Posting this in case it saves someone else the rabbit hole I just went down.

The problem: IKEA's ALPSTUGA (Matter-native air quality sensor) paired directly to Apple Home — no DIRIGERA hub — shows up as a single combined "Air Quality" tile. Temperature, humidity, and CO2 are all measured by the device but never surface individually in Home app, because Apple's native Air Quality HomeKit service just doesn't carry those as sub-values.

What doesn't work:

- Tapping into the tile — no hidden temp/humidity readout, unlike some other air quality tiles.

- Homebridge's own "Matter support" (2.0+) and the Matterbridge project — both only go outward (exposing Homebridge accessories to Matter controllers), not inward (reading an existing Matter device's individual clusters).

- Without a DIRIGERA hub, there's no vendor REST API to just poll directly either.

The fix — run your own second Matter controller:

Matter supports "multi-admin" — a device can be joined to more than one controller/fabric at once without removing it from your existing one (Apple Home, in this case). So:

1. Install python-matter-server (https://github.com/home-assistant-libs/python-matter-server) (same engine Home Assistant's Matter integration uses) — it can run right on the same machine as Homebridge, no separate box needed. Needs Python 3.12+.
2. Put the ALPSTUGA back into pairing mode by opening its settings page in the Home app and clicking "Turn on pairing mode."
3. Commission it into your new controller using its setup code, via python-matter-server's built-in web dashboard → Commission Node → "Commission existing device" (since it's already network-joined, no BLE needed).
4. Once commissioned, the controller exposes each sensor's native Matter cluster individually — Temperature Measurement, Relative Humidity Measurement, Carbon Dioxide Concentration Measurement — fully separated.

Bridging that into Homebridge:

1. Wrote a small script that reads those three values from the Matter controller and makes them available locally for Homebridge to pick up.

2. Installed the Homebridge plugin homebridge-http-sensors-switches (https://www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-http-sensors-switches) (generic JSON-polling plugin — not ALPSTUGA-specific, works with any HTTP JSON source) and pointed it at that script's output.

3. Homebridge publishes this as its own child bridge with two accessories — Temp/Humidity and CO2 — each requiring its own pairing (normal for Homebridge child bridges, same as any other plugin running isolated). Add it in Home app: + → Add Accessory → "I Don't Have a Code or Can't Scan" → Enter Code Manually, using the setup code Homebridge generates for that bridge.

4. Once paired, the two tiles show live data pulled straight from the Matter controller. Set both the matter-server and the bridge script up as systemd services so they survive reboots.

Built this with Claude walking me through the whole thing i.e., commissioning, scripting the bridge, and the Homebridge config.

I’m looking to automate my center-opening curtains for Apple Home and trying to figure out the best way to go about it.

At first I thought I’d just grab two separate curtain motors. But it feels like it could get messy. I’m mostly worried about sync issues, over time, the two sides might drift out of alignment and no longer meet neatly in the middle. Plus, some of these still need a separate gateway to work with the Home app, which adds more cost and extra gear.

I came across the Reze Flow M5 while shopping around. It’s an all-in-one rod system for center-open curtains and works natively with Apple Home via Matter Wi-Fi. It also has a Bluetooth remote and pull-to-run if I don’t want to mess with the app.

Now I’m torn. Should I go cheaper with two separate add-on motors, or spend more on a single integrated setup with fewer parts to keep synced? Has anyone here tried either approach?

Cost me an arm and a leg, but it’s worth it to finally get rid of my Alexa’s. I won’t be able to run them via Ethernet, however I have a hardwired Apple TV 4K.

So my theory is to have the Apple TV 4K as the main hub rather than auto-select. I am hoping that due to having about 50 thread devices, including a number of IKEA Grillplats that the HomePods being on WiFi should not cause instability.

Anyone else jumped on the new HomePods?

With the HomeView not supporting the Notes app at launch people began to assume the only way to view recipes was through a News+ subscription.

It turns out that you can handoff a Safari tab to the HomeView and if the page is detected as a recipe it will apply the styling we saw in the announcement video. Proof here: https://youtu.be/v3wcg4Vi4u0?si=BzLJPKDISyKp2UQx&t=65

I think there are still a lot of things left to learn about HomeView that we won't see until people have them in their hands next month.

In addition to “Lock After Closing,” iOS 27.2 also adds “Door Left Open” notification settings for compatible locks.

Options include Off, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes.

Locks have to advertise Matter’s Door Position Sensor feature and report the DoorState attribute. Doesn’t work with a separate contact sensor.

There’s a report from a few weeks ago that mentioned this notification, but the new settings remain disabled behind a feature flag (HomeApp/lock_dps). The disabled Home/LockDPS flag enables Matter door-position mapping into HomeKit.

I have 2 of the opto Vocolinc cameras that wouldn’t reconnect to my set-up after not being used for a while.

After much research I have learned that post iOS18 or so security infrastructure requirements increased such that these older cameras cannot be compatible.

Before I send them for e-waste processing I thought I would see if anyone has figured out a way to use them, maybe using a different app or keeping an older phone on hand just for the cameras to connect with.

We’ve looked at the Android side load, but the cameras are not listed in Vocolinc products.

TIA.

I have a joint thread network with a wired ATV (the most recent one before what was announced the other day) and a Home Assistant thread dongle running OTBR. 100+ thread devices work fine in Home Assistant.

I have to use HA to bridge them into Apple because when I add them directly using Matter, I have the problem like in the video 100% of the time.

