HomeKit Connection Issues

Symptoms:

Sometimes my MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, or iPad mini connect to WiFi at home but can't get internet access. I have to reboot my TP-Link Deco mesh network to get them to connect. Also, my Logitech Circle View Doorbell randomly reports being offline and online.

Short Answer:

It appears that one of my HomePod minis is the hub for HomeKit and it is causing these problems. I haven't diagnosed the issue with the doorbell beyond unplugging my HomePod minis and having it stay online. I was able to trace the other problems to the HomePod minis though.

Technical Answer:

I called tech support at TPLink and they were great. Really helped me dig in. We ran a WireShark trace on the network and found the problem. It appears that the HomeKit hub is assigning an IPv6 address that starts with "fbdc" which restricts internet access. HomeKit uses IPv6 address for its internal HomeKit networking. For some reason when one of my devices has been away from the house for a while then connects to WiFi, it gets the IPv6 address but no IPv4. The HomePod mini assigns it rather than my WiFi router. I don't understand how or why.

I'm not sure what is going on with the doorbell. One of my mesh remotes is close enough to it to give it a good signal. As I said, if I unplug both HomePod minis, the doorbell remains online. I had them unplugged for a few days to verify. I think the latest update, 16.4.1, made it better but didn't completely cure it.

If anyone has anything to add to this, I'm interested.

Posted on Apr 21, 2023 3:50 PM

Top-ranking reply

Timothy Etherington Author

Level 1

33 points

Posted on Apr 24, 2023 12:05 PM

UPDATE:

I read bgmeek's link at Reddit and did what they suggested.

Bottom line:

When you set up your HomePod mini, it copies the settings from your iPhone. If you have Private IP Address Tracking turned on for the WiFi network on your iPhone, it appears to send that setting to the HomePod which makes the HomePod stupid.

The fix is to turn off Private IP Address Tracking on your iPhone, hard reset the HomePod and set it up again. This should make your HomePod not stupid.

Current Results:

So far so good. My doorbell hasn't gone offline since I reset the HomePod minis and my wife took her iPad Air out of town with her for the weekend. When she came home she had no problem getting on line.

Obligatory Rant:

The symptoms and the resolution are not obvious. I thought it was a problem with my router. This seems like an easy fix for Apple. Just don't copy Private IP Address Tracking settings when you set up the HomePod.

View in context

HomeKit Connection Issues

Similar questions