Adding an accessory to your smart home setup is fairly straightforward, though there are a few areas where it's not entirely intuitive. Before you get started, it's helpful to locate the HomeKit Setup Code for the accessory you're adding.

This is usually in 2 places: printed on an included user guide or the package, and on a sticker somewhere on the device itself. It will have a ‌HomeKit‌ icon next to a series of numbers framed in a box or a QR code. Also, you'll need to plug in the device and power it on. Then you can move on to adding it. Here are the steps on an iPhone:

  1. Open the Home app and tap on the '+' in the top right corner.1 add homekit device 1
  2. Choose "Add Accessory" in the resulting pop-up menu
  3. Scan the ‌HomeKit‌ Setup Code with the camera as prompted on the next screen.2 add homekit device 1
  4. Tap on the square with the accessory's name to confirm that you want to add it to ‌HomeKit‌.3 add homekit device

For accessories where the code won't scan with the camera due to poor lighting or another reason, the ‌HomeKit‌ code can also be entered manually. When using the ‌iPhone‌ 7 or later to add a device, some ‌HomeKit‌ accessories will allow you to add them without needing to scan the code using the camera. In this situation, you can just hold your ‌iPhone‌ near the accessory and then follow the steps Apple provides.

Once an accessory has been added to ‌HomeKit‌, you'll see the details about it in the Home app and will have the option to choose what room it's in. Assigning a ‌HomeKit‌ accessory a room allows you to more easily control it along with other devices in the same room.

4 add homekit device
The device we set up for this guide shown in the screenshots is in the Living Room and we changed it accordingly. This allows us to ask Siri to turn off all the lights in the living room, for example, and this device will be switched off along with all the other lights in the room.

5 add homekit device 2
Devices are set up with a default name determined by the manufacturer, and you'll probably want to change it to make it more memorable so it's easier for you to ask ‌Siri‌ to control it. In this example, we added a Sylvania light strip and its default name is Flex Color. Tapping on the name in this screen allows for the name to be changed, and we renamed it Mood Light.

Some devices may come with instructions prompting you to set them up in the manufacturer's own app. Though this isn't necessary to complete the above steps and control the device through the Home app and ‌Siri‌, the manufacturer's app may offer you other features and status details that aren't available through the Home app.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Releases First Betas of iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3

Monday December 16, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2. iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software update. There's no word yet on what's included in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, ...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Apple TV 4K hero 221018 feature

Here is Everything New for the Apple TV in the tvOS 18.3 Update So Far

Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered. Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far. Robot Vacuum Support in Home App First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...