Name: Home
Rating: 2.20656 (4391 reviews)

User Reviews for Home

2.21 out of 5

4.4K Ratings

1 year ago, Zan2004

Cool App But…

This app is known for all smarthome builders and users for its straightforward attractive interface which for HomeKit products is amazing but has one MAJOR and when I say MAJOR flaw I mean it. The app has limited smart products that work with this interface leaving the average consumer to not be able to use the app for just about anything and to get any sense of remote connectivity you need to either understand computer programming and server building or just buying constant hub adapters I really do love my apple but due to having not millions in income I have to compromise on products bought and due to the incompatibility of it all I’m left with virtually nothing I would honestly love if companies that are creating a smart ecosystem would allow the user to choose which interface they want to use instead of being forced to have multiple hubs and smart assistants to do every day mundane tasks I understand the reasoning behind it and apple wanting top notch security for its users but it’s hard and costly to get apple approved products and falls in very limited with product lineups the work around is incredibly complicated I wish the companies would just coexist with eachother and work on developing better options and products for the every day consumer

1 year ago, Terrible, not working.

Thanks Apple, you’ve really outdone yourself

We have been religiously using nothing but Apple products for years, peddling them to our friends and family - but today it was really set in stone what an absolute hot garbage dump Apple is becoming. We spent hundreds of dollars upgrading our front door security system with a pro doorbell and electronic smart lock, because - hooray - it can all be used with Home! We got everything all set up, so excited to finally be able to just unlock the door with our iPhones and Apple Watches. I set everything up, so excitedly putting my wrist up to the door to unlock while juggling my 10-month-old and various other items. Great for me! Tried to set up the same ease of use for my husband, but then we realized… HomeKit is now just “Home” and like every other money-grubbing dumpster of a company, Apple has stooped low enough to require JUST ONE MORE expensive device to be able to add the other owner of this house on the app. My husband can’t use his phone or anything else to get into the house without first purchasing the stupid HomePod that no one even knew existed. There is a reason it went away once - it’s worthless. Retire it again and let us use our devices the way they’re meant to be used. Thanks to our friends at Apple, we now have a non-refundable VERY expensive upgrade to our front door that we can’t even use the way it was intended. Appreciate it.

10 months ago, jemstrickland

Location issues

Cameras start "Stream and Record" while away despite that devices are at home. I've verified location settings, and it looks like some kind of bug. This started happening after the new iOS update. For example, my wife is away running errands, and I'm still at home. The camera starts to record indoors when normally it's supposed to just stream during this scenario. This is all set in the Recording Options setting of each camera. This used to work fine, but I'm not sure if this is a Homekit issue, iCloud location issue, or what. I'm leaving 2 stars because Homekit constantly has issues like this, and it all appears to be Homekit related instead of 3rd party devices that are certified to work with Homekit. I prefer Apple's ecosystem, but there seriously needs to be more care toward smart home products and automation -- as our home security is now either controlled by HomeKit or depends on HomeKit. If security is a feature, then Apple should treat this like a security product instead of a gimmick.

8 months ago, Draelon

Overall happy but very limited

Overall, I’m happy with the app & layout. It’s not perfect but for the amount of things your trying to manage and control (I have over 100 devices, switches, plugs, etc) it does the basic job. My only “complaint” is how limited it is. I can’t set default timers for lights (for example having a pantry light turn off automatically after 10 mins because the kids leave it on a lot), little things like setting dimmers to limit brightness at night (so when I turn on a bathroom light at 2 am, it only goes to 50% by default) or conditionals with more than one condition (such having a garage electric heater on a smart plug for our outdoor cats that sleep in the garage at night to not only come on under a certain temp range but not to come on if the garage door is open during the day OR not to turn on a dimmed light while I’m already in the bathroom to 5% at a set time if the light is already on at full because I got up early). As I said… I went all in on the HomeKit thing, and have well over 100 devices on a larger property, and I’m overall glad I did, but short of installing third party apps and devices I’ve read about, it is extremely limited.

1 year ago, Wm.

Ok interface highly flakey operation

The general interface is “ok”, fairly attractive and easy enough to use BUT: Not a day goes by without some kind of malfunction, one of 5 HomePods randomly complaining about not being in the network, some device going unresponsive, having to hard reboot one of the Apple TVs to get the HomeKit stuff to work again, or that daft bot Siri deciding to misinterpret a command it clearly understands (text shows correctly) but does the opposite (lights go off instead of on, turns all house lights on instead of the single kitchen light off). In short, highly flakey bug infested system. In many cases, like scenes, you have to insult Siri to get her to work… “Hey Siri, lock the house” doesn’t set the “Lock the House” scene but with the latest system update reports the status of the locks. “Hey Siri, you daft bot, lock the house” does set the “lock the house” scene. Insert just about any insult similarly and Siri works much better. But what is the absolute worst is the security camera operations. The Artificial Stupidity misses events constantly. The recordings are short circuited. The video GUI for scrubbing through is incredibly frustrating the way it jumps around when you let go, with a painfully small micro-tiny interface that’s nearly unusable for frame navigation. It’s horrible.

