How to Take better control of your home with Eve

1 Grab the app

Once you’ve downloaded the Eve for HomeKit app, run through its initial setup steps. If you’ve used Apple’s Home app before, or set up any HomeKit hardware, you’ll see those accessories featured in the Eve app already.

2 Add something new +

Tap Settings (bottom bar), then tap at the top right. The app will find new HomeKit accessories within Bluetooth range, and any HomeKit devices that support proximity-based setup but have not yet been added in Apple’s Home app.

3 Scan the code

Find the HomeKit code included with your accessory (on its documentation, on the accessory itself, or both), then name it and set the room it’s in. It will then appear in both the Eve for HomeKit and Apple Home apps.

4 Organise it

Tap ‘At a Glance’ and you’ll see the new accessory, but you might not see all others yet. Tap Edit and mark accessories you want to see in this page with a filledin star. Drag on the handles to the right of each row to reorder the accessories.

5 Control it

You should now see your favourited smart gadgets in the ‘At a Glance’ page. This gives you immediate readings of sensors, and you can tap accessories, such as lights and smart switches, to toggle them on or off.

6 Investigate it

Hold a finger on an accessory (or apply light pressure if your device has 3D Touch) to take a peek at more status info. Slide your finger (or apply extra pressure) to pop open a panel where you can alter more intricate settings.

7 Monitor it

Some smart plugs, like the Eve Energy, will keep tabs on your power usage. Take a peek at it on the ‘At a Glance’ page to see power consumption and costs for the day; tap the blue icon with an ellipsis in it to look back further.

8 All together

If you’re running multiple smart plugs, tap Types, then Total Cost to check overall power draw. This tab also consolidates other info – for lights and door sensors, say, so you can check (and tweak) aspects of your home here.

9 Automate it

Scenes, timers and rules can all be managed in the Scenes tab. You’ll need a device acting as a home hub (bit.ly/ mfhmhub) to perform all the actions, but Eve’s interface makes building routines a little easier than in the Home app.