HomeKit Troubleshooting is STILL an issue...and I need help please

[SalisburySam]

I have a couple of dozen smart plugs, iHome iSP6X and iSP100, and all work well with the iHome Control app. They also USED to work well with Siri and the Apple Home app but now do not. Every plug shows up as “No Response” and they do so on my iPhones, iPads, and iMac. I’ve tried the normal troubleshooting (reboots of everything, all software up-to-date including the smart plugs, disconnect from iCloud and reconnect, strong WiFi and all on 2.4GHz bands, etc.) but no joy.

IHome support is not helpful since the devices work flawlessly with their app. Apple is not helpful because they don’t admit to any expertise with HomeKit. Other fora (forums?) have not proven helpful as their suggestions have not actually remedied the problem.

So, any suggestions about this specific problem? Also, am I alone in experiencing this?

 

[imac wannabe]

I went through a phase of this “no response” when some smart lights once. I deleted the hub and readded to HomeKit been flawless since. Good luck let us know what the outcome is.

Paul

 

[SalisburySam]

@imac wannabe, first of all, love the plane. As an ex-military pilot, respect.

I don’t have a hub (iPad, AppleTv4) in the system as I’ve not configured it for remote access. So, no hub to reboot. But I sure liked the simplicity of the idea to delete and re-add it. I have only the smart plugs, the home dual-band router, and the various iOS devices containing the Home app.

Or did you mean something different when you mentioned “hub?”

 

[imac wannabe]

@imac wannabe, first of all, love the plane. As an ex-military pilot, respect.

I don’t have a hub (iPad, AppleTv4) in the system as I’ve not configured it for remote access. So, no hub to reboot. But I sure liked the simplicity of the idea to delete and re-add it. I have only the smart plugs, the home dual-band router, and the various iOS devices containing the Home app.

Or did you mean something different when you mentioned “hub?”

Salute to a fellow aviator!

What I was referring to is the Hue hub (I'm not sure what they call it) that communicates with the lights. Once I "forgot that device" and reinstalled it its been fine since....for months now. Good luck!

 

[SalisburySam]

Yeah, no Hue hub either, and no Hue bulbs. Just the smart plugs which have turned out to lose some of their smartness over time. But thanks for the assist.

I think back about 40 years ago when my dad and I first “discovered” the X-10 smart devices, the first readily available home automation. This was a protocol manifested in a family of wall switches, lamp plugs, and appliance plugs that were controllable by a master controller which injected control signals to the devices through the home wiring. Each device had an identifier and certain capabilities, and worked pretty flawlessly through a home; the lamp and switch devices also came in versions that had complete dimming capability built in. Shortly after the initial modules came out, there were lots of other devices for other purposes but they all worked with signals sent over the wiring. Then the master controllers added a radio receiver, and a remote control RF transmitter giving the system remote control. As long as the batteries in the remote were good and you pointed it towards a receiving master controller, it too was pretty flawless. Even that evolved to true wireless RF. Lastly, in the mid-80’s software packages were developed for computers to really add automation to a connected home. Amazing stuff for something developed in 1975, and most of the equipment is still available new today.

Today we have lots of WiFi- and Bluetooth-based devices few of which are dimmers, and although much faster and far more secure than the X-10 protocol devices, I’m not sure the end result is any better in a typical install. And the problems are much, much harder to troubleshoot, to wit, my original post.

So much for the trip down memory lane, and on to a 3rd cuppa for the morning.

 

[cynics]

Obviously make sure they have power (switch on if applicable).

Verify you're connected to your home network on your main iOS device when attempting to communicate with your devices (if you aren't using a Hub).

Verify that device is signed into iCloud (same as Home). Also verify iCloud Drive and Keychain are turned on and functional (edit keychain and check for edit on a difference device).

I'm assuming you are using your AirPort Extreme in your sig. Use the AirPort Utility app to verify the smart devices are connected to network. If you aren't using the AirPort Extreme then log into the whatever router you are using web view or app to check for the iHome switches.

If that stuff is fine. Try logging out of iCloud and back on your main iOS device.

 

[SalisburySam]

Obviously make sure they have power (switch on if applicable).

Verify you're connected to your home network on your main iOS device when attempting to communicate with your devices (if you aren't using a Hub).

Verify that device is signed into iCloud (same as Home). Also verify iCloud Drive and Keychain are turned on and functional (edit keychain and check for edit on a difference device).

I'm assuming you are using your AirPort Extreme in your sig. Use the AirPort Utility app to verify the smart devices are connected to network. If you aren't using the AirPort Extreme then log into the whatever router you are using web view or app to check for the iHome switches.

If that stuff is fine. Try logging out of iCloud and back on your main iOS device.

Thanks @cynics for the analysis and possibly solutions. I no longer use the Extreme having replaced it with a Linksys EA9500. The Linksys shows all of the plugs connected properly.

All devices on the same portion of the network, verified on the router 2.4GHz band (limitation of the smart plugs).

Correctly signed into iCloud; iCloud Drive and Keychain on, functional, and verified as you kindly suggested.

Logged out of and back into iCloud.

None of this resolved the issue...really a puzzler.

But I did resolve the problem. After a router reboot, something I do roughly weekly anyway, I unplugged every smart plug for a minute or so then plugged them back in. Problem solved. Makes absolutely no sense to me. Very inconvenient as most of the plugs are in hard-to-access places behind furniture which was the point of use the smart plug in the first place. I hope this doesn’t recur, and still long for the X-10 days of simplicity, easy troubleshooting, and reliability.

 

[cynics]

Linksys eh? Your smart devices are on 2.4ghz, your smart phone is likely on 5ghz. Your router is having difficulty communicating via Bonjour/mDNS across the bands for whatever reason. This is actually easy to verify.

Download this app.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id305441017

Next time you see "no response" in the home app log into your router and verify the smart plug is connected. If it is then open the above app and goto "local" and then "_hap._tcp." (HAP = HomeKit Accessory Protocol). Click on that and look for your smart plug that is reporting no response.

If its not in the list then the Home app won't be able to see it either. The issue is with the way your router is handling (or mishandling) Bonjour/mDNS, research for specifics with your router to see if there is a setting you adjust to help.

 

[SalisburySam]

Thanks @cynics, great tool and indeed the many smartplugs I’m see in HomeKit as No Response indeed are not showing up in the app. At least this gets me one step further. Now to debug the Bonjour/mDNS issue with the router.

Also since June, I’ve changed my home network from a Linksys EA9500 to an eero mesh network with 8 eero Pro’s throughout the house. Hasn’t helped my HomeKit issue at all, maybe even worse. Will research Bonjour/mDNS settings on the eero’s.

Again, thanks.