Your Apple Home can simplify many tasks, and you quickly become accustomed to the new level of convenience it provides. However, it can be quite frustrating when your accessories suddenly stop responding, and your automations fail to work. We will guide you step by step through the most common causes of this issue and provide the appropriate solutions. If you prefer a quick overview of the steps, you can jump directly to our checklist.

Quick Solutions for Common Issues

Unreachable accessories can have various causes, most of which can be resolved with a few simple steps. Before delving deeper, let’s address the most common causes first.

What IT professionals often humorously recommend can actually yield surprising results: “Have You Tried Turning It Off And On Again?” A restart of your router, Home Hubs, iPhones, iPads, or the affected accessory itself can often resolve the issue. To do this, simply disconnect the accessory from power briefly by unplugging it or removing the batteries. For in-wall modules, you can turn off the circuit breaker for a few seconds.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to check the battery level of battery-operated accessories. Rechargeable batteries may have a lower voltage than conventional batteries, and some smart home accessories can be sensitive to this. In such cases, we recommend temporarily using regular batteries instead of rechargeable ones.

Furthermore, ensure that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled on your iPhone or iPad and that you are connected to the same network used by your Home Hubs. If you don’t use a Home Hub, your iOS device connects directly to the smart home accessories.

Are your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, HomePod Mini, and smart home accessories up to date? It’s advisable to keep all your devices up-to-date with the latest software. Especially with Apple devices that may use different software versions, issues can arise. Accessory manufacturers also continuously optimize their axxessories and fix bugs.

Network Issues

Wi-Fi accessories are often susceptible to network issues. You can move the affected accessory closer to the router and temporarily disable the 5GHz band in your router settings. Many smart home accessories still only support the 2.4GHz band.

If you use Wi-Fi repeaters for signal strengthening, it’s recommended to turn them off temporarily or at least restart them. Similarly, a firewall or VPN can cause problems. In this case, it’s advisable to temporarily disable them to see if they are causing the issues. This also applies to iCloud+ Private Relay, which you can disable in the system settings under iCloud.

If you are using a HomeKit router, you should also check the settings for the relevant manufacturer. These settings should be set to “Automatic” or “No restrictions”.

You should also confirm that your SSID, the name of your Wi-Fi network, does not include any special characters. If there are such characters present, like hyphens, asterisks, or colons, it is advisable to eliminate them. In such instances, it is recommended to follow our guide on modifying the SSID. Though this step may appear somewhat complex initially, it can help you avoid numerous issues in the future. Most recently, devices such as Nanoleaf’s Matter-supported ones experienced problems due to this issue.

Last Resort: Resetting Unresponsive Accessories

If all previous measures have not helped, you can reset the accessory and set it up again. Before doing so, it’s essential to create a backup to avoid losing settings, automations, scenes and more. We have published a step-by-step guide in this post. Additionally, make sure to have the setup code available. Without the code, Apple Home and Matter accessories cannot be set up again. You can find a helpful post here.

If even this doesn’t help, it’s advisable to contact the support. If only accessories from one manufacturer are affected, reach out to the accessory manufacturer. If accessoires from multiple manufacturers are affected, the issue may be caused by Apple Home. In this case, it’s recommended to contact the Apple support.

To receive a helpful response, you can mention that you have already completed the steps from our checklist. Otherwise, they may recommend similar steps initially.

Checklist

  1. Check Bluetooth and Wi-Fi: Ensure that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled on your iPhone or iPad, and that your Wi-Fi is connected to the same network as your Apple Home.
  2. Check Power Supply: Check the power supply of the affected Apple Home or Matter accessories. If they are battery-operated, replace the batteries to ensure they have sufficient power. Rechargeable batteries may have a low voltage even when fully charged. If you are using rechargeable batteries, temporarily replace them with regular batteries.
  3. Restart Accessories: Disconnect the power supply of the affected accessories by turning them off briefly or removing the batteries. Wait for a few seconds and then turn them back on.
  4. Restart Router: Restart your router by briefly disconnecting it from power. This can often resolve connection issues.
  5. Restart Home Hubs: If you use Home Hubs like Apple TV or HomePod (mini), disconnect them from power briefly, wait a few seconds, and then reconnect them.
  6. Restart iOS Device: Restart your iPhone or iPad.
  7. Use Manufacturer’s App: Try to reach the affected accessory through the manufacturer’s app. There may be a firmware update available for installation.
  8. Move Accessory Closer to Home Hub: Bring the unreachable accessory closer to the Home Hub or router to ensure it has a strong signal strength.
  9. Temporarily Disable 5GHz Wi-Fi: Temporarily disable 5GHz Wi-Fi in your router settings. Many smart home accessories only work on the 2.4GHz band.
  10. Disable or Restart Wi-Fi Repeaters: If you use Wi-Fi repeaters, turn them off or restart them.
  11. Remove special characters from SSID: If your Wi-Fi name includes special characters like hyphens, asterisks, or colons, it is recommended to eliminate them. In this case, follow our post on changing the SSID.
  12. Check for iOS Updates: Check if an iOS update is available and update your devices accordingly. Different software versions between Home Hubs and iOS devices can lead to issues.
  13. Update Home Hubs: Similarly, ensure that your Home Hubs are up-to-date.
  14. Disable VPN and iCloud+ Private Relay: If you use a VPN, temporarily disable it. The same goes for iCloud+ Private Relay on your iOS device.
  15. Adjust Network Security: If you use a HomeKit router, temporarily set the network security for the affected accessories to “Automatic” or “No Restriction.”
  16. Reset and Re-Add Accessory: As a last resort, reset the unreachable accessory and then add it back to Apple Home. Remember to create a backup first to secure your settings, automations, scenes, and more.