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Control accessories with Home on iPad

Use the Home app and Control Center to control accessories in your home.

Control accessories in the Home app

On the Home tab, tap an accessory’s icon on the left side of the tile—a light, for example—to quickly turn the accessory on or off. Tap the accessory’s name on the right side of the tile to show the accessory’s control.

The available controls depend on the type of accessory. For example, with some lightbulbs, there are controls for changing colors. With your smart TV, you can choose an input source.

Control accessories in Control Center

When you’re home with your iPad, you can see the relevant scenes and accessories for that moment in Control Center. For example, a coffee maker may appear in the morning and be replaced by your bedside lamp at night.

Open Control Center, then tap a button to turn an accessory on or off, or touch and hold the button until controls appear.

To quickly see all your favorite scenes and accessories (except cameras), tap .

If you don’t want accessories to appear in Control Center, go to Settings > Control Center, then turn off Show Home Controls.

View categories and home status

The Lights, Climate, Security, Speakers and TV, and Water categories let you quickly access all the relevant accessories organized by room.

Open the Home app .
Below your home’s name, buttons show the status of accessories belonging to a category—for example, a Lights category that shows “3 on.”
Tap one of the category buttons at the top of the screen or in the sidebar to show all accessories within that category, organized by room.
While viewing a category, tap the icon on the left side of an accessory tile to perform an action—turn a light or group of lights on or off, start playing music on a HomePod, or lock the front door.

The Home app with the sidebar on the left. Security is highlighted. On the right, the Security category button is highlighted. Below are security accessories such as locks and garage doors.

View Activity History

When you have a home hub using the new Home architecture and latest software, all the members of your home can view the activity history for accessories like garage doors, locks, and security systems. For example, you can learn when a door was unlocked and who unlocked it.

In the Home app, tap , then tap Home Settings.
Go to Safety & Security > Home History, then tap One Month to view up to 30 days of activity.
On the Home screen, tap the Security category, then tap Home Activity to show the Activity History.

Turn on Adaptive Lighting

Some HomeKit compatible lights let you adjust their color temperature, from cool blue to warm yellow. You can set supported lights to automatically adjust the color temperature throughout the day. Wake up to warm colors, stay alert and focused mid-day with cooler ones, and wind down at night by removing blue light. For a light that supports Adaptive Lighting, follow these steps:

Tap the light’s tile to show the controls.
You can also touch and hold the tile, then choose Accessory Settings.
Tap , then turn on Adaptive Lighting.

Note: Adaptive Lighting requires a home hub, a device such as Apple TV (4th generation or later) or HomePod speakers.

Edit home accessories

To edit accessory settings, tap the right side of an accessory tile, tap , then do any of the following:

Rename an accessory: Tap to delete the old name, then type a new one.
Change an accessory’s icon: Tap the icon next to the accessory’s name, then select a new icon. If you don’t get a choice of other icons, it means the icon can’t be changed for this accessory.

Group accessories

You can control multiple accessories with the tap of a button by grouping them.

Tap the right side of an accessory tile, tap , then tap Group with Other Accessories.
Tap the accessory you want to group with this accessory—another light in the room, for example.
In the Group Name field, type a name for the group.
Tap Done.
Turn on Include in Favorites to include the group in Favorites in Home.

See alsoSet up accessories

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iPad User Guide