HomeKit broken after iOS18 update

Question

HomeKit broken after iOS18 update

Since updating my AppleTV's, HomePods (and minis) and iOS devices to iOS18, I get an error saying none of my hubs will connect, and thus HomeKit is essentially dead and useless. I've tried removing the hubs and re-adding them, but now I get errors on my iPhone or iPad saying the devices couldn't be setup.

I went so far as to setup a separate network with a different router and started a new home, and trying to add a factory reset HomePod mini, and I'm getting a failed setup error. I genuinely don't know what else to try, as this pretty much checks off all of Apple's support issues. (Restarting iPhones/iPads used for setup, rebooting routers, starting from scratch, etc etc...)

Any other suggestions out there?

Posted on Sep 23, 2024 5:56 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

thermatoga

Level 1

8 points

Oct 2, 2024 11:17 AM in response to iOS—18

I also have the same problem. I can control the devices by using “hey Siri” but buttons in HomeKit are useless. All say “updating” then eventually “no response”.

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Answer 2

Sep 28, 2024 7:17 AM in response to Questionable Sanity

SOLVED: Ok, so it turns out the issue was some sort of iCloud issue with my account that had to be resolved after multiple escalations to engineers at Apple. So if you have a similar issue, reach out to Apple.

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Answer 3

iOS—18

Level 1

14 points

Sep 28, 2024 2:49 AM in response to Questionable Sanity

This sounds like iOS 18 bug. My HomeKit works but is slow and constantly updating. I’d wait till they release 18.1 which will be in October, hopefully sooner than later. Fingers crossed it fixes all the HomeKit issues

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Answer 4

Oct 3, 2024 6:03 AM in response to thermatoga

@thermatoga If you have multiple hubs, (like a HomePod mini) try resetting one to factory settings, and re-adding it. If it fails during setup, see where it fails. If it's failing at iCloud setup, then reach out to apple for help, you may have an issue with your iCloud account.

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Answer 5

Bjm070

Level 1

14 points

Oct 7, 2024 4:08 PM in response to Questionable Sanity

Don’t know if this helps you but I talked to Apple support. The problem was that iOS 18 designated my Apple TV as the home hub. It wasn’t compatible with that version 1 of Apple TV 4K for that set of accessories. My HomePod was too old too and I had to make an Apple mini pod the home hub. Might help to check if your current devices are compatible with Ios18 to use as a hub for your homekit accessories. Apple support can tell you. .

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Answer 6

Jaae

Level 1

0 points

Oct 14, 2024 11:15 PM in response to Bjm070

This exact thing happened to me. And after 30min with Apple Support chat and eventually phone support, they weren't able to suggest anything beyond what can be found on: If your HomeKit or Matter accessory isn't responding in the Home app - Apple Support (CA)

But the information provided by Bjm070 fixed it. I also found that I my Homekit Home Hub (see in Home Settings in the Home App) was set to my Apple TV. In the AppleTV's settings, I went in and removed it from the "Home". Then in the Home Settings in the Home App, I assigned one of my Homepod Minis to act as the Hub. This immediately fixed everything.

Hope this helps someone else too.

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Answer 7

Oct 11, 2024 7:43 AM in response to Questionable Sanity

is this something that has to be done only by calling or did they provide steps to resolve?

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Answer 8

Oct 11, 2024 7:49 AM in response to ramesesfromcoral gables

In my case I had to deal with Apple support directly and they fixed something on their end.

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Answer 9

mrgool

Level 1

8 points

Oct 29, 2024 12:28 AM in response to Questionable Sanity

Try simple (but time expensive) solution, this helped me. All my Matter devices stopped working one day. I spent a lot of time replacing the router, rebooting hubs, debugging the local network, nothing helped. I assumed that this was not a problem with my equipment, but a problem on the Apple side with the HomeKit "database". I simply created a new Home with same Apple ID, and added all my devices to it without any problems. Now everything has been working for several weeks without problems. I have quite a lot of devices, and it took some time, but it helped me.

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Answer 10

Oct 28, 2024 9:34 PM in response to Bjm070

WOAH 🤯

Bjm070 wrote:

Don’t know if this helps you but I talked to Apple support. The problem was that iOS 18 designated my Apple TV as the home hub. It wasn’t compatible with that version 1 of Apple TV 4K for that set of accessories. My HomePod was too old too and I had to make an Apple mini pod the home hub. Might help to check if your current devices are compatible with Ios18 to use as a hub for your homekit accessories. Apple support can tell you. .

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Answer 11

iOS—18

Level 1

14 points

Oct 29, 2024 3:04 AM in response to Questionable Sanity

For anyone still having problems with HomeKit constantly updating. iOS 18.1 is now available and after updating all my HomeKit problems with constantly saying updating is now fixed

Hope this helps someone

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Answer 12

Oct 30, 2024 11:26 PM in response to Questionable Sanity

I had the same issue. Finally tracked it down to the fact that my Apple TV (acting as the HomeKit hub) has a direct ethernet connection. Unplugging the ethernet cable and switching to wifi fixed the issue and HomeKit was back up. I did several cycles (wired and wireless) to confirm that the issue/fix was reproducible.

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Answer 13

Nov 2, 2024 12:23 AM in response to Steven Young2

had spent an hour resetting devices and trying to get a garage door opener back online. Saw this, unplugged AppleTV Ethernet cable and BAM fixed. I hate that it’s the solution but I’m assuming this is an early ios18 issue?

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