Level 1

43 points

HomeKit remote access not always working

I've had a couple HomeKit accessories for quite a while now (Phillips Hue lights, Sensi thermostat), and at first they worked pretty well. Lately, the automation's that I have set up, and remote access quits working after a couple days. I have a 4th Generation Apple TV set up as the home hub. I have made sure that:

The Apple TV is connected to the Internet and on the same Wi-Fi network as my other iOS devices during set up.

Updated with the latest version of tvOS, iOS.

I can control my accessories in the Home app on my iOS device (using WiFi).

On my Apple TV, in Settings > Accounts > iCloud, it shows HomeKit as Connected.

But when I disable WiFi on my iPhone, the HomeKit app shows my accessories (and Phillips Hue hub) as "No Response". To fix this I usually get on the Apple TV and log out, then log back into iCloud and it will start working again - for a couple days. Then the automation's quit working, and I check again for a remote connection where I get "No Response". I can always turn the accessories (lights) on and off using WiFi in my home, but remote access and automation's are gone. Any ideas?

BTW I always put the Apple TV to sleep when I'm done with it and the remote access and automation's have worked fine for months at a time without issues (and without me turning on the Apple TV).

Apple TV, tvOS 10.2.2

Posted on Aug 4, 2017 7:07 AM

Top-ranking reply

homersdonut

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Oct 4, 2018 4:14 PM

So after almost a year of banging my head against the wall and countless restores, removing and re-adding all my accessories. I decided to call again and be adamant it was an iCloud issue. Passed me up 3 tiers of support in the first 20 minutes of the call. Spent almost 2 hours on the phone with Mason. Long story short, he was awesome and actually put effort into figuring it out. Low and behold, it was a “block” on my AppleID. He literally “unchecked” the block at his end and almost instantly I was able to send invites, and after about 10 minutes, AppleTV was recognized as the hub again and I could control everything remotely. So if anyone has also been banging their head against the wall for almost a year, call in and tell them to check that. Kudos to Mason and his excellent customer service for actually making the effort to look into it and ask his peers. Last time it was an endless loop of being passed off by support for 3 weeks until I got frustrated and gave up. Persistence pays off I guess. I knew it wasn’t at my end. Hope this helps anyone else having the same problem! Good luck!

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114 replies

cawgolf

Level 1

4 points

Jan 11, 2018 6:33 PM in response to Zipher79

On December 29, I posted the following: "The jury is still out, but I am temporarily having success following the recommendations in this link. Apple TV HomeKit Disconnected

I made a channel adjustment to my router which was previously set to automatic and reflecting "severe" interference. Let's see what happens.."

I have had NO ISSUES since changing to the 5G network on my existing router (I was on 2.4 which had severe interference that I was not aware of), adjusted the channel to be fixed so that it did not change automatically. I did NOT get a new router. Just made adjustments in the settings on my existing router. This fix has worked perfectly for me.

Mar 17, 2018 5:05 PM in response to homersdonut

Like others on this thread my remote HomeKit was working beautifully for about a month in December. Then something changed and has not worked since. My Apple TV 4K network is hardwired so this has nothing to do with router Wi-Fi frequencies. I read another article that said you must prevent the AppleTV from ever going to sleep. I tried this after toggling HomeKit off and on and thus far have succeeded in maintaining remote access. We’ll see how long this lasts.

krusty76

Level 1

4 points

Dec 23, 2018 10:14 PM in response to MrEmanLOL

On a whim, I decided to unhardwire my Apple TV from our Eero network. One ATV reboot later and I can control our garage door remotely for the first time since getting the Insignia Garage Door Controller. I previously had a home-brewed raspberry pi setup that worked fine with the Apple TV hardwired.

No idea why being on the same network is insufficient; being on same WiFi/SSID is apparently important for some items. Also no idea if this will continue to work, but so far I am hopeful.

Hope this information is useful to someone.