1 year ago, Timbofosho

More reliable

I have my entire home connected through the home app. Closer to 75 individual lights, locks, sensors, etc., including three HomePods and 1 Tv4K. It used to be a nightmare to keep it all connected and running well consistently, but the last 2-3 iOS and HomePod software updates have drastically improved it! A new issue with 16.3.1 is that my HomePods no longer recognize “set lights to adaptive” (which adjusts the brightness throughout the day). It says “Hmm, there are no accessories that support that”; so I must open my phone and go into the app to do it. Update: Uncovering more and more issues as a result of 16.3.1! Things are working slowly or not at all, at times. Automations aren’t doing the correct things (lights turn on at the wrong brightness/color/or not at all, for example). I get a message that pops up in the app that says my phone “isn’t on the same network as my HomePods” whenever I’m on cellular service instead of my home Wi-Fi. My HomePods give me “error” responses sometimes for simple commands such as “set the basement lights to adaptive”. Ughhhhh! 16.3 years as flawless! Come on!!! 3 stars because if the many, many flaws uncovered in this iOS.

2 years ago, C_M_F_S

Getting Better All The Time

I haven’t had many problems and the only reason I gave it a 3 Star is because there needs more products. Now that Thread is becoming more prevalent it seems more accessories are becoming available. I use 2 iPod Mini and an IPad for the Hub but only one is the Hub at any given time and The IPad is supposed to be phased out. I also have to use bridges for connectivity but hopefully Thread eventually make them no longer necessary. I read that someone had connectivity and/or Malware issues using an iPhone I’ve found erasing the phone is easiest if your phone is corrupted. In addition I would recommend using the Eero Mesh Routers they come with a built in Security for HomeKit along with other Security Enhancements and great customer service. Although you will loose some of the more Professional settings found on other high end Routers but for me those functions are above my pay grade. Along with Home I use the Eve app which has a great interface for setting automations, changing lighting hues, power % and Rooms. Once set the automations will automatically be seen in Home. Home is getting better all the time.

2 years ago, Bad Babs

way too many  devices but..

this app gives me clarity 🧘🏼‍♀️ i’ve noticed that a lot of ppl have issues w/ their devices staying connected - an  tv might be needed to ground ur hub. it’s useless using a 📱 & this app alone, as you travel across data & wifi realms - that type of info needs a place to stash itself. for my lil family tho, this app pushes multiple  tvs + countless bluetooth accessories, multi room lighting & my fave the automated music for when we wake up, go to bed & once we arrive 🏰. after some nerdy tinkering on my behalf it now links to the our cars console for my kids personal entertainment. the scripting capabilities are also a fave of mine as we have multi-color lighting & i want to set moods for studying/family time (EG. turquoise light eases 👁 strain, as well as focus issues.) i really hope  can stop being anal retentive & let other programmable products such as cheaper wiLights that don’t cost $50 per bulb. luckily geeni products had our back 🥳

2 months ago, austinsmith.me

Beautiful, The Best Home App, But Needs More Advanced Automations

This app is beautiful, sleek, truly a Home app I could only see Apple creating. But it needs even more customization. And definitely more advanced automations, or at least more advanced shortcuts, but the basic automation feature itself needs a lot more options and things like “Turn Off After…” needs a more clear explanation depending on what the user is trying to do. Another thing I’d like to see is easier access to rooms (bring back the Rooms tab but reimagine it), and while this next request may be a far away feature — room detection should be a thing, using (possibly?) matter accessories and how well their signal is to determine what room a user is in. Overall, great app, needs work always, but I’ll always go to this app to control my home. Even though still have to rely on Google Home to control certain things are run certain automations.

10 months ago, The NC STIG

Worst App I’ve Used

Wanted to integrate my thermostats and lighting into one app for convenience. Even purchased a new AppleTV to act as a hub… only to be extremely disappointed. Initially linking my accessories was easy, and some of my Wemos were not compatible with HomeKit… ok, purchased a few more that were. Then I had a router issue that caused me to change my WiFi password. That’s when it all started. There’s no easy way to updat a PW on any of these items (from HomeKit or from the manufacture app). I had to hard reset all the accessories and then HomeKit wouldn’t add them, said they were already added to the home. Ok, so where are they?? If they already exist within HomeKit, why can’t I simply just add them back to the screen? Nowhere to be found. I’ll spare you the long story, but there’s plenty on the web about this issue. I was able to magically get this fixed via a massive reset of my account. Then accidentally deleted a thermostat that wasn’t responding… never to be seen again, yet it was “already added to HomeKit” when I tried to re-add it. Done with this app. Will use two separate ‘reliable’ apps to control the lights and HVAC.

