HomeKit Homekit hub frustration

[sta1210]

We are currently struggling with occasional changes in assignment of the "connected" homekit hub in our home of several potential hubs. We have a few original HomePods, HP minis, and two Apple TVs. Depending on which hub is the primary connected hub the Homekit network and connected devices (particularly our Aqara M2 hub) behave differently. We thought we had it sorted out after coercing one of the HP minis to be the primary hub, sequentially powering down the other hubs. However, with some early spring cleaning the HP mini was disconnected and since then we are having intermittent connectivity issues.

A few questions, we have a mid-sized home at 2500 square feet, one floor. The Apple TV4k seems to make sense as the primary hub as it is connected via Ethernet to the primary modem/router. However it is at one end of the house and seem to not play as well with the Aqara

Is there a way to force one hub to be the primary hub over others? Is there a better selection of a home hub among the Apple TV, HPmini? My workarounds take time and seem only to last for a short while until some reassignment of the hub for some reason. Right now an original HomePod has taken the lead, it seems to be doing well for now but that is not thread or matter enabled.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[mpainesyd]

I have found that using ethernet to connect an Apple TV is not reliable for setting up Homekit accessories (if it happens to be the primary Home Hub). It needs to be connected with wifi.
In any case, there doesn't seem to be any way to prioritise Home Hubs - unless, like the Apple TV, the device's settings allow you to disable it. That concerns me as one day OG Homepods will likely not work - Apple won't care.

 

[sta1210]

That is interesting to hear, counterintuitive since one would assume (and seemingly wrongly so) that would be the more direct and secure connection. It is frustrating as we will seem to have everything running smoothly and then there is a random change in the primary hub assignment that throws everything off...

 

[Itinj24]

This has been one of the most requested features for quite some time but Apple seems to think they know best how our systems run.

Anyways, this has been working for me the last few updates. When the next one comes along, likely to be 17.4, make sure to update your preferred hub first, followed by the next and so on. I always update my HomePods last. I’ve been lucky with having one of my AppleTVs (they’re all hardwired) be the active hub and HomeKit has been running, smooth for the most part, ever since.

Pro Tip: Turn off automatic updates so you can choose what gets updated and when.

Disclaimer: this is not an official workaround or even found to be a 100% guarantee. Just sharing my experience.