Home iPad Mini not recognized as Home Hub

[Easterfish]

Hej there,

I have a iPad Mini 2 with iOS 12.4.8 and want to use it as Home Hub.

I followed the instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT207057

I use the same Apple-ID for my iPad Mini and my iPhone 7.
Both are looged into iCloud, iCloud Keychain and two-factor authentication are activated.
Both are logged into the same Wi-Fi Network, as are the devices (for now only 3x Sonos speaker).
In Setings > Home I turned on "Use this iPad as a Home Hub".

However, the iPad is not recognized as Home Hub, since it doesn't show up when I go into the Home Settings on my iPhone 7 (or on the iPad Mini). It only shows my 3x Sonos speaker.

Since then I tried to turn off/on the "Use this iPad as a Home Hub", I logged the iPad off from iCloud and at one point I completely resetted the iPad, but so far nothing helped.

Any ideas of what I'm doing wrong or what else I can try?
Thank you very much!

 

[JBaby]

I don’t have a solution for your. Sorry. I will say though that I don’t think the iMac makes for a good Home Hub. I don’t know why it doesn’t work better. I hope you get it working.

 

[waw74]

you could try a reboot of your router and other networking gear.
the protocol used to advertise a homehub sometimes gets lost. (it's also used to advertise a ton of other things)

it uses a network broadcast, which is a packet sent to a special address that goes to every device on your network.
sometimes especially with wireless those packets can get lost or not sent correctly.

you can get a free app to see if it's really broadcasting the fact that it's a homehub.
and verify that broadcast is making it to your other devices.

iPhone - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id305441017
Mac - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id1381004916?mt=12

on those you'll want to look for "_homekit._tcp."
if you expand that, you should see an entry for every device on your network that's advertising itself as a home hub
when I turn the setting on my iPad on/off, it will appear/disappear from that list.

When disabling an aTV, it still shows in that list.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Hej there,

I have a iPad Mini 2 with iOS 12.4.8 and want to use it as Home Hub.

I followed the instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT207057

I use the same Apple-ID for my iPad Mini and my iPhone 7.
Both are looged into iCloud, iCloud Keychain and two-factor authentication are activated.
Both are logged into the same Wi-Fi Network, as are the devices (for now only 3x Sonos speaker).
In Setings > Home I turned on "Use this iPad as a Home Hub".

However, the iPad is not recognized as Home Hub, since it doesn't show up when I go into the Home Settings on my iPhone 7 (or on the iPad Mini). It only shows my 3x Sonos speaker.

Since then I tried to turn off/on the "Use this iPad as a Home Hub", I logged the iPad off from iCloud and at one point I completely resetted the iPad, but so far nothing helped.

Any ideas of what I'm doing wrong or what else I can try?
Thank you very much!

Are you sure an iPad with such an old iOS version can still function as a home hub?

 

[waw74]

Are you sure an iPad with such an old iOS version can still function as a home hub?

it started with iOS 10, and then they said it would work on a mini 2

No Apple TV? Your iPad Can Be An Apple Home Hub

Apple's update for HomeKit may make the Apple TV even more important, with its addition of remote access to control things from afar, but it…

www.slashgear.com

 

[StumpyBloke]

it started with iOS 10, and then they said it would work on a mini 2

No Apple TV? Your iPad Can Be An Apple Home Hub

Apple's update for HomeKit may make the Apple TV even more important, with its addition of remote access to control things from afar, but it…

www.slashgear.com

But that page you’ve linked to is four years old. I have a feeling the iOS version is too old.

 

[dotme]

In Setings > Home I turned on "Use this iPad as a Home Hub".

Patience. With Keychain, make slow and deliberate changes, and allow time for those changes to propagate. Open Home app on the Mini, make sure it sees your "Home" (Sonos speakers in your case). Turn on Home Hub, plug it into power, give it an hour or so. See if it picks up on being a hub after that.

 

[b.c.]

Are you sure an iPad with such an old iOS version can still function as a home hub?

I have an iPad mini 2 running OS 12.4.8 and can confirm it works as a HomeKit hub.
actually I just updated to 12.4.8 today, but it was also working as a hub with the previous 12.4.x OS too.

Looks like this is same hardware and OS as the OP.
Off the top of my head, I can't say what might be wrong with the OP's set up...

