HomeKit and Apple TV

[john991]

does the Apple TV need to be on all the time for HomeKit and Siri integration? Or does the third party app simply goes thru iCloud for authorization?

Thanks

 

[amjustice]

does the Apple TV need to be on all the time for HomeKit and Siri integration? Or does the third party app simply goes thru iCloud for authorization?

Thanks

The main function of the Apple TV is to be a gateway to your devices when you are away from home. So when you are home the Apple TV does not need to be on per-say but anytime you are out of the house it would need to be powered on to have your devices reachable.

As far as iCloud, all that needs to be setup is that the Apple TV needs to be signed into the same iCloud account as your iPhone or iPad that you used to setup your HomeKit devices. Nothing happens in the apps.

 

[robnbill]

The main function of the Apple TV is to be a gateway to your devices when you are away from home. So when you are home the Apple TV does not need to be on per-say but anytime you are out of the house it would need to be powered on to have your devices reachable.

As far as iCloud, all that needs to be setup is that the Apple TV needs to be signed into the same iCloud account as your iPhone or iPad that you used to setup your HomeKit devices. Nothing happens in the apps.

I've been experimenting with HK over the last two weeks and found some interesting things.

When you create triggers - in my case multiple time based triggers for turning switches on and off - they only appear in the HK app you used to create them - and only on that iOS device. That means you can only change them on that device. But, the scenes you create that have those time based triggers do appear across all the iOS devices. You can activate that scene manually from any device.

When all our iOS devices were powered off - the timed triggers still executed. I was a little surprised by that. I assumed that our ATV4 with the latest iOS 9 was sending the commands to the switches. I unplugged all ATV's - the ATV 4 and the older ones. The timed scenes continue to execute - without any iOS or TVOS device actually on. I'm assuming the trigger time commands are stored in a special HK iCloud and are executed directly over the internet.

The ATV 4 does does allow the scenes to be executed remotely (over cell data) either via the app (via the scene button) or via Siri command.

Overall - it just works.

 

[Peepo]

In my experimentation with triggers I found that the iOS device had to be powered on. I will check again. What devices are you triggering and are you certain that a hub or controller eg. Hue or Lutron isn't doing this ?

 

[robnbill]

In my experimentation with triggers I found that the iOS device had to be powered on. I will check again. What devices are you triggering and are you certain that a hub or controller eg. Hue or Lutron isn't doing this ?

We have four iOS devices and three ATV's (only one is an ATV4 w/ IOS 9) -- my first check was to power down the the iOS devices. Triggers worked. Next I powered off the ATV's- keeping the iOS devices off. Triggers worked.
I'm testing with iDevices switches. There are no hubs in the house.
I found it very surprising the triggers continue to work - I initially assumed the ATV4 was executing the triggers. I used a string of on/off timed triggers to test over the course of an hour.
One of Apple's videos on HK said you would not need the ATV - it may have been in WWDC last year.

 

[Peepo]

We have four iOS devices and three ATV's (only one is an ATV4 w/ IOS 9) -- my first check was to power down the the iOS devices. Triggers worked. Next I powered off the ATV's- keeping the iOS devices off. Triggers worked.
I'm testing with iDevices switches. There are no hubs in the house.
I found it very surprising the triggers continue to work - I initially assumed the ATV4 was executing the triggers. I used a string of on/off timed triggers to test over the course of an hour.
One of Apple's videos on HK said you would not need the ATV - it may have been in WWDC last year.

Why don't you try a test and unplug your internet and see what happens. I am guessing that those idevices switches have built in timers and scheduling.

 

[robnbill]

Why don't you try a test and unplug your internet and see what happens. I am guessing that those idevices switches have built in timers and scheduling.

We thought of that - perhaps I dismissed that too quickly. I'm going to contact iDevices and see what they say - and also try unplugging the internet. The latter is a little more difficult since all my connections are in a "home run" network control box behind a panel. I haven't had a need to open that up for some time. I'll post my findings.

I'd like to have a definitive answer before I begin switching over to HK devices from our current Z-Wave system. Trying to decide between iDevices (they don't have dimmers at the moment), Zendo (if they ever get anything out the door), and Lutron - primarily for light control.

 

[ericgtr12]

We thought of that - perhaps I dismissed that too quickly. I'm going to contact iDevices and see what they say - and also try unplugging the internet. The latter is a little more difficult since all my connections are in a "home run" network control box behind a panel. I haven't had a need to open that up for some time. I'll post my findings.

I'd like to have a definitive answer before I begin switching over to HK devices from our current Z-Wave system. Trying to decide between iDevices (they don't have dimmers at the moment), Zendo (if they ever get anything out the door), and Lutron - primarily for light control.

I gave up on it, simply because there are so many devices it has yet to support and I didn't want to get left behind in the booming home automation market just to wait on Apple to keep up. At least for now, no one seems to capture them all but Wink or Amazon Echo are compatible with most.

 

[robnbill]

Why don't you try a test and unplug your internet and see what happens. I am guessing that those idevices switches have built in timers and scheduling.

It is in the switch per iDevice support: Schedules are stored on the Switch itself, yes. If you don't want a scene or schedule to play, you will have to disable it within the app.