Homekit Notifications Not Working? – Complete Fix Guide

What to do when you notice Homekit notifications not working? We can see how notifications not working for your many apps and devices is terrible.

Because of that, we will help you quickly.

When HomeKit notifications are not working, the first thing you must do is check your internet’s quality and whether every device is connected correctly. Next, check your push notifications settings, try eliminating bugs by updating apps and firmware, and manage the sharing settings.

The above might be a bit complicated to grasp since you can perform too many steps.

However, you don’t need to perform all of them at once. Instead, you can try each one individually and see how things work out.

Don’t you know how? Then keep reading.

HomeKit Notifications Not Working – Reasons

HomeKit is not an app but an entire framework that allows your Apple devices to connect and also to devices of other brands.

It is possible to connect numerous devices through official methods and even more via unofficial methods (such as Homebridge and Scrypted).

Whatever method you use for HomeKit integration, you should get notifications from any device and service on your iPhone or other enabled device.

If a service fails, but you are not notified, something is wrong.

✅ Poor Internet Connection

HomeKit notifications require a stable internet connection. 

✅ Incorrect Device Settings

Make sure to set up push notifications for the apps you want to receive.

✅ Software Bugs

Notifications might simply not work because a system bug prevents them from being deployed.

✅ Incorrect HomeKit Configuration

This includes incorrect settings for devices and scenes and incorrect sharing settings for the HomeKit home.

✅ Apple’s Server Issue

The last possibility is that Apple’s servers are at fault. If that is the case, you will have to wait until your notifications work again.

How To Fix HomeKit Notifications Not Working

As you’ve seen, the issue is not that hard to analyze. Once you start understanding smart devices, many things become trivial.

Below you can even learn how to deal with Homekit camera notifications not working.

After all, the solutions work for any type of device!

Solution #1: Check Your Internet

You might be tired of this step if you’ve read many troubleshooting articles about different devices and software.

However, it is true: the internet connection affects how devices communicate.

Anyhow, you have to check that your multiple devices connected to HomeKit are on the same network as your iPhone (we suppose you usually receive notifications on it). 

Connect All Devices To 2.4GHz

Nowadays, routers generate two networks with a difference in frequency: 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

Smart devices must cover large distances sending and receiving signals, so they are factory-set to run on 2.4GHz frequency.

If your iPhone is running on the 5GHz network, that might be the cause of communication failure.

Do the following:

1. Open the Wi-Fi settings.
2. Check which Wi-Fi you are connected to
3. If necessary, disconnect.
4. Connect to the same 2.4GHz network as your smart devices

Reset Your Router

Is that not the issue causing the lack of notifications? Then the router itself can be at fault.

Solving that is easy:

1. Find the power button on the router
2. Press it until the lights go out
3. Wait for a few instants
4. Power it back on

Note: You must check if other internet-dependent services are working on your house. If they are not, you must call your ISP.

Solution #2: Fix The Settings For Push Notifications

There are many types of notifications we receive on apps and phone screens nowadays.

Those you receive even when the app is closed are called “push notifications” because they are pushed on your phone’s screen.

When you want more privacy for some apps, you usually deactivate them.

However, high-priority apps should have push notifications toggled on all the time!

1. Open the Home app
2. Tap “Home” 
3. Tap “Settings” 
4. Tap “Notifications”
5. Toggle “Allow Notifications” on
6. Activate notifications for all the devices and scenes on the “Alerts” section 
7. Toggle switches on for devices and scenes on the “Allow Notifications” section 
8. Ensure that the toggle switch is turned on the “Badge App Icon” section

Not everyone likes sound or vibration, along with push notifications. Because of that, we didn’t include those in the steps above.

However, if you want to receive those:

• Find the “Sounds and Vibration Patterns” section and manage the toggle switches there

After you have chosen all the settings you want, you must restart your iOS device and HomeKit accessories.

Only after that, check if the notifications are working properly.

Note: Check if Airplane Mode is on! Even with notifications toggled on, they won't show up if Airplane Mode is on. 

To deactivate it, just pull down the control center and tap the airplane icon.

Solution #3: Chase And Eliminate Bugs

You must pay attention to your HomeKit behavior and answer the following: are all notifications acting weirdly, or only a few? 

If no notifications are showing up even after Solution #2, the most probable cause is the iOS.

It is presenting a bug in its build, and the fix will come soon or is already available, but you haven’t installed it.

Thus, what you must do is check for updates:

1. Navigate to Settings
2. Click on General
3. Tap on Software Update

If any update is available, simply install it. The phone will install and reset automatically.

Check Individual Devices/Apps

On the other hand, the approach will be different if you are receiving notifications from some devices but not others.

If you’ve associated a device’s app with Apple Home, then you must check that app and update it.

Here is how:

1. Open the App Store 
2. Tap on the “Updates” tab 
3. Check that the app you want to update is listed
4. Tap on the “Update” button next to the app.

On the other hand, no update might be available for the app. Or you have not used a dedicated app to connect the device to HomeKit.

Either way, you must check for firmware updates on the device.

Tons of devices can connect to HomeKit, so we can’t offer a formula to update the firmware on each one. Rather, you will have to check the manufacturer’s instructions.

Tip: If the issue is with outdated apps, go to "Settings," tap on "iTunes & App Store," and turn on the "Updates" toggle switch. Your apps will never be left outdated again.

Solution #4: Restart Your Phone

Sometimes what happens to your iPhone is that its system is facing data overload or processing overload.

In any of those cases, it will start presenting bugs, and apps will malfunction.

That could be the reason behind HomeKit notifications failing to show up or showing up but not leading you to the correct place.

To restart your iPhone and get rid of such awful errors, do the following: 

Restart iPhone 8 Or Older

Here are the steps for iPhone 8 and older:

1. Hold the side button
2. Drag the on-screen slider to turn off
3. Hold that same button again until the Apple logo shows up

Restart iPhone X Or Newer

iPhone X and later work like this:

1. Hold the side button and either volume button
2. Drag the on-screen slider to turn off
3. Hold that same button again until the Apple logo shows up

Solution #5: Fix Incorrect Sharing Settings

Sharing settings on HomeKit are responsible for telling the devices to which to send notifications.

When the sharing settings are incorrectly set up, one or more family members might fail to receive push notifications.

Fortunately, managing those sharing settings is easy. It only requires the person responsible for the central device/account to do it.

Here are the steps:

1. Open the Home app 
2. Tap “Home” 
3. Tap on the “Home Settings” 
4. Tap on the “Home Users & Access” 

The section you just entered allows you to manage permissions for each user.

Here is how to proceed for each different action you can take:

• Adding a user: tap on the “+” and enter the user’s email address or iCloud account.
• Removing a user: swipe left on their name and tap on “Remove.”
• Set permissions: tap on a user’s name and select the permissions you want to give them.

You always have to tap “Done” after making changes.

What We Learned

Are your Homekit notifications not working? No need to despair!

The notifications are probably not working simply because of an error in the settings or a software issue.

The first possibility is easy to solve, and the second only requires patience.