Dwcowan

Level 1

4 points

Dec 19, 2017 3:49 PM in response to MTGMan2

Out of interest. Do you have all of your HomeKit devices and Apple TVs on the same ssid/band?

Dwcowan

Level 1

4 points

Jan 11, 2018 11:19 PM in response to cawgolf

Confirm same. Since moving to a single band on my Wi-fi I have had no issue since my original post

Sabs01

Level 1

4 points

Dec 21, 2018 1:25 PM in response to Sabs01

Yes can report mine is now working perfectly for the last week after resetting apple TV - had this issue for 18 months and thought I was going nuts ....

Jan 5, 2018 1:57 PM in response to tommy0349

Hi had the same issue, I just tried to disconnect / connect the homekit on the Apple TV and it solved the issue right away:

go to Seetings > Accounts > iCloud > HomeKti > click to disconnect > click again to reconnect..

Now I can use HomeKit remotely via 4G again.

Nic_42

Level 1

8 points

Oct 26, 2018 10:34 AM in response to tommy0349

I’ve had this problem too... I’ve spent ages trying to troubleshoot it, and followed most of the suggestions made by various people in this thread. Some of the comments prompted me to check my wife’s iPhone to see if it worked on hers, and I found it did. So... I wondered if my iCloud or Apple ID was ‘blocked’ as per some comments here... but before calling, I figured a reboot of my iPhone would be in order.

That resolved the problem for me, straight off the bat, much to my surprise and frustration, as if I’d thought of doing that earlier, I may have been able to access my kit while I was away from home the last couple of days!

Anyway... just thought I’d share... I’m just hoping this isn’t a recurring issue. I’ll try to remember to update the thread in a couple of weeks when I know if the issue has reoccurred.

Jan 20, 2018 11:11 AM in response to _Stephen_L

Update:

It has now been over a week and Homekit continues to work well remotely since I made the channel tweak.

FYI: I am using a Netgear router (R8000)

Apr 4, 2018 4:37 PM in response to krazygreekguy

I hooked my Apple TV up to my router via an Ethernet cable. I’m hoping that will help.

Nic_42

Level 1

8 points

Nov 9, 2018 11:27 AM in response to Nic_42

I’m very happy to report that I’ve not had the issue again since rebooting my iPhone as stated in my previous post.

I’m not convinced it’ll be that simple for everyone, but definitely worth a try!

cawgolf

Level 1

4 points

Dec 29, 2017 5:40 PM in response to cawgolf

The jury is still out, but I am temporarily having success following the recommendations in this link. Apple TV HomeKit Disconnected

I made a channel adjustment to my router which was previously set to automatic and reflecting "severe" interference. Let's see what happens....

Jan 5, 2018 9:02 AM in response to KrishnaB

This sounds exactly like what I was going through with this. I really didn't want to but a new router either, but I did because it was worth it to not have to restart my router every day or so and I need to be able to control my lights from work. I have had zero problems since getting top of the line router....

bspence

Level 1

4 points

Feb 9, 2018 11:29 PM in response to cawgolf

This is the best answer in my opinion. My Apple TV is listed many times in the Home app as being on standby, which doesn’t seem to work. When it says Connected, then everything is fine. So keeping it from falling asleep seems like a good idea. I just bought a HomePod, which doesn’t go to sleep and is also a home hub. It doesn’t go to sleep, so I hope it’s a better hub.

Feb 22, 2019 4:08 PM in response to tommy0349

I had this issue lots. I’ve now set up three homekit homes. My biggest issue was Philips Hue, it is a rubbish system that I will never use again (I once had 34 lights) due to the poor customer service from Phillips and service agents that knew less about the system than I did. My best recommendation is remove it.

I now use a combo of; lifx, koogeek, Eve Elgato. They all have minor issues eventually but these seem to recover from toggling the power vs Phillips hue requiring a full delete and readd.

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HomeKit remote access not always working