In the past few weeks Siri tells me “you must unlock your iPhone first” to turn on a light with HomeKit. Why?
HomePod mini
Check Settings > Face ID & Passcode > [Allow Access When Locked]:
Check Settings > Face ID & Passcode > [Allow Access When Locked]:
As soon as the phone thinks you’re talking to it, it checks:
Even for a light switch, which should never require authentication.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’ve already set Face ID and Passcode to “Allow access when locked” with Siri and Home Control set to “on” without success.
iPhone, often takes priority (device obfuscation) with HomeKit requests and insists I unlock it before it will execute a simple command, like turning on/off a light. My home has four HomePod minis, two iPads, one MacBook, and two Ecobee thermostats that can respond to HomeKit requests, but iPhone often takes priority and F’s up Siri requests. All of those devices are running the current 26.2 OS.
This is particularly aggravating when one's hands are full and cannot reach for an iPhone in the dark. Prior to the emergence of this issue, HomeKit requests worked fine for more than four years. The bug seems to be coincident with the release of iOS 26.1 in early November and continues to persist with iOS 26.2
If there is a more functional and more “intelligent” version of Siri in the works, I and many other Apple users cannot wait.
Must unlock iPhone for HomeKit to turn on a light in my home
