What you need
- An iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with iOS 13.2 or later.
- The Home app set up on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with the Apple ID that you use with iCloud.
- A home hub set up on an iPad, HomePod or Apple TV.
- One or more HomeKit Secure Video cameras.
- A supported iCloud storage plan.
Streaming video and storing video clips don't require an iCloud storage plan. If you want to record your video, you will need a 200 GB iCloud storage plan to support one camera and a 2 TB storage plan to support up to five cameras.
Set up your camera
- Check with your camera manufacturer if you need to install and set up their iOS or iPadOS camera app.
- Add your camera as an accessory in the Home app. You'll see a notification on your device informing you that your camera has been added. Make sure you add your camera to the same network that your Home app is on and that the network is stable. If you lose network connection while your camera is recording, your video may not be stored.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to choose your streaming and recording settings, user permissions and more. You can also change these settings later. When you've finished, tap Done.
Use these steps to add all of your HomeKit Secure Video cameras to the Home app. You'll receive a notification if you've reached the maximum number of recording-enabled cameras supported on your iCloud storage plan.
The Apple ID that you use for the Home app allows a total of up to five recording-enabled cameras across as many homes as you own. Members of a Family Sharing iCloud storage plan share this limit with everyone else on the storage plan. To record with more than five cameras, you will need to use another Apple ID with another iCloud storage plan.
Change your settings
To adjust camera settings, open the Home app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Tap the video feed, then tap Settings . On Mac,* control-click the video feed, then select Settings
.
- Change the name of your camera and room where it's located. Turn on Include in Favourites to access and control your accessory in the Home tab in the Home app, in Control Centre on iOS, iPadOS or Apple TV, and with some features on your Apple Watch.
- Tap Notifications to change how you receive notifications. You can turn notifications on or off, receive them when certain motion is detected, when no one is at home and more. Notification settings may vary by camera manufacturer.
- Adjust Recording Options to choose what is recorded and which video clips are stored. Choose to stream and record when household members are at home or away, record with or without sound, or when certain motion has been detected. Streaming and recording settings may vary by camera manufacturer.
- Turn on Face Recognition to be notified when people you've tagged in the Photos app come to your door.
* You can change recording settings and view video clips and streams in the Home app with macOS 10.15.1 and later.
Review and share your video
View your video streams and recordings in the Home tab of the Home app under Favourite Cameras or in the room in Home app where you've put the camera. Members of your home can also view video streams in Control Centre on Apple TV, in the Home app on Mac or on Apple Watch. The primary Home app user can restrict which home users can view all video recordings.
To review video clips, tap the video feed in the Home app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. On Mac,* double-click the video feed in the Home app.
- Look above the video to see what time and day you're viewing. Use the calendar above the video to view recordings on a specific day. You can view the last 10 days of recorded video clip history that's stored in iCloud.
- Use the video timeline at the bottom of the screen to play or pause the recording or use the timeline to move backwards or forwards in the video. If you see a person, animal or car icon on the timeline, tap or click the icon to watch a recorded video clip from when your home hub detected motion. On iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, pinch the timeline with two fingers to zoom in and see your frames in more detail.
- To share your video clips with other people, apps or save them to iCloud or Photos, tap or click
.
- Tap or click
to view other accessories located in the same room as your camera in the Home app.
* You can change recording settings and view video clips and streams in the Home app with macOS 10.15.1 and later.
Do more with the Home app
- Set up Face Recognition in the Home app to get notified the moment a visitor arrives at your door.
- Create home automations based on time, who's at home, when an accessory detects something and more.
- Invite others to control your home and edit user permissions.
- Turn on notifications and check the status of your home.