1 year ago, JayPeterson1

Still horrible even after iOS 16.4 udate

Years of frustration and countless times of saying “well, this next update is should fix things…”. This time I went forward with the iOS 16.4 and the “new HomeKit architecture update”. Seemed promising at first. But, I’ve been down this path before. The point of this new architecture is that it’s supposed to “always remain connected” with devices to help stability. And yeah, the response times seemed faster.. until.. one of my devices was “not responding” in HomeKit - here we go again. So, I go to the OEM app for that device (LIFX light strip) and it works perfectly fine. Every time. And just today I went to use a series of light switches (Leviton Decora Gen 2) in my kitchen using HomeKit. Both switches in this room started phantom turning on / off and dimming up and down on their own! I went ahead and deleted Home Kit, did a reset on those switches, and back to normal again. So, good riddance HomeKit. I feel liberated from this garbage app. I’ll gladly use OEM apps from different devices à la carte - at least they will work. Having 1 app to control everything sure is a convenience - but it has to work first!

2 years ago, JC BLKYN

HomeKit is awful.

I unfortunately have been having many issues with my iPhone and Apple products. I don’t know if it is due to my carrier Verizon or if it is a SoftwareIssue. I have been in constant contact with both Apple and Verizon. I have had numerous security breaches online bank accounts and with other apps that require logging in with a password. I do not know if it was related to HomeKit put on myBrand new TV ( Lg) it is having a lot of issues pairing and or pairing and then changing the settings on its own. I have remove the app and reinstall multiple times with the guidance of both Apple and Verizon neither will give me a definitive answer on what the issue is. The only response I get is we do not know we will look into it further and inform you of what it is. This has been ongoing for approximately two weeks. Verizon has replaced my phone with a new phone feeling that it may have been compromised. On the new phone the same issues persist and if not worse. I 100% regret switching to Apple and VerizonSeeing the neither can resolve this issue. To say it is frustratingIs the understatement of the year!

3 years ago, HappyHowell

Great concept, inconsistent execution

I’ve been using Home pretty much every day since launch. I have ~20 accessories connected to it and for the most part they work well. But despite lots of troubleshooting, I’d estimate that 30% of the time I open this app, everything in my house simply shows as disconnected. Routinely Siri is unable to accomplish tasks that rely on Home. There are no longer any Home widgets for the home screen, and the control center implementation often doesn’t actually match the state of what’s present in the Home app. There’s a lot of good here. But also it’s way less consistent than the regular Apple standard. I assume some of the connectivity issues are because of my network setup, but I need clear pointers on what needs improvement. There should be more ways of diagnosing issues like that in Home. Ultimately if this is the application that will be used to control all sorts of basic functions like turning lights on, it needs to be a lot closer to 100% reliable.

11 months ago, Master chief 117 John

HomePod is absolute trash

I was gifted the HomePod, and when I first set it up it was phenomenal. No issues. I was able to use airplay and change the music from my iPhone directly. But I recently I moved and had to set up a new wifi network and connect my HomePod to it. I turned on UPnP knowing that enabling that would allow me to use airplay. However, it never works the same as it used to. I stop using the HomePod for a few hours and when I want to use it again, it’s stuck indefinitely on “Connecting….” to my wifi network. I thought it was a wifi issue, constantly turning UPnP off and on again only for it to work for a few minutes and then immediately going back to “Connecting…” Turns out it’s a home app issue. I had to delete my home app and then redownload it in order to set up my HomePod again, just for it to finally work as it’s supposed to. This app and HomePod accessory is garbage, never being able to stay on the network and never being able to utilize the airplay feature.

10 months ago, tired of it in texas

bad for non hackers good for hackers

i have used apple products for years and ive learned that hackers use certian apps like home facetime apple cash passwords wifi bluetooth ive never set up the home app or the facetime ive always deleted them but im tired of deleting a app only to have my neighbors who are hacking me use these apps they are on my system services in settings and from there they pretty much control any and everything in my home by breaking in my home and getting appliance numbers the same with vin on vehicle and use it to steal and skim electric from my house these people are doing ground work for Africa and use your apps apple ill not be buying any more apple products i can get better security from a cheap phone they use find my iPhone im tired of the bad ideas that is apple now it seems they use home app to hack and stalk meremote start my vehicle i cant keep them off any app i have they use game center i turn off all apps like that because of the bull ive spent thousands on the apple product i have if i could give 0 stars i would tired in tomball texas

2 years ago, jdawnm66

For the love of almost all things Apple

For most people like me, a huge selling point of Apple products is the simplicity and the fact that it just works. This would not be the case for Apple HomeKit. This is the most absurdly time consuming smart home app ever! Why would you ever think that your average consumer would want to try to figure out programming of shortcuts and automations just to have Siri say good morning, turns on some lights, tell you the weather, go over your calendar events and maybe a few brief news stories? I love my phone, my watch, my Apple TV, my HomePod Mini, my iPad and my MacBook Air, but after several attempts at trying to figure it all out I had to walk away from this completely frustrated and disappointed. Simplicity has won me over and I have decided to stay with the one that is EASY and just works.

1 year ago, Extat1c

Smart hub. Connectivity issues.

