HOW TO Set up your home hub

Set up security

You don’t want just anybody connecting to your home hub, so the first thing to do is ensure your iPad is secure. Go to Settings and click on your Apple ID > Password & Security. Enable Two–Factor Authentication.

Get the keys

Turn on Keychain if it isn’t already enabled on your device: That’s where Apple securely stores your passwords and logins. It’s in Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Apps Using iCloud. Make sure Keychain is on.

Start home hub

The next option should be enabled by default, but it’s always worth checking: Go to Settings > Home and make sure “Use this iPad as a Home Hub” is on. You can also enable “Hey, Siri!” in Settings > Siri & Search.

Phone home

Once you’ve set up your home hub, you can access it from your iPhone by opening the Home app: All your devices should be there. In this screenshot everything is switched off and two devices are unreachable.

Turn it on again

To remotely turn on one of your HomeKit devices, tap on it. The app enables you to browse through all your devices or just the ones in a particular room. For example, here we’re turning on a Hue light in our living room.

Say it to Siri

One of our favorite things about a home hub is that we can control it with Siri. If you’ve enabled Siri even when your device is locked (which you can do in Settings > Siri & Search), you can do it without lifting a finger.

Automate items

When you’re using your iPad or Apple TV as a home hub, the Home app on your phone is fully functional. That means you can use it to set up routines and “do this if that happens” rules even when you’re out.

Create new rules

We’ve selected Automation > People Arrive, which will turn on devices we want to turn on whenever the home hub knows we’re near. Tap to select the items you want. You can create timed rules in the same way.

Check connections

Use the Home app to see whether your home hub is connecting to everything it should be. Here we can see the iPad, which is our home hub; a second iPad, which is in standby mode; and a Philips Hue bridge.