I suggest you get a good case for it. I hate the remote naked. This is similar to the case I use.

 

[kat.hayes]

By having multiple devices configured to work as hubs does it just mean that if one device stops working for some reason it will automatically begin using one of the other devices? Is there a downside to enabling multiple devices as hubs? Thanks for your help.

 

[JBaby]

I’ve never had my hub stop working so I can’t answer your first question with 100% certainty, but I would assume yes. I’m basing that on what happen when I got my first HomePod. When I set it up it didn’t immediately become my Home Hub. I didn’t care so I left it alone. The next time I was in the Home app I saw that my HomePod was the hub. If I unplugged my HomePods I’m certain my tv would take over. There’s no problem having multiple hubs though. At least that’s been my experience. They know how to prioritize themselves. Besides there’s no setting to turn it off on a HomePod anyway.

Ultimately you don’t need to think this much about ’s hubs. Save your thinking for your actual HomeKit devices, automations, scenes, and zones. You’ll have enough to think about with just those things.