This is most terrible apple made app that i have used. Besides limitations in functionality its not working properly. I have Philips hue bridge, that controls lights in my home. I moved and renamed some of the lights. This change was not updated in home kit, only option was to remove hue bridge and re added. Which i went through. But it wont added the bridge back on! I tried all the steps, rebooting, factory resetting bridge, restarting router, deleting both apps, reinstalling, turning key on/off, checking wifi, updates. All that. I finally talked to both customer support’s. Twice. Which basically just ask me to do same steps. The only solution that apple managed to offer was to factory reset my phone…. Duh. Btw. The hue bridge connected just fine on my wife phone. Just not on mine. I cannot recommend to anyone this app as a control center for smart homes. Its just an awful software. Kinda shame. So no voice control for me unless i factory reset my phone. Its really ridiculous solution to fix simple connection to other smart device.

8 months ago, TGEG7980

Not worth the money or time

First off I would have given this app a half of a star if I could We have own the hubs, pods, cameras and door ell for about a year and I’m ready to light it on fire. Great concept one app to control everything and have your family be able to control as well. We have not been able to add out son to the home, invite was sen to him, he never gets the invite. We were told to update his phone, did that and still nothing. Then we were told that this app is not a high priority for Apple to add a fix to the home to correct this issue. Second issue is I’m an admin and I cannot control anything. 99% of the time the cameras and pods on the app show offline and not connected to the internet, yet my husband sitting f next to me can see everything and everything is connected and work properly on his phone. We all have iPhones 14 pro max, 12 pro max and a 13 pro max and we all are on the IOS17.1 operating system. We switched from the nest and Google products for ease of use. Should have stayed with Google products and the nest

2 years ago, YeetedYeast

Its alright but a few issues persist

I think overall this app is fine and I really like the overall concept of being able to access your smart devices from a single app, however, there are bugs that need to be fixed that have persisted throughout multiple updates. For some reason, my homepods will not reveal themselves no matter what I do, and will stay hidden. I have tried replugging the homepod, reinstalling the app, and even reregistering the homepod. The homepod will only randomly show up on the app, but when I need it the most, such as checking if the correct alarms are set, it just doesn’t want to appear. All other devices have been able to see these homepods for some strange reason. Without the homepod showing up on the app, I would have to listen to Siri list out all of my alarms until it reaches the alarms that I actually wanted to check up on. However, everything else seems to be working as expected.

8 months ago, Just336674

Great app, has some flaws

Have nearly 100 HomeKit devices and almost zero problems. Many of these devices are integrated using a raspberry pi with both HomeBridge and Scrypted. Lutron’s native HomeKit switches work flawlessly. Sonos speakers work great in Airplay, but would be nice if there was more information and control from the app. Ring security, Unifi cameras (HomeKit secure video is great through Scrypted), and Honeywell zigbee thermostats work flawlessly with Homebridge. Just make sure to use proper HomeKit naming conventions, especially if you are using Siri. And set up zones and scenes if you want better control. And most importantly, keep your devices and home hubs up to date! The app and Siri could definitely be better and more intuitive. An iOS release or two did break automations that ultimately had to be set up again. So overall, 4 stars since it hasn’t always been a flawless experience.

11 months ago, C_track7

Getting Annoying

I’ve been fully embedded in the Apple Ecosystem for several years now but everyday there’s a problem with my HomePod minis. And this app is no help at all. It’s gotten to a point where I wake up and wonder if I’ll get to listen to music that day (I work from home) or if I’ll have to play something on the TV. I suppose it’s time to start trying new things because this is what’s supposed to make Apple special and they’re failing. Maybe my HomePods are defective but the same problem occurs on all of them (3) and the internet is no problem with anything else in the house so I can only assume the HomePod Minis are the issue. This app only tells me that they’re not connect to the internet… but WHY?! And why can’t I change it to hotspot or a different wifi; just to quickly reset the connectivity instead of resetting the entire HomePod every day, for each one I have (which sometimes they still don’t connect; not worth the risk so I simply don’t use them if they don’t work right off in the mornings).

3 years ago, mountain.spider

It’s a great idea

It does however need a little bit more tweaking. I recently left Google and have been doing a full conversion over to everything Apple and iOS. The home should be revamped or at least the ability to put everything in the home visible in one spot and sections apart. All the items listed under favorites get automatically shoved into the notification section of a pulldown Home Screen and if you remove them you have to go through each room individually. I would prefer to just have one visible home area with all my items there, like full view of the rooms in one screen. The option to see it’s each room individually by clicking them is not intuitive and just more steps rather than having everything there visible on one screen.

