Cannot control Homekit remotely

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Level 1

15 points

Cannot control Homekit remotely

Since IOS 14.2 was installed, I have not been able to control Homekit devices remotely. When I am at home and on my home wifi, everything works. But when I am using cellular I cannot control Homekit devices. When I try, whether using my Apple Watch or my iPhone, Siri says, "you must be on wifi or enable the Home App for remote access. For the life of me, I don't know how to enable the Home App for remote access. I was on the phone with two Apple Tech Support specialists for over and hour and they had no answers. As such, my case was accelerated to a higher level. I have uploaded IOS screen prints showing (1) my Home App when on my home wifi and (2) my Home App when I not on my home wifi.

Anyone else having this problem?

Posted on Nov 16, 2020 9:22 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

jeremy_v

Community Specialist

Nov 24, 2020 1:47 PM in response to clp698

Hey there, clp698!

Thanks for reaching out in Apple Support Communities! We understand you're trying to control your smart home accessories, but get a message about using them remotely. We love our home accessories and can help with yours.

To allow remote access, follow the steps in this resource:

Remotely access your smart home accessories from Apple Watch - Apple Support

All the best.

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Answer 2

clp698 Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 24, 2020 5:31 PM in response to jeremy_v

After being on the phone with Apple Tech Support for over an hour making changes to my Apple TV, finally got it working, Then today, I upgraded to the iPhone 12 and now I am back to same old problem. I can't believe I have to keep jumping through these hoops for Homekit. Is that the same for Alexa and Google Home?

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Answer 3

Akkerl

Level 1

4 points

Dec 10, 2020 12:47 AM in response to clp698

Hi clp698

Can you please explain what you did on the Apple TV to resolve the issue?

I have the samen problem, but strange enough only with the guest users since IOS14.

I would like to try the fix you did on the Apple TV settings.

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Answer 4

clp698 Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 10, 2020 7:34 AM in response to Akkerl

The Apple tech had me log out of my iCloud on account on the Apple TV then log back in so that it was acting as a hub. Then everything worked. Subsequently my phone shifted to my upstairs Apple TV. My question is…what do people do who do not have an Apple TV.

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Answer 5

Akkerl

Level 1

4 points

Jan 1, 2021 2:04 PM in response to clp698

A short update from my side.

After I updated the Apple TV to IOS 14.3 and the iPhones to IOS 14.3 our problems where completely resolved.

Still not sure if it was a bug in IOS 14.x our something else.

But I'm happy with the fact that the problems for us are resolved.

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Cannot control Homekit remotely

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