HomeKit broken after iOS18 update

i experienced a little of all of this or all of this - can’t keep track.

Updates took place (HomePod Minis, AppleTVs, iDevice Switches, Nanoleaf bulbs)

here we are at 18.2…

Things seem cool all around EXCEPT NANOLEAF

Current message is “device is already connected to a Home” so I deleted the devices and tried to reinstall

fail

downloaded Nanoleaf app and updated each of the four bulbs through their app.

tried again

failed again

same message

ATTEMPT:

created a new Home (Home 2), hoping to add bulbs to that Home (Home 2) before transferring them to my original Home.

nope! Fail again - same message: Already connected to a home.

ATTEMPT:

tried to delete them from the Nanoleaf app, to eliminate confusion.

nope! Failed again - same message.

still sitting on four Nanoleaf bulbs that WILL NOT CONNECT TO HOME.

:/

I've had a very reliable setup for several years, noticed many issues around the time updated iOS 18.

1) ATV via Ethernet has always been the best standard for a reliable thread network on HomeKit. 18 released the ability to prefer a hub, but prior to this I had my HomePods on smart switches power cycling nightly to insure they were ALWAYS on and ethernet Apple TV's. the Apple TV has a much more powerful CPU, and that seems to be required with larger or more complex setups. I suspect when people unplug the Ethernet (or plug it in) it is simply loosing the hub and causing it to rebuild the thread network from scratch which resolves any issues.

2) I've noticed that the iOS version and updates are very temperamental after updating to 18. If ANY device is outdated (iPhone, mac, Apple TV, iPad, HomePod etc..) then I've noticed constant issues. Another thing I've seen is that the hub will prefer (if on auto select hub) the latest updated hub over any other hub. This also explains why people are getting a new phone, Mac, Apple TV etc... and it "fixes" it, I'm guessing it simply received the latest update. I don't know why they can't have different versions, but this has fixed it for me 3 times now, then rebuild the thread network and I'm back until the next update.

2 things I to try that should recover the your thread network.

1) update all your devices

2) In home app > home settings > home hubs & bridges, change the hub to different hub (or power cycle the current hub) to trigger a rebuild of the thread network. Give it 10 min, but can be up to a full hr to complete. For anything not responding after 1hr, you power cycle that specific device(s) they should all add back in fine.

PS, for those with Nanoleaf products. I've done extensive research. They are complete crap now, my old thread only bulbs still work great but any of the new "matter" devices are awful and can even mess up OTHER devices on my your thread network. A few tips for Nanoleaf stuff...

• You can use them in the Nanoleaf app (without matter integration) OR you can add in home app and not complete the setup in Nanoleaf app. But if you try to let both home app AND Nanoleaf app have full control of the bulbs at the same time, they will wreck your network. So either choose limited features home app, or choose Nanoleaf and loose the ability to use voice commands/automations app control.
• If you can't adopt, you may need to hard reset them. Turn them on/off 5 times for bulbs, hold power for light strips etc.. should blink several times red and reset. If you see device is already there, the ID is 3 characters and likely matches an existing IS, turning off the other bulb or device with the same ID while setting it up will work, but note those devices will likely get lose and mixed up.

We are on iOS 18.1.1 and the "updating" "no response" issues still exist.

had spent an hour resetting devices and trying to get a garage door opener back online. Saw this, unplugged AppleTV Ethernet cable and BAM fixed. I hate that it’s the solution but I’m assuming this is an early ios18 issue?

**Update** I decided to get the iPhone 16 pro and replace my 15 Pro Max... after doing this, HomeKit was up a running as it had before. So... not sure what the issue was but it's very frustrating that as users, we can't get a fix from the Apple.

This was a fascinating bit of information, Steven. I had the same problem, though only with one of my two iPhone 14s. One was showing the devices and allowing me to turn them on and off. The other was showing them as "not responding." I was pulling my hair out over this. After seeing your post, I tried unplugging the AppleTV from Ethernet and suddenly the Home app items were all responding on both iPhones. Is there any way to keep the AppleTV from being the hub? I have a 3Gb fiber connection but it must be hard wired to the router to provide any kind of solid speed, so having AppleTV connected directly with Ethernet allowed it to take advantage of all that extra speed. Using WiFi drops it down from 2700mbps to just 240 or so.

We updated one phone to iOS 18 and left the other one iOS 17. On the iOS 17 device everything was fine but the iOS 18 device has some of the HomeKit items disappear. I fixed it by turning off the “Automatic Selection” for the active home, which was one of our HomePod minis and simply switched it to a different HomePod mini manually, and everything showed back up

Very much the same problem for me. Even after I got Nanoleaf products apparently recognized by HomeKit, within a day or two they disconnected and had to be re-scanned. I have to do this several times. I’ve simply removed them all.

Nanoleaf has got appallingly bad customer service: even when they do respond they plead ignorance to any problems. Finally, they will not process refunds even after acknowledging that you’ve asked for one. I’d really put them on the Junk list.

Something that I recently tried, and it worked.

If you can get into the settings of the router, and then find the mac address for the device or devices, remove them from the router, save and then perform the typical power off and on routine.

While being powered off, remove the device from the native app and the HomeKit app on your iOS device.

Then power cycle your iOS device you use. Power up the router, and when the iOS device is up, re-add the device or devices were not working. Technically, they should work now.

One other thing, once everything is completed, and functioning, consider going back into your router and turn every device into static device, using the same IP that the DHCP settings from the router assigned.

As I mentioned, I’ve done this, and everything now is functioning correctly.

I hope this provides both you and others, the solution for the Device/HomeKit iOS18 woes.

Your mileage may vary, so kindly let me know if my suggestion helped you, as I am curious.

Happy Holidays

edited for adding verbiage from incomplete sentences.

For any future user coming here in search of a more recent answer.

I got this exact issue today while hooking up my brand new Apple TV.

After upgrading my home per the suggestion in the home app, nothing worked. It detected none of my gateways as online, and I couldn't control a single device.

Fixed it after upgrading my Apple TV to the latest 18.2 firmware. That solved the issue.

I have been having the same issues since updating to the latest IOS updates. In the Home app, try changing which home hub you are using to connect your devices. I switched it from "Automatic" (which was my HomePod) to a specific home hub (Apple TV 4K) and all my devices that were non responsive became responsive immediately. I'll see what it looks like tomorrow but they all immediately started working so I'm hoping that was the fix I needed. Good luck everyone!

Like others I removed my current home and added it again. Manual adding all the accessories is a pain and I’m sure I have few compared to may people.

Same here. I cannot add any new devices to HomeKit.

Try deleting your home and then add it back.