3 weeks ago, HDM015

Don’t get this app and read why

Okay so when I got my phone Apple had already downloaded this app for me and I wanted to try it out and all I wanted to do was just turn on my light and fan for my room with my phone on this app then I told me that I couldn’t without spending money and I was like yeah no thanks cause that’s ridiculous that I have to pay to turn on my fan and light. After I tried one other thing that didn’t work and tried to tell me to pay it kicked me out of the app so then I saw my aunt has the app and she spent money on it and I wanted to see if it was worth the money and it’s not! It’s all just things you can do yourself and the things they make you buy don’t even work it’s like buying a piece of paper and glueing it and making that a door and the creativity of this app isn’t there it looks like a 2 month old made this app and to Apple I LOVE all you do for the phones you sell and all that but I just don’t like this app and I’m sorry but the people who want it need to know the truth ✌️

3 years ago, ElBarto247

Video streaming problems otherwise works as advertised…

I have been using the Home app since it was available publicly. Overall it works well although it it has at time taken longer then ideal load times to discover devices. (If I was eating only that I would give it 3-4 starts.) However I am giving it a 1 start primarily because if of the video streaming interface, atrocious load times and often freezing/crashing the app itself. Regret switching over to Apple HomeKit device for my video streaming. I did it in order to transition all my devices to work with one app but immediately regret it. Video services with Apple HomeKit are in Bata stage at best and needs work. Although based on other costumers review I suspect the word it spreading and consumers are starting to stay away. Meaning Apple with likely discontinue the service in normal Apple fashion resulting in the discontinued service while dropping funds to fix the existing problem. If Apple wanted to fix it these issues, they would have already fixed them.

7 months ago, beebcon

Cameras need better support

With iCloud secure video cameras, they can only be seen and managed in the Home app. While there are a lot of customization options, they’re not the most practical. For instance, maybe the most important feature of a camera is it’s ability to notify you when it detects activity. You have a lot to customize here — notify when detecting people, notify at a certain time of day or based on if you’re home or not, etc. Unfortunately, this is insufficient. During the day, I need notified of activity only if I’m not home. During night while sleeping, I need notified regardless if I’m home. I cannot, however, configure multiple notification options, and there’s no concept of notifying only when I’ve “armed” my home. I hope Apple puts significant attention to improving their camera support, otherwise I may be shifting away from iCloud secure video cameras.

1 year ago, BuffaloNewsguy

Apple Home Pod Speaker

I purchased the newest version of the Apple Home Pod about a month ago. Overall, I’m pleased. The sound is full — much more satisfying than my Alexa devices. But I am deducting a star because Siri is not as good as Alexa in determining what I want to hear. For instance, I just now asked Siri to play a local radio station I enjoy. My diction was clear enough. But it still gave me an out-of-town station with similar call letters. When I repeated the call-letters, pronouncing each letter slowly and clearly, it gave me a totally unrelated song from my Apple Music app. I had to open the station app on my iPad and then cast it to the Home Pod. In fact, I’m use the air cast function almost exclusively now since Siri usually fails to give me what I’m asking for. Hey Siri, maybe you should reach out to Alexa on how to better do your job!

8 months ago, Gmckgn

Professional Integrator 5 star approval

Amazing App! This is the best home automation application. All the other products on the market have some or all of the following attributes: expensive, requires professional install, non-intuitive, insecure, off premises (Often foreign country) data storage. This app works even if your internet is down. It requires secure connections. Easily add devices to your network. Basic, but informative graphics. Easy enough for the average home owner to install. The app is FREE! Ability to make simple schedules and complex programs. Most the issues people have is related to poor wifi, but they blame the app. Great job Apple. Please keep up the good work! Ignore the haters, many are trying to push their own products.

3 years ago, jedimasterkyle

Needs improved

Been using the Home app for a while and it’s just ok. The BIGGEST pain point with it is the stupid “No Response” errors with lights and cameras. I have done everything I can think of to make sure that the “No response” error doesn’t show up but nothing works. The ONLY way to make the error disappear is to put my device in airplane mode for about 15 seconds. Also, when I’m away from my home network and on LTE or 5G, I still get “No response” with my lights. But I can control them from the Hue app no problem. Also, having an easier way to switch camera modes would be nice. It would be nice to not have to go into each individual camera, set it to stream and record when there are hundreds of ways to automate that. Even a home widget that could switch camera modes would be an improvement.

2 months ago, Nate Washor

Better but still plays automations at wrong times

I spent hours setting up automations, but they only worked correctly about 10% of the time. Fortunately, the release of HomeKit OS 17.5 fixed the issue where automations failed to trigger entirely. However, I’m still facing problems. I have automations scheduled throughout the day to play different types of music, and others at the start and end of the day to resume and pause music, respectively. This seems like it should be a standard function for users, so it ought to work smoothly. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Now, when my automations trigger, they consistently play the music from the previous automation instead of the one scheduled for that time. While I’m glad that music is playing at all, it really should be the correct music at the designated times.

8 months ago, awesomemonkeyboy

I like it 🤷‍♂️

Everybody complains about how bad it is and that you have to have the apple specific products but i have no issues and i don’t see why it’s an issue to have to get something specific to said device it’s the same as car parts. also the people complaining about needing a lot of items to set it up properly. yes, that is how it works. just because you did not read and see everything that is required does not mean that there is something wrong with it it means that you need to know that this is for a full home kit and it is not just for u to connect ur lamp to if you want that get an alexa. this is to modernize and change ur whole house. it is not that hard when you realize that. also the apps ui is great