 

[StumpyBloke]

I have an iPad mini 2 running OS 12.4.8 and can confirm it works as a HomeKit hub.
actually I just updated to 12.4.8 today, but it was also working as a hub with the previous 12.4.x OS too.

Looks like this is same hardware and OS as the OP.
Off the top of my head, I can't say what might be wrong with the OP's set up...

That’s good to know, thanks for the confirmation

 

[StumpyBloke]

Do you, by any chance, have to have the iPad continuously plugged into mains power for it to act as a home hub?

 

[b.c.]

Do you, by any chance, have to have the iPad continuously plugged into mains power for it to act as a home hub?

yes, it's plugged in 24/7. Though it still works as a hub if just running off the battery, but I leave it plugged in so as not to forget to charge it

 

[Easterfish]

Thanks for all the answers so far.
I followed waw74's advice:

Mac - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id1381004916?mt=12

on those you'll want to look for "_homekit._tcp."
if you expand that, you should see an entry for every device on your network that's advertising itself as a home hub
when I turn the setting on my iPad on/off, it will appear/disappear from that list.

Actually I can see 1 item under "_homekit._tcp." and this item disappaears when Setings > Home turn off "Use this iPad as a Home Hub".
So that means that supposedly the iPad should work as a home hub, eh?
But somehow it doesn't.

The iPad has been plugged in the whole time now, so there should have been plenty of time for KeyChain or anything else to synchronise.

When I open up the Home App on my iPad it shows my Sonos speakers, but I can't set up any automations, since for whatever reason the iPad is not detected as home hub.

Any other ideas what I could change/check?

 

[b.c.]

Thanks for all the answers so far.
I followed waw74's advice:


Actually I can see 1 item under "_homekit._tcp." and this item disappaears when Setings > Home turn off "Use this iPad as a Home Hub".
So that means that supposedly the iPad should work as a home hub, eh?
But somehow it doesn't.

The iPad has been plugged in the whole time now, so there should have been plenty of time for KeyChain or anything else to synchronise.

When I open up the Home App on my iPad it shows my Sonos speakers, but I can't set up any automations, since for whatever reason the iPad is not detected as home hub.

Any other ideas what I could change/check?

fyi I just downloaded the Discovery DNS app and confirmed I can see my iPad mini 2 enabled as HomeKit hub (handy app, thx btw waw74!) Looking at your posts in this thread, as far as I can tell you've set up everything on the mini the same as me, so not sure what could be wrong in your case...

one thing: you mentioned your Sonos speakers show up in the Home app. But do you have any other HomeKit controllable devices? e.g. in my case I have a bunch of smart switches and outlets in addition to a Sonos One speaker.

While my Sonos shows up in the Home app and I can control it using Siri, I haven't (yet) found any way to use it in any HomeKit automations - i.e. the Sonos doesn't appear as a choice anywhere when building an automation in the app. I think it's a limitation of what the Sonos can do within Homekit. On the other hand, all my switches and outlets can be controlled and used in an automation.

you said:

When I open up the Home App on my iPad it shows my Sonos speakers, but I can't set up any automations, since for whatever reason the iPad is not detected as home hub.

So I'm just wondering, if you ONLY have Sonos speakers in your home but nothing else, perhaps your iPad mini IS working as a hub but you've just got nothing you can automate?? If you don't have any other HomeKit switches or outlets, have you at least tried using Siri on your iPhone to try playing back some music on your Sonos ?

 

[Easterfish]

Even with the Sonos speakers you can automate, e.g. let themusic stop when you leave the house or let the music start when you come back. And even if that wouldn't be possible, it should still allow me to add new scenes, which is not the case.

Yeah, I don't really know what else I could check. Weird.

 

[AnishJoe]

It's 2023 and probably too late for folks on this thread. Hopefully this will help others. I have configured an iPad mini2 as a home hub. It's running 12.5.7. Ensure that you are still using the old architecture for the hub - the iPad is not supported as a hub in the new architecture. I probably toggled the switch in Settings->Home->"Use this iPad as a Home Hub" maybe a dozen times. Each time I would wait and see if it would become a hub and then try after a while. I have about 30 accessories and it took several reboots before it all synched up and the iPad morphed into a hub. I suspect that it was just due to a lack of patience for me - had I just switched it and simple waited it *may* have been faster.