I've added a few things back in to Apple just to demonstrate here. When you attempt to control the device, it spins, goes to no response, then goes back to the previous state. Every. Single. Time.

I have tried so many different things. Adding more TBRs, wiping everything and starting over, trying the ATV in different parts of the house.

Unfortunately I don't have a Mac so there's no way I'm aware of to clean all the Thread data out of my IOS keychain.

A ton of routing devices so it's difficult to try to investigate whether certain devices could be problematic. But right now I only have a few in Apple and it's a different set then I recently tried with the same results.

I guess I'll try Apple support but I'm curious if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks for reading!

Edited to add: if I control these devices using HA, the status changes in Apple Home. Apple can't control, but does report the correct state.

Would it be unreasonable for Apple to offer a panel for single gang boxes?

We currently have C4 6-button keypads throughout our house. Many of the buttons are multi-function (single press for function A, double press for B, triple press for C, press+hold for D).

An interactive panel, similar to a Sonoff NSPanel Pro 120, would be much better for these.

Now that these can’t be upgraded to iOS 27 will they cause issues in the Apple Home setup? I’ve got 3 of these but my main home hub is the 3rd Gen 4k. As I understand it, the other Apple TVs still contribute to the Apple Home network.

I was curious what kind of battery life people are getting? (Note: I have a robust Thread network with 8 HomePod mini’s and an Apple TV.)

I installed 3 KLIPPBOK’s in January using regular Duracell alkaline batteries and all three have needed replacement within the last week or so. 9 months isn’t terrible but had thought to get a bit longer. Curious what others are getting.

For example, “HomeView” is a product name, while “Home View” is the term Apple uses for the visionOS equivalent of the Home Screen. Having two nearly identical names could create confusion in Apple’s marketing, documentation, and everyday conversation.

Perhaps the better question is whether anyone on Apple’s marketing team considered that “Home View” was already an established term when they settled on the name “HomeView”.

do you mean battery powered head unit and the hompod mini 2 as magsafe base? my words! explore the possibilities! the homeview main downgrade is that it has to be corded all the time. imagine a cordless homeview, it would be more like a widget which can be given to others and changes it’s appearance thanks to face id.

Where am I today compared to 5 or 10 years ago with my smart home is much different.

With it releasing in November. I might wait to see if there are any Black Friday deals.

The only one is from Smartmi and it’s usually sold out and hard to find. However if you’re in Amazons ecosystem there are countless fans compatible with them. Why does it seem like no companies ever seek out HomeKit compatibility?

I have several “when the first person arrives home” automations that have been working flawlessly for years. We just upgraded to new 18 pro phones and it seems to have broken the automation and it’s not recognizing when we arrive. The automations are active and from what I can tell my settings haven’t changed. Any suggestions?

Edit: I should also add that the when everyone leaves automations are working

While we can add widgets to the home screen, the current Home App widgets still feel a bit limited. Not even a widget to show current temperature and humidity.

I have a control 4 system in my house with the latest X4 software.

I would like to add some voice and homekit seems to be logical answer. For 1g adding a Home Ipad and a mini seems like a budget friendly start.

My Question is anyone using Control 4? Does siri work to control the AV in the house? Will I be able to use it to control the lights / blinds (All in Control 4, lutron and Somfi).

Any insight anybody can share or experiences positive or negative?

I was modelling the Homeview and decided to print it off so I could get a sense of scale. I have to say having it in front of me it’s actually a nice size to me.
I don’t plan to play shows on this, I was getting one for the kitchen as that typical “home hub” use case but seeing it on my desk it doesn’t dominate the space. I can see one replacing the HomePod mini here or even as a bedside clock so I could leave my phone charging in another room.

Edit: Makerworld link for those who want to print their own or use the STEP file

...But maybe Apple offering a wall-mount version with less-audio fidelity is why they didn't actually name it HomePod touch.. But man, that makes so much more sense in an Apple ecosystem than HomeView. Someone at apple is starting to humor the letter V.

Either way, I don’t know if this has already been posted, recently or ever before. I didn't even search. I just made this image and thought "I must share this now and ask opinions on what everyone else thinks a better name would be" lol

Kind of at a loss here. Tried it all. When I have my Vizio tv on HomeKit is perfect no issues. When I tap to turn it off from my phone it either
1.) turns back on immediately
Or doesn’t respond

Alternatively when I turn the tv off with the Apple TV remote it puts the tv into “not responding” on HomeKit. Unsure of what to do here. Seems like I can only have one or the other and not both. Also I already know Vizio isn’t a great brand it’s just what I have rn

What homebrew options is everyone looking at?
I’m leaning towards old iPad on wall, although old Apple Watch on iPod Mini actually isn’t a terrible idea if it weren’t so small.

I’ll probably grab a couple of the Mini-2s and Upgrade my TV 4k for surround channel, but damn am I salty about them promising a less stupid Siri for a half a decade and not delivering.

I have tried finding this on youtube and here but I think I may be asking the question wrong.

I currently have a very simple smart home setup and control everything through Homekit, including my Lutron caseta light switches.

With the button functionality of the aqara W200, I want to be able to add my shut down scenes or other automations to the thermostat. However, no matter how many times I sync between Homekit and Aqara, only the room names transfer and none of the devices do.

Is there a way to get my devices on homekit to sync with the Aqara app so I can use this button functionality?

note: I have an aqara m3 hub as well.

I ordered one for my home office and am thinking about another for the kitchen.

I’m optimistic.