2 years ago, Thierry Etoo

Horrible app

Out of all Apple products, and I am true Apple fan with almost all their products, Home has to be one of the biggest failures. It really doesn’t seem like Apple has made any effort to ameliorate home automation through this application which is constantly faulty, reporting accessories on when they’re off, accessories constantly failing needing to be reinstalled in the Home app. Overall I can’t go a week without having a process not working properly in this app. The automations often decide when they want to work or not, it’s just a very frustrating experience using this, especially given the fact that I’ve spent a lot of money to fully automate my home and expect my money to be well spent. So far it’s disappointing, very disappointing. Just more disappointments, I’m here really regretting why I chose apple for my home automation, when I have friends using google and it works perfect for them

2 years ago, Snappjay

HomeKit isn’t bad, but the video side (HKSV) is a non-starter

HomeKit itself is a wonderful idea: smart home, locally controlled, with privacy at the center. However HomeKit Secure Video either doesn’t work or when it does work perfectly, it’s not nearly as good as other offerings. The first (and main) issue is the lack of 24/7 recording natively. There are some HomeKit camera offerings that allow recording to an SD card, however it requires installing of the company app, which throws out all privacy. The HomeKit “event” recording ALWAYS gets the middle of the event, missing the beginning and end of all events. I’ve missed important footage because of this issue. Second issue is the max 1080p resolution. This resolution simply doesn’t cut it if you take home security seriously. Faces look like mud. License plates are unreadable. The footage is nearly unusable in any useful manner. If HomeKit improves the video offering, it will be a much better system.

1 year ago, hightechum

Can’t re-invite myself

I got a new phone and changed from AT&T to Verizon. I had to transfer via I cloud instead of directly iPhone to iPhone. But after the transfer home app didn’t open properly and there was a pop in the app to reset configuration. After I clicked the app froze and would not open. I restarted the app but no longer had accessories. My Accessories were all shared with me from my wife’s home app. I went back to her phone and invited myself but never received the pop up in the app to accept. I called apple and spoke with two reps neither had a solution to my problem. I have a lot of devices in my home. It would be nice to be able to control them soon. The last rep said apple was aware of an issue like this and told me to wait for an apple update. Please update soon

2 years ago, Blizzard1s2d

Update improved app, but it’s all on the fritz

Since Matter went live my automations usually don’t run?! My husband uses Alexa but we have not changed anything. Also some Hue lights have been acting wonky like half of lights in fixture being the wrong color or not turning on, had a couple turning back on immediately when turned off, had to leave one unscrewed. iOS 16 gave us some nice improvements, I appreciate the work. Please make it easier to set a useful automation without having to use Shortcuts and twelve other apps half of which require subscriptions, it makes my head hurt. I need my automation to not turn the lights out when my family has just turned them on and are in the middle of eating or taking photos. I want Home to automatically know I’m watching TV on the Apple TV so don’t mess with the lights in that room.

2 years ago, Team iDroid

Terrible First experience!

Recently over been getting into apple products for the first time. I've got the latest iphone, buds, and even the latest watch. I've been really loving the ecosystem and products thus far;however, the home pod mini I recently purchased is the first miss for me. It was a really cool product at first when it worked just fine but now, I can't even get it to connect to the internet...meaning it's literally USELESS! It keeps saying to check the home app yet, there's no setting or anything/way to switch WiFi networks to the one I’m currently using. So now, I’ve got a $100 product That I can’t even use as a normal Bluetooth speaker becuz It can’t connect to the dam internet 🤣☠️😑. Never purchasing a speaker from apple again after this. The home app was useless and so is their HomePod even more so (in my opinion). Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gunna go throw this wast of money in the trash🤦‍♂️.

1 year ago, Commentcard222

Big Fan of Apple but this App is terrible

If there are three things finally starting to break Apple’s grip on me as a customer, it’s 1. Lack of innovation on iPhone 2. Siri’s poor performance or ability to do anything more than simple instructions and 3. this app. You have to spend extra to buy limited HomeKit complaint stuff but this app feels like someone didn’t care at all. Besides looking incredibly boring/simple in a bad way and lacking a lot of customization, the design choices are rough (I have to click 3 times in the app to turning something on/off. Who thought of that for the user experience? This is made by Apple)? I’m more tech-familiar and even I was struggling with setting up automations. Apple is slipping and can’t believe it but I’m starting to think about divesting myself of the ecosystem.

2 years ago, marky d luffy

This app is terrible

“I’m having trouble connecting to the internet.” This app is one of the worst apps I have ever used, and it doesn’t even seem like apple cares to fix it. Constantly buggy, consistently crashing, and sometimes just flat out doesn’t work at all. You’d think with all these bad reviews they’d look into making improvements, but here we are, still with the same issues. So many apple devices need to be used by utilizing the home app, so you’d expect it to be better. Troubleshooting gets things working for about a few days, then you’re back to your regularly scheduled programming. PLEASE look into making the home experience better, Apple. You’re too much of a prestigious company to allow something like this just go right past your big office desks. Smh

2 years ago, Gp-ken

Excellent replacement for Insteon

When Insteon suddenly closed it’s doors leaving all us users stranded with a lot of useless devices, I searched for replacement automation devices and controllers. After buying a few for testing, I settled on Apple HomeKit as the best of the bunch. And with no regrets. HomeKit works to perfection. It is extremely easy to setup and executes commans fast. A bit of advice: Make sure that your devices are approved for HomeKit and are labeled as such on the packages. Devices not so approved may or may not work. True that they cost a bit more, they are worth it. Also, if you need to have remote access, you will need a hub. I’m successfully using an earlier Apple TV.

