How to control accessories with Home on iPhone

Use the Home app and Control Center to control accessories in your home.

The available controls depend on the type of accessory you have. With some lightbulbs, for example, you can change colors, and with your smart TV, you can choose an input source. You can also add Home scenes and accessories to Control Center, and see accessories in categories like Lights, Climate, and Security, organized by room.

Here’s how to control accessories with Home on iPhone.

Control accessories in the Home app

On the Home tab, tap an accessory’s icon on the left side of the tile—a light, for example—to quickly turn the accessory on or off.

Tap the accessory’s name on the right side of the tile to show the accessory’s control. The available controls depend on the type of accessory. For example, with some lightbulbs, there are controls for changing colors. With your smart TV, you can choose an input source.

Add accessories to Control Center

To get to your most used accessories quickly, you can add Home scenes and accessories to Control Center.

1. Open Control Center on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Add button and tap Add A Control at the bottom.
3. Tap the Home Scene or Accessory control.
4. Tap Choose Scene or Accessory. Select a home and device or scene you want to control.

View categories and home status

The Lights, Climate, Security, Speakers and TVs, and Water categories gather all the relevant accessories by room, so you can quickly get to them.

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Home.

Below your home’s name, buttons show the status of accessories belonging to a category—for example, a Lights category that shows “3 on.”

3. Tap one of the category buttons to show all accessories within that category, organized by room.
4. While viewing a category, tap the icon on the left side of an accessory tile to perform an action—turn a light or group of lights on or off, start playing music on a HomePod, or lock the front door.

View Activity History

If your home hub is using the latest software, everyone in your home other than guests can see the activity history for accessories like locks, garage doors, security systems, and adaptive temperature thermostats. You can learn when a door was unlocked, for example, and who unlocked it.

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone.
2. On the Home tab, tap the More button and then tap Home Settings.
3. Go to Activity and tap One Month to view up to 30 days of activity.
4. In the Home tab, tap the Security or Climate category. Then tap Home Activity to show the Activity History.

Turn Activity History on and off

Activity History can be turned on and off only by the home owner or by a shared home user who has permission to add and edit accessories. Turning it off permanently deletes all previous activity for the home.

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone.
2. On the Home tab, tap the More button, tap Home Settings, and tap Activity.
3. Choose One Month to turn Activity History on, or choose Off.

Turn on Adaptive Lighting

Some Apple Home-compatible lights can adjust their color temperature, from cool blue to warm yellow, and you can set supported lights to change it automatically as the day goes on. Wake up to warm colors, stay alert and focused with cooler ones at midday, and wind down at night by removing blue light.

For a light that supports Adaptive Lighting, follow these steps:

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the light’s tile to show the controls.

   You can also touch and hold the tile, and then choose Accessory Settings.

3. Tap the Adaptive Lighting button. Turn on Adaptive Lighting.

Note: You’ll need a home hub, such as Apple TV 4K or HomePod speakers, to use Adaptive Lighting.

Edit home accessories

To edit accessory settings, tap the right side of an accessory tile, tap the Settings button, then do any of the following:

• Rename an accessory: Tap to delete the old name, then type a new one.
• Change an accessory’s icon: Tap the icon next to the accessory’s name, then select a new icon. If you don’t get a choice of other icons, it means the icon can’t be changed for this accessory.

Group accessories

You can control multiple accessories with the tap of a button by grouping them.

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the right side of an accessory tile and tap the Settings button. Tap Group with Other Accessories.
3. Tap the accessory you want to group with this accessory—another light in the room, for example.
4. In the Group Name field, type a name for the group.
5. Tap Done.

To have the group show up in Favorites on the Home tab, turn on Include in Favorites.