Can’t Add Homebridge To Homekit? – Learn How to Fix

Wondering why you can’t add Homebridge to HomeKit? The answer is surely simple!

The Homebridge is a server emulator (NodeJS) that natively supports HomeKit API with the intention to connect hundreds of unsupported accessories to your iOS Home App.

When you can’t connect the Homebridge to the HomeKit, well, none of this would work so let’s learn more!

When the Homebridge is not connecting to HomeKit, begin by power cycling your iOS device and restarting the Homebridge server.

The next step is to update the iOS Firmware, re-try to add the Homebridge and if this fails, perform a Factory Reset.

Let’s next unwrap the correct way of adding your Homebridge to the Apple HomeKit.

How to Add Homebridge to HomeKit? (Easy Steps)

The very first thing to accomplish is the correct way of adding your Homebridge to the iOS HomeKit (Home App).

The process is easy as long as you know what you’re doing or you’ve got a detailed step-by-step guide on your side. Let’s jump in!

How To Add Homebridge to Apple Home

1. Open the Home App on your iOS device!
2. Tap on the Home Tab and then the “+” sign.
3. From there select Add Accessory.
4. Next scan the QR Code from the main page of Homebridge.
5. Tip: The QR Code can also be found in the logs.

When there are no accessories connected to the Homebridge yet, you’ll see a message saying that you’ll need some additional steps.

The next step is to follow the instructions and add plugins which will later show up in the Home App, hence you’ll start controlling the devices.

How To Add Homebridge Accessories

When your Homebrige is connected to the Home App, with or without accessories, then you’ll be able to add unsupported devices to HomeKit.

It’s easy to follow the steps below:

1. Open the iOS Home Application!
2. From there go to the Home > “+” sign.
3. Next, tap on Add Accessory.
4. Tap on “I Don’t Have a Code or Cannot Scan”.
5. Select an accessory that you want to connect.
6. Enter the Homebridge PIN (found under the QR).

How To Remove Homebridge From Home

To remove the Homebridge from your Home App, tap on the Home Settings and click Remove Homebridge from Home.

Then your Homebridge would stop communicating with your Home app, hence you’ll lose control over the unsupported Apple accessories.

What to do if I Can’t Add Homebridge to HomeKit?

In case you’ve attempted the steps above and you couldn’t add the Homebridge to HomeKit, well, something is definitely wrong.

We’ll start excluding possibilities in a chronological manner so keep reading to be able to connect your Homebridge to HomeKit easily!

Solution #1 Refresh Your HomeKit (App)

The very first step is to refresh your HomeKit, hence the Home App on your iOS device, and then test whether the Homebridge can be added.

By “refresh” we envision restarting your device and making sure to sign out and in your iCloud account on the HomeKit iOS device!

• Open the Settings app, tap on your iCloud, and scroll down to find Sign Out!

When you’re signed out from the Home App on your iOS device, hold the Power button and slide right to turn OFF your Home device.

Wait for a few moments, turn the device back on, sign into your iCloud account, and open the Home App to check the situation.

Tip: Use the steps at the beginning of the guide to correctly add Homebrdige to HomeKit!

Solution #2 Update iOS Firmware!

The next and one of the most-recommended solutions against Homebridge to Home App connection issues is the iOS Firmware.

It’s well known across the solution forums that connecting Homebridge to HomeKit on a device with iOS under 16.1.2 is problematic.

If your device does not have the most recent firmware version, then it’s possible that this is where the connection problem appears. 

Here’s how to update any iOS device firmware version in easy steps:

1. On your iOS device, open the Settings app.
2. From there go to General > Software Update.
3. Tap on Check For Updates and wait for a minute.
4. If you see an available upgrade, connect your device to the charger.
5. Tap on Install & Update and wait until the process is completed.

Note: If your device does not support iOS 16, feel free to skip this step and proceed further!

Solution #3 Inpsect Internet Connection!

In regard to the internet connection (WiFi), there are a few key points that we should be aware of so we can exclude this possibility.

As you know your Home App controls accessories and your Homebridge via the internet, so your network router should be in working condition.

The Homebridge server and Apple Home device should be on the same WiFi!

In case your Hombridge is running on a Raspberry PI, make sure to connect the server to the network router via an Ethernet cable.

In addition, don’t forget to check whether the Homebridge PIN that you’ve inserted previously is the correct key in the configuration file!

Note: It’s strongly recommended to check for any internet errors before moving any further!

Solution #4 Disable/Enable ALL Plugins!

As you’re probably aware Homebridge uses individual plugins for various devices that usually can’t be added straightforwardly in the iOS Home App.

This is why sometimes the reason why the Homebridge can’t be connected to the HomeKit is a faulty plugin that requires a refresh!

Here’s how to enable/disable Homebridge plugins:

1. Open the Homebridge config file in the text format file.
2. Tip: The configuration file is located in (homebridge/config.json).
3. Locate, highlight, and disable the section with the plugin you wish to disable.

All sections start and end with a bracket “{ }” so you can recognize them easily so can look at the example of how a plugin should look in the config file below:

To disable the plugin you only need to add one line at the bottom above the existing “}” bracket which should be exactly (“disabled”: true) and then save the config file.

You can do this for ALL plugins and then when you re-enable them later, you should be able to connect to the Home!

Note: To re-enable the plugin later change “true” to “false”!

Solution #5 Reset Your Homebridge!

In order to reset the Homebridge we’re going to need to learn a few commands that we’ll use to communicate with the terminal.

In case you’ve never done this before you should know that all plugins will be erased, which is what we need to be able to start from scratch!

Here’s how to reset your Homebridge server in easy steps:

1. Stop the Homebridge process by opening the terminal.
2. Insert the command “sudo systemctl stop homebridge’.
3. Next, remove the directory with “rm -rf ~/.homebridge”
4. Then, remove the user as well “sudo userdel homebridge”.
5. Remove the accessory information with “sudo find / – name ‘accessories’.

Then you’ll need to reinstall the Homebridge server as per the system you’re using and then configure any plugins and settings.

You can start the Homebridge server with the following command – “sudo systemctl start homebridge”.

When you’re ready, test whether you’re able to connect the Homebridge to Apple Home!

Need More Help?

In case nothing in this guide helped, it’s recommended to seek more help in the Homebridge Discord Server, where actual people can help you overcome this hurdle.

You can also visit their GitHub or even Reddit forums to find solutions to the issues that you’re experiencing.

Tip: Don’t forget to share what you’ve already attempted in this guide to save time!

Quick Recap:

When you can’t add Homebridge to HomeKit the first step is to restart both the bridge server and your iOS device.

In case that doesn’t help you’ll need to inspect your internet connection and, if necessary, factory restore your Homebridge to start fresh!