6 months ago, Jake__Lee

More selection

I’ve had an iPhone since the very first. Each year, better and better software allowing all of us to do more than we ever thought possible from such a small device. Overall, the Home app is very easy to use - but - the selection of products that are HomeKit compatible leaves one to yearn for more. Apple, please make it easy for new home products easily onboard and work with HomeKit. I’ve stuck to HomeKit only products so far but so many of the new smart home products have elected not work with Apple. Why is this? What is so difficult with HomeKit that suppliers choose not to support it?

1 year ago, jensyfrenzy

Embarrassingly Bad

It is unbelievable how bad the homekit experience is. Randomly, my accessories will be unresponsive on the home app (despite working in alternative apps). Also, I’ve noticed issues of “phantom” accessories being in homekit even thought they are not listed. For example, I am currently troubleshooting my circle view doorbell. When trying to add it back to homekit, it says the accessory is already there, even though it’s nowhere to be found. I factory reset the doorbell and even went as far as to delete my home entirely in homekit and start from scratch with absolutely no luck. For a company that prides itself in user friendly experiences, this is shockingly bad. If you want alternatives, I would recommend either Home Assistant (if you care about privacy) or Google Home (if you care about convenience). I would not bother wasting time with HomeKit.

2 years ago, dscoti

Going backwards

Why in the world, Apple, would you make switches 3 taps to turn on/off instead of 1 tap the way it was previously. So now it’s tap to open the switch, then tap again to turn it on/off, then a final tap to close the stupid dialog. Before it was tap once to turn on/off, tsp snd hold to get to settings. At least Home+ still works the tight way. No, I don’t like favorites in sections, all over the home page either. If they are favorites they should be grouped as such. It takes up 5/6 times more screen space so you have to scroll forever to get somewhere. Yes, you can rearrange things, but IITC, it’s just moving sections around. These changes are pointless and make using the Home app worse. I’ll change my review if someone can tell me how to change these back. Ok, I do like the cameras up top, but that’s about it. Finally, since iOS 16, my HomeKit front door lock starts cycling unlock, lock, unlock in the early morning. The first time, it was 2:15am, last night, 5:20am. No there are no automations scheduled during that time. I turned all lock automations off today to see if that makes a difference. Overall, a terrible update to the Home app.

2 years ago, Chati Uchiha

Honestly

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like as corporate, y’all need to do some serious adjusting to the HomePod. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining but I’m seriously having problems. When I hover my phone over my HomePod mini, it says connecting for way to long, and after waiting for super long it just never does anything. HomePod either displays “not playing” on my IPhone while it is in fact playing music. Or Siri can’t find music in my Apple library. Example- If I ask her to play fireflies, she’ll say “I can’t find Fireflies by owl city in your Apple library” meaning she knows the song ! If I could have full access through my phone as if it was a Bluetooth speaker along with the existing features that would be nice. The cord;that’s another story.

2 months ago, jcd1275

Non controllable controls and request

While using HomePod mini connected together for surround sound, I can hold down the up/down control on my phone, the volume bar does not not, have to go into connected devices, disconnect HomePods, reconnect and use the volume bar that way it so I can control the volume. After holding the up button for uncounted seconds it’s at full blast high volume maxed out. It’s just simple things like that, you spend the money, expect the best, create this environment that suits you, you’re sunny day, But no, you can’t even control the summer or volume button in the home app. Hey Apple, continue updating all useable apps and software, please. Dude you guys make many, many dollars from sold products, just make the simplest simple and keep the consumer in mind when doing what you do. Good day to you, thanks, cheers.

5 months ago, Carbonbreath

Troublesome among brands.

The integration of Smart 'Things' with HomeKit can be incredibly troublesome. Device IDs never seem to work with any brands, including Nanoleaf, Hue, and others. Some brands even print QR codes on their products that are difficult for cameras to scan properly, resulting in hours of frustration trying to pair lights and other devices with HomeKit. It often takes hours for HomeKit to recognize Hue Controllers, and these controllers have a reputation for breaking the bridge with HomeKit. While I appreciate the user interface of HomeKit, which is superior to most apps, it is quite limited and lacks many options provided by manufacturers. I truly wish that Apple would invest more energy into refining HomeKit and implementing devices more effectively.

1 year ago, ej1fraz

ADD CAMERAS TO CONTROL CENTER

I will change my review if this feature is added* Why is it not possible to add your doorbell camera (or any other camera) to the home controls in Control Center? I would love to view a livestream of my doorbell camera by swiping into control center, then clicking the icon for a camera. But as far as I’ve researched this is not possible. Why? Having to go into the Home App is no better than having a 3rd party smart camera. Homekit enabled devices should take away steps to make the experience as easy and well thought out as possible. Control center home controls are an exceptionally well thought out design making everything accessible by one swipe, but obviously just not the camera part. Please fix this devs!!

