Set up accessories with Home on iPad
The first time you open the Home app, the setup assistant helps you create a home, where you can add accessories and define rooms. If you’ve already created a home when setting up a different accessory, you skip this step.
Add an accessory to Home
Before you add an accessory such as a light or camera, be sure that it’s connected to a power source, is turned on, and has network connectivity.
Go to the Home app
on your iPad.
Tap Home in the sidebar, then tap Add Accessory.
You can also tap
at the top of the screen, then choose Add Accessory.
If you’re pairing a Matter accessory that was previously paired to another app, tap More options, then select your accessory.
Follow the onscreen instructions.
Note: Matter-enabled accessories require a home hub, such as a HomePod speaker or Apple TV 4K. Thread accessories require a Thread-enabled home hub, such as Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Ethernet, HomePod mini, a supported third-party border router, or a device that supports Thread pairing.
You may need to scan a QR code, enter an 8-digit HomeKit setup code found on the accessory itself (or its box or documentation), or enter an 11 or 21-digit code for Matter-enabled accessories. A HomeKit-supported smart TV displays a QR code for you to scan. You can assign the accessory to a room, and give it a name, and then use this name when controlling the accessory with Siri. You can also add suggested automations during setup.
When you set up Apple TV in tvOS and assign it to a room, it automatically appears in that room in the Home app on iPad.
Paired Matter accessories are synced across devices and stored in the Settings app using iCloud Keychain, regardless of which app you used to set them up. You can easily add a previously paired accessory that’s stored in Keychain to another Matter ecosystem app. To manage these accessories, go to Settings > General, then tap Matter accessories. See the Apple Support article Pair and manage your Matter accessories.
Show accessories in a room
You can show individual rooms, scenes assigned to them and a room’s accessories organized by category.
Do one of the following:
Go to the Home app
on your iPad.
Tap the room in the sidebar.
Tap > next to the room’s name.
Change an accessory’s room assignment
Go to the Home app
on your iPad.
Touch and hold an accessory tile, then tap Accessory Settings.
Tap Room, then choose a room.
Edit a room
You can change a room’s name and wallpaper, remove the room, and more. When you remove the room, the accessories assigned to it move to Default Room.
Go to the Home app
on your iPad.
Tap a room in the sidebar.
On the Home tab, tap > next to a room, or tap
, then choose a room.
Organize rooms into zones
You can group rooms together into a zone to easily control different areas of your home with Siri. For example, if you have a two-story home, you can assign the rooms on the first floor to a downstairs zone. Then you can say something to Siri like “Turn off the lights downstairs.”
Go to the Home app
on your iPad.
Tap > next to a room on the Home tab or tap
, then choose a room.
Tap
, then tap Room Settings.
Tap Zone, then tap an existing zone, or tap Create New to add the room to a new zone.