How to Organize Your HomeKit Home With Rooms And Zones
Screenshot/Photo by Christopher Close – No attribution required
If you have more than a handful of HomeKit accessories in your home, then you know how challenging it can be to find the right device at the right time in the Home app. Luckily, there is a simple fix—Rooms and Zones.
With Rooms and Zones in the Home app, you’ll not only make it easier to track your accessories down, but you’ll also benefit from the ability to have more natural conversations with Siri. We’ll show you how to create, edit, and customize Rooms and Zones in the Home app.
What Are Home App Rooms And Zones?
As you might expect, Rooms in the Home app allow you to organize your smart home with specific locations in your home. So, when youadd a smart home product to Apple HomeKit—like a lamp on your nightstand—you can assign it to a bedroom.
Having your devices in different Rooms allows you to focus only on the accessories relevant to your location in the Home app. Rooms also enable you to declutter the favorites area of the Home app by moving less frequently-used devices out of the front page.
Like how Rooms organize your accessories, Zones help manage your Rooms. For example, if your home has multiple bedrooms on the top floor, you can create an upstairs Zone to combine them.
Creating an upstairs Zone allows you touse Siri with your smart home devicesmore naturally. Instead of addressing each bedroom, you only need to tell Siri to turn off all the upstairs lights in one command.
Create, Edit, and Add Accessories to a Room
To add a Room, start by launching the Home app. Next, tap the+button near the top right corner of your screen, followed byAdd Room.
Use the keyboard to name your Room, then tapdone. Now tapTake Photo…orChoose from Existingto customize your room’s wallpaper. Finally, tapSaveto complete your room. If you make a mistake and need to delete a Room, tapRemove Roomat the bottom of the Room Settings screen.
Once you have a room in your home, you can add existing accessories with a few taps. Simply tap and hold an accessory, tapAccessory Details, then tap a Room.
Customize Your Rooms
The Home app provides several ways to customize your rooms. If you wish to edit a Room’s wallpaper, you can do so via Room Settings. Launch the Home app, then tap theMore…button at the top of your screen.
Now, tap the name of your Room, followed by theMore…button again. Next, tapRoom Settings,thenTake Photo…orChoose from Existing.
If you chooseTake Photo…, tap theCapturebutton, thenUse Photo.From here, you can add a blur effect by tappingBluror save your image by tappingSet.
If you selectChoose from Existing, tap an image from your Photos Album or one of the presets followed bySet.
The Home app also allows you to rearrange your accessories and resize their icons to suit your needs.
To edit a room view, launch the Home app, then tap theMore…button. Next, tap a Room, tap theMore…button, then tapEdit Room View.
Tap and hold an accessory, then drag it to a desired location to rearrange your room. To adjust icon size, tap an accessory, then tap theexpandbutton that appears near the top right corner. To save your changes, tapDone.
Create, Edit, and Add to a Zone
As previously mentioned, Home app Zones allow you to group multiple rooms. For instance, if you have a multi-level house, you can group rooms on an upper level into an upstairs Zone.
To access Zones, launch the Home app, then tap theMore…button. Now, tap a room, tap theMore…button, then tapRoom Settings.
Description: Screenshot/Photo by Christopher Close – No attribution required
To assign a room to a zone simply tapZonethenDone.If you need to create a Zone,tap a suggestion, orCreate New.If creating a Zone, use the keyboard to give it a name, tapdone,thentapDonenear the top right corner of your screen.
If you ever need to delete a Zone, simply swipe to the left on your list of Zones, then tapDelete.
Organize Your HomeKit Home With Rooms and Zones
Creating Rooms and Zones in the Home app makes it easier than ever to find your accessories. Rooms and Zones also make voice commands with Siri more natural, so you’re able to now say phrases such as —Hey Siri, turn off the lights in the kitchen.
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