2 years ago, xmyopic

What happened?

When I looked at reviews for the first time today, I was surprised by all the negativity. I had had no major issues and was pretty satisfied with the app. I recently updated to iOS16 and now … what a mess! The interface is horrible! I can no longer tap on certain devices to turn them on or off. Only some of my previous automations still work, and I’m not even trusting their reliability. Swiping to get to different rooms seems to no longer be a feature and the overall layout leaves much to be desired. Soooo many other words I could have chosen that reflect my frustration, but I want to make sure this review gets posted. Unlike others who may use the app for entry and garage doors, I currently am only using it for interior lighting. Nonetheless, it is an interference to home security. PLEASE FIX THIS ASAP!

2 years ago, carl rumachik

Recent updates are a step in wrong direction

Used to love Home, then upgraded to iOS 16 where everything was made more jumbo both in the control center version and full app. Now I have to scroll to get to some of my devices and never did previously. Just a dumb headache Apple introduced. Additionally in the full app to turn lights on/off you now have to click the little icon- clicking the rest of the (now-jumbo) device buttons opens the device sub-menu (like to adjust brightness) which is NOT what I want 99% of the time, and really does not seem intuitive to me. As a tenured software developer I am stunned that these regressive changes made it through Apple’s design process, and to me it casts some significant doubt on the Apple’s design judgement in general…

2 years ago, agushen

Better than my expectations

I feel that initially the Home app was so far behind and lacking. So many devices could not sync up with it. In the last year or so, a lot more has been made available with Thread and Matter. Now that I started digging into it with Homebridge along with getting a HomePod, I found the Home app to be very underrated. The fact that I can quick access from the pull-down menu or tell my AppleTV remote to do something has made accessibility and usability much better than what other smart home devices cannot achieve. I am in with Apple HomeKit now.

2 years ago, Dark enV

Would love to see some improvements

I’m a Homekit user and have been for years now. There issues that pop up a lot with certain devices compared to others and sometimes the home app just doesn’t function properly. I’d love it if I could run all the firmware updates within the home app instead of having to go to each app. Also would love it if I could create my home and my wife joined and everything looked the same including the wallpapers set. Would also like to have more information from my Homekit router in the home app and could even manage the router more within the app. All in all it’s a good system but there’s definitely room for improvement.

3 years ago, Chris Van Patten

HomeKit is great. Home is lacking

I love the HomeKit ecosystem, and having local control and privacy integrated with my smart home devices. But the Home app has fallen behind, and feels largely unchanged in recent iOS releases. You’re still stuck with the same half dozen icons (or fewer) in each category, wallpapers don’t sync between devices, automations can’t be grouped into folders or sorted, favorite scenes can’t be sorted, advanced conditional automations need a third party app, there’s no widget, etc. Despite all of that, Home is still one of my most used apps and I’m still happy to be in the HomeKit world. I just wish the Home app would catch up to the potential of the ecosystem.

Description

Easily and securely control your smart home using your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, Apple TV, and Mac. Features Home tab makes it easier to navigate, organize, view and control all your smart home accessories. Categories for climate, lights, security, speakers and TVs, and water allow for quick access to all the accessories for that specific category. A multi-camera view displays up to four cameras in the Home tab and you can scroll to see any additional cameras. Grid Forecast uses live data from your local electric grid to show when it’s running on cleaner sources so you can plan when to charge devices or run appliances. (Contiguous US Only) Activity History lets you see a recent history for garage door, door lock, security systems, and contact sensor events* Siri makes it easy to use your voice to control accessories. Say a phrase like “Lock the front door,” “Play jazz in the living room,” or create a scene and say “Good night” to turn off all your lights. Widgets on iPhone and iPad give you the ability to see the status of your home and access relevant accessories. Control Center gives you quick access to control your favorite accessories and scenes. Home app on Apple Watch displays accessories you'll most likely need at top for immediate access and then all accessories in favorites, cameras, and rooms. HomePod or other AirPlay-enabled speakers can be added in the Home app to control your smart home and play music in any room in your house. HomePod and Apple TV act as a home hub to manage your home while you’re away. Automatically run scenes and control accessories based on your location, the time of day, a sensor detection, or the action of an accessory. HomeKit Secure Video** lets you view live video and recordings as well as get rich notifications when people, pets, vehicles, or package deliveries are detected from your security cameras or video doorbell. View a 10-day recording history in the Home app, and you can share or save recordings. Adaptive lighting** lets you set compatible lightbulbs to automatically adjust their color temperature throughout the day to help maximize comfort and productivity. Wake up in the morning to warm colors, stay alert midday with cooler tones, and wind down at night by removing blue light. Accessories compatible with the Matter smart home connectivity standard are supported seamlessly in the Home app alongside your HomeKit-enabled accessories, so you can control them easily and securely using the Home app and Siri on your Apple devices. *Available for homes using the new Home architecture. **Requires HomePod or Apple TV as a home hub and an iCloud+ plan.