Share device from HA to Apple Home?

Configuration Matter/Thread
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1

Is this possible at this point in time? I have my otbr setup and matterjs server running on the same computer as HA. I am able to add matter over thread devices just fine. I can not however share one from HA to Apple Home. Apple home just sits and thinks for a while and then fails.

I sent over from the iphone the credentials for the apple home thread network and can still not get it working.

Any idea what to try?

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2

Did you install the HomeKit Bridge integration?

3

Yes though I am not sure sharing it via homekit bridge will enable the UWB unlock to work.

Update: I tried adding it via homekit bridge and it does not work with UWB or Apple home key. It has to be added via an apple thread border router (the home pod mini in my case)

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4

For me it works fine. If you go to HomeKit Bridge and then click the gear icon, you can check bridge and inclusion mode and which devices you want to include/exclude. When I add a new device in HA it shows up in Apple Home too.

5

Maybe thats the issue it defaulted to accessory rather than bridge. I will give the bridge a try.

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6

I just tried adding it and making sure the homekit bridge was set to bridge with the same result. Nothing when getting close to the lock or tapping.

7

I have reset the U400 and added into homekit first and tried to share it with home assistant but home Assistant with no luck. I put in the pairing mode and hit add and it just blanks out the input and nothing ever happens.

8

Last I checked, Apple HomeKey was essentially a “proprietary extension” of the HomeKit protocol that does not work if exposed through a bridge — the device has to be paired with a Apple Home controller using HomeKit protocol, not Matter, so the feature only works with Apple hubs.

If you mean you added the device to your Apple Home hub (i.e. HomePod) using the HomeKit protocol (not Matter) then this should enable the HomeKey feature — but it makes adding to HA somewhat complicated.

HomeKit protocol (unlike Matter) does not support joining multiple controllers. You don’t get the “enable pairing mode” with “sharing code” for HomeKit devices in Apple Home, only with Matter devices. Your device would have to support entering Matter pairing mode via hardware (button?) and joining a new fabric using the code on the box, WHILE not resetting/disconnecting from the HomeKit hub. It’s not clear whether you tried this yet?

Note that IF this works, since you joined your lock to your HomePod Apple Home, then it’s very likely using your HomePod “MyHome29…” network for its Thread connectivity, NOT your HA network. It also means the Matter pairing process should use the same Thread network, not a different one. This should be fine, as a border router is a router and will happy route to any IP device, but you will have to obtain the MyHome29 TLV if you want to consolidate your OTBR onto the same mesh.

9

Are you using 2.4 Wifi band on your iPhone when trying, if not could cause it to fail.

I was able to do this two weeks ago, added U400 to HA as a matter device, then
shared it with apple home, I do not have any apple thread/matter devices other than iPhones.

10

I was able to get this working:

  1. reset the u400
  2. add it as a matter device via the apple homekit thread network (via the iphone)
  3. combine the thread networks in home assistant. This requires you make the apple network your preffered network and then clicking the three dot icon on the ha thread network and selecting combine.
  4. share from the iphone the u400 which gets you a pairing code
  5. go into home assistant and add a matter device select apple home put in the pairing code
  6. done
1 Like
11

does this mean you can control codes for the lock in home assistant and also use UWB for touchless unlocking?