When it comes to smart home, it is inevitable to mention Homekit, the smart home ecosystem developed by Apple. However, although Homekit is powerful, its shortcomings are also obvious. If you want to use Homekit as the core of your smart home but feel that the device is too expensive, or your favorite device is If you happen to not support Homekit, then HomeKit Bridge is your antidote! let's go!
Table of contents
What is "HomeKit Bridge"?
HomeKit Bridge is a plug-in for the Home Assistant platform, which is used to integrate smart home devices that do not support Apple Home into the Apple Home ecosystem. HomeKit Bridge acts as an intermediary between Apple Home and Home Assistant. The smart home device is connected to Home Assistant and then transferred to Apple Home through Homekit Bridge. The relationship between the three is roughly as follows:
Of course, you can also bind devices that support Apple Home directly to Apple Home. Not all devices need to go through HA and HomeKit Bridge, depending on the needs of each home environment.
In short, HomeKit Bridge allows you to choose more devices when using Apple Home. You no longer need to buy Guisongsong's HomeKit certified devices! (How expensive is HomeKit?Official website link Here, feel it~)
Before you start entering Homekit Bridge settings, if you haven’t set up Home Assistant yet, you can refer to this tutorial to help you get started quickly:
Added "HomeKit Bridge" integration in HA
Step 1. Home Assistant ➜ "Settings" on the left ➜ "Devices and Services"
Step 2. Add "HomeKit Bridge" integration
- Click "Add Integration" in the lower right corner
- Enter "apple" in the search box
- Select "Apple" from the menu
- Select "HomeKit Bridge" from the menu
Step 3. Select domains to include
This step is to select which types of smart home devices should be synchronized from Home Assistant to HomeKit. If there are no special considerations, just use the default selection and click "Transfer" directly. This setting can be adjusted in the future, don't worry!
Step 4. Pair HomeKit
Next, a prompt will appear here, just click "Send".
Because HomeKit Bridge is a new setting for Home Assistant, the option to set the partition will appear. Here, set the partition according to personal preference. After setting, click "Finish".
Then click on the "Notification Alert" on the left column and you will see the QR code. At this time, pick up your iPhone or iPad and open the "Home" APP.
Click "Add Accessories" in the "Home" APP and scan the QR code provided by Home Assistant.
Then add the bridge to "Apple Family" and force the addition of certified accessories.
Next, set the room, name, and display mode of all devices step by step just like adding a HomeKit device.
Done
congratulations! After completing the above steps, you can bridge the device connected to Home Assistant to HomeKit! In the future, any device that Home Assistant can access can be used in HomeKit!
Hi Neil,
I would like to ask, I connected the Vizo switch through HA and purchased a four-way switch. However, there are only two buttons that can be used, not dual-way switches.
How to connect Vizo switch through Z2M? Thanks
Hi TW,
The four switches may need to be paired once each. In Z2M, there should be two devices with two switches each. Give it a try.
Hello moderator! The new house is about to be completed recently, and I want to study the smart home part. In the voice control part, what is the connection method between Google Nust and Google Home?
Hi MIN, you can refer to this article: https://www.nabucasa.com/config/google_assistant/
Hi Neil~
Thanks for the previous zigbee2mqtt teaching
I bought aqara T1 ribbon lights and can already control them through the zigbee gateway.
But next step: HA uses Homekit bridge to synchronize the device to Homekit card. It took a long time hahaha
I would like to ask Neil, do I need to add aqara and integrate it into HA first?
Thanks
Hi Albert, if you have integrated it into HA through Z2M, then you don’t need to do Aqara integration. If your Homekit bridge is already connected, you may check whether the device is not passed to Homekit.
Refer to Step 3 of this article:https://neiltw.com/how-to-integrate-devices-to-homekit-by-homekit-bridge-in-home-assistant/#Step_3_%E9%81%B8%E6%93%87%E8%A6%81%E5%8C%85%E5%90%AB%E7%9A%84%E7%B6%B2%E5%9F%9F
Neil, thank you. I just saw your reply today.
Thank you very much for your article. It’s really helpful!
Renovation started recently
The first step of hardware construction is in progress (neutral line plus modification of 86 box with aqara smart switch)
Although there are many challenges, it is really a sense of accomplishment
I'll share it with you later when it's finished XD
Continue to follow your articles and YT~~
Hi Albert, no problem, no problem, come on!
Hi Neil big,
Want to ask questions about HA voice control:
1. If you want to use Siri to control, most of the devices at home are iOS devices (iPhone, HomePod mini). Do you need to use HomeKit Bridge to connect them back to Apple Home to control them?
2. Can I still connect the multimedia device (HomePod mini) to the HA and use other methods for voice control?
Thank you~
Hi Geo,
I am sure that method 1 can be done, I have done it; method 2 is not sure if you have not tried it. If you try it, come back and share the results!
Thank you~
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your article, it gives people who want to play HA a better understanding.
I would like to ask what method you would recommend if you want to control HA equipment by voice?
Is there any solution from Xiaoai or Tmall Elf?
thank you for your help
Hi Joshua, I use Google Nest hub for voice control. I haven’t tried Xiaoai or Tmall.
Hi Neil,
I would like to ask how to know that my device can access HA?
LG dehumidifiers, smart switches from mainland China, etc.
Hi Will, I usually Google to see if anyone else has used it. This is the LG plug-in I found for HA: https://github.com/ollo69/ha-smartthinq-sensors You can research it again.
Smart switch (similar to other smart devices) mainly depends on the connection method of these devices. Some may need to go through a gateway. If it is a matter, it can be connected directly.
Thanks to Neil for his great firepower support and for providing a method for LG to connect to HA. I am planning to buy a Raspberry Pi with HA built into it.
In addition, I would like to ask if the international brand LJ series air conditioners and Roborock S7 sweepers can be connected to HA and then connected to Homekit through Homebridge.
I haven't tried it, but in theory it is possible. However, since HA is required, it is recommended to use HA as the main method, and Homekit can at most be used as voice control🤣
In addition, can Electrolux equipment be connected? I have an elution dryer here.
There is a plug-in for Electrolux HA. If your washing machine has networking capabilities and can be connected to Electrolux’s own APP, you can connect to HA.
The main reason for wanting to connect to Homekit is to use Siri to control air conditioners, sweepers and other equipment.
We also use Android phones at home, but we have iPads. Would it be recommended to use Homesite Bridge?
Also, are Zhongkong’s homes made with software?
Unless there are special needs to consider using Homekit Bridge, our iOS devices use Home Assistant directly without using Homekit.
The floor plan of the Dashboard was made using “Kujiale”~
Understood, thanks!
Hello Neil, I would like to ask about a problem I encountered during operation. I used my iPhone to scan the HomeKit QR code in the notification, but the home pairing kept failing and the operation timed out was displayed. Then another QR code popped up in the HA notification. I scanned it again. , it shows that the accessory has been added to another family and needs to be reset before it can join.
I didn't encounter this problem when I was operating it. I Googled and found no similar situation on the Internet. You may want to check whether the HA version needs to be updated, whether the network connection is stable, and whether HA has a fixed IP set.
Neil Hello!
I wonder if you will have time to write down how to make the amazing indoor light map of your home?
I am impressed every time I watch it!
Hi Ami~ You really pointed out the things I was avoiding XDD. That part is quite complicated. I’ll figure out how to write it. Please be patient~😁
Ami is here to teach~
https://neiltw.com/home-assistant-floor-plan-dashboard-tutorial/