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APRIL 2020 | MACFORMAT | 49HOW TO Set up your home hub
1
Set up security
You don’t want just anybody
connecting to your home hub, so the
first thing you’ll need to do is ensure your
iPad is secure. Go to Settings and click
on your Apple ID > Password & Security.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication.2
Get the keys
You’ll also need to turn on Keychain
if it isn’t already enabled on your device:
that’s where Apple securely stores your
passwords and logins. You’ll find it in
Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Apps Using
iCloud. Make sure Keychain is on.3
Start your home hub
The next option should be enabled
by default, but it’s always worth checking:
go to Settings > Home and make sure
‘Use this iPad as a Home Hub’ is switched
on. You can also enable “Hey, Siri!” in
Settings > Siri & Search.4
Phone home
Once you’ve set up your home hub,
you can access it from your iPhone by
opening the Home app: all your devices
should be right there. In this screenshot
everything is currently switched off and
two devices are unreachable.5
Tu rn it o n a gain
To remotely turn on one of your
HomeKit devices, just tap on it. The app
enables you to browse through all your
devices or just the ones in a particular
room, so for example here we’re turning
on a Hue light in our living room.6
Say it to Siri
One of our favourite things about
having a Home Hub is that we can control
it with Siri, and if you’ve enabled Siri even
when your device is locked (which you
can do in Settings > Siri & Search), you
can do it without even lifting a finger.7
Automate your items
When you’re using your iPad or
Apple TV as a home hub, the Home app
on your phone is fully functional. That
means you can use it to set up routines
and ‘do this if that happens’ rules even
when you’re away from home.8
Create new rules
We’ve selected Automation > People
Arrive, which will turn on whatever
devices we want to turn on whenever the
home hub knows we’re near. Just tap to
select the items you want to include. You
can create timed rules in the same way.9
Check your connections
You can use the Home app to see
whether your home hub is connecting
to everything it should be. Here we can
see the iPad, which is our home hub; a
second iPad, which is currently in standby
mode; and a Philips Hue bridge.