How to set up accessories with Home on iPad

The first time you use the Home app, the setup assistant helps you create a home, where you can add accessories and define rooms. If you’ve already created a home while setting up a different accessory, you won’t need to create one again.

Before you add an accessory, like a light or camera, make sure it’s connected to power and turned on. You can also show accessories in a room and change an accessory’s room assignment.

Add an accessory to Home

An accessory such as a light or camera should be connected to a power source, turned on, and have network connectivity before you add it.

1. Start the Home app on your iPad.
2. Tap Home in the sidebar, then tap Add Accessory.

   You can also tap the Add button at the top of the screen, then choose Add Accessory.

3. If you’re pairing a Matter accessory that was previously paired to another app, tap More options and then select your accessory.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Note: For Matter-enabled accessories, you need a home hub like a HomePod speaker or an Apple TV 4K. Thread accessories need a Thread-enabled home hub instead, like an Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Ethernet, a HomePod mini, a supported third-party border router, or any device that supports Thread pairing.

You may need to scan a QR code, enter the 8-digit Apple Home setup code that’s on the accessory itself or on its box or documentation, or, for Matter-enabled accessories, enter an 11 or 21-digit code. If it’s an Apple Home-smart TV, it shows a QR code for you to scan. Give the accessory a name and assign it to a room, and you can use that name when controlling the accessory with Siri. During setup, you can also add suggested automations.

When you set up Apple TV 4K in tvOS, whatever room you assign it to is where it’ll automatically appear in the Home app on iPad.

Paired Matter accessories are synced across devices and stored in the Settings app using iCloud Keychain, regardless of which app you used to set them up. You can easily add a previously paired accessory that’s stored in Keychain to another Matter ecosystem app. To manage these accessories, go to Settings > General, then tap Matter accessories.

Show accessories in a room

The Home app can show individual rooms, the scenes assigned to them, and a room’s accessories organized by category.

To see a room and its accessories, do one of the following:

• Go to the Home app on your iPad.
• Tap the room in the sidebar.
• Tap > next to the room’s name.

Change an accessory’s room assignment

1. Start the Home app on your iPad.
2. Touch and hold an accessory tile and tap Accessory Settings.
3. Tap Room and choose a room.

Edit a room

Along with changing a room’s name and wallpaper, you can remove the room and more. Remove it, and its accessories move to Default Room.

1. Start the Home app on your iPad.
2. Tap a room in the sidebar.
3. On the Home tab, tap > next to a room, or tap the More button and choose a room.

Organize rooms into zones

To control different areas of your home with Siri, group rooms together into a zone. In a two-story home, for instance, you’d assign the rooms on the first floor to a downstairs zone.

1. Start the Home app on your iPad.
2. Tap > next to a room on the Home tab or tap the More button and choose a room.
3. Tap the More button and tap Room Settings.
4. Tap Zone and then tap an existing zone, or tap Create New to add the room to a new zone.

See also

• Control accessories with Home on iPad