You might wonder how to add Ring to Homekit after you’ve noticed they are not natively compatible.
That is bad news, but the good news is this: there are a few workarounds for the present situation.
The most common method to add Ring to Homekit resorts to HomeBridge as a medium between the two systems. Other trustworthy solutions include using Scrypted, HOOBS, or a Raspberry Pi with the correct software.
We must warn you that adding a Ring to your HomeKit is a bit of a headache.
It is not impossible, but it takes a while, and you must pay complete attention to the instructions.
Further below, we will teach you all the best approaches to integrate your Ring into your Apple Home!
How To Add Ring To Homekit – Is It Possible?
How to add Ring doorbell to Homekit? Adding any Ring device to Homekit requires one of the methods we are about to teach.
Adding Ring to HomeKit is possible. But not through official methods, unfortunately.
It seems like Apple is not interested in making Ring an official part of the Apple Home family, even though Ring has announced that the integration would be possible.
But, as you might be aware, developers worldwide always test things that brands don’t release officially.
That is the case with the Ring-HomeKit integration. Because of that, we can teach different methods to link both systems.
However, since the methods are not officially supported, they are a bit complicated.
While integrating Philips Hue and Apple Home is very easy, Ring requires more attention. At the end of the article, you will have learned everything you need to get started.
After that, we hope you can automate your house with even more personality by integrating Ring devices.
The Methods For Ring-Homekit Integration
You can try a few different methods once you decide you want to finally make Ring devices a part of your automated house.
The most convenient method for newbies is Scrypted or HOOBS.
However, if you want to try something different, you can also go for Homebridge on the Mac or Raspberry Pi.
Those latter options are recommended for people with more experience dealing with tech.
Method #1: Use HOOBS
HOOBS (Homebridge Out Of the Box) is a pre-configured version of Homebridge.
It comes with a selection of pre-installed popular plugins, making it easier to start with Homebridge.
In addition, it is designed to be easy to set up and use, even for people new to smart home automation.
If you want to use HOOBS to add your Ring device to HomeKit, you will need a MacBook:
- Go to the HOOBS site and download the app
- Install HOOBS on your Mac
- Go to the plugins tab
- Search for “Ring”
- Install the Ring plugin
Now your Mac is ready to receive your Ring devices’ frequency and transmit them to the Apple Home system.
Next, let’s configure everything:
- Click on the “Configure” option on the Ring plugin
- Enter your Ring login credentials
- go to the “Devices” tab in the HOOBS app
- All your Ring devices should show up
Use Voice Controls
Suppose you want to use voice control to control your Ring devices using Siri.
Then, you will need to set up the Homebridge plugin in the Home app on your Mac.
- Go to the “Add Accessory” tab in the Home app
- Select the “Don’t Have a Code or Can’t Scan” option
- Follow the prompts
Note: HOOBS has many configurations already set up for your convenience. Check the method below if you want to use Homebridge and make it more customized.
Method #2: Use Scrypted
Scrypted is yet another service that allows adding Ring to Homekit. It provides a user-friendly interface and plenty of preprogrammed configurations and plugins.
However, you can expand with JavaScript once adapted to the Scrypted environment. In addition, you can write your codes to control any device you want to add.
Using Scrypted is very easy. Here are the steps to get started:
- Install Scrypted on your Mac
- Click the “add account” button
- Enter your Ring credentials
- Check the list with your Ring devices
- Click on the one you want to integrate into Homekit
- Click the “Add to Homekit” button
Okay, so you notice that Scrypted will be a very boring solution if you have too many Ring devices. HomeBridge detects everything automatically and makes the integration seamless.
However, Scrypted brings together the benefits of HOOBS and HomeBridge.
While HOOBS doesn’t offer much personalization, you can do anything on Scrypted!
And, while HomeBridge is clunky for newbies, Scrypted offers both superficial and deep layers, catering to all types of users.
So, yes, Scrypted is the perfect middle ground.
Note: Do you still want more personalization than what is offered by Scrypted? Then you can resort to HomeBridge.
Method #3: Use HomeBridge
As the name suggests, HomeBridge is software that enables communication between Ring devices and Apple Home.
So it doesn’t matter what Ring device you want to connect to Homekit: HomeBridge will help you!
Plus, Homebridge is the “raw” version of HOOBS. HOOBS is made for everyone, so the Ring-Homekit integration is as smooth as possible.
On the other hand, Homebridge is a bit more complicated to handle at first but allows you to customize it later.
First off, you must head to the Homebridge site and download the compatible version for your MacBook.
Then do the following:
- Install Homebridge on your Mac
- Type the following command: npm install -g homebridge-ring.
- Enter your Ring credentials
- Enter your Ring device serial code
You can launch the Homebridge app on your Mac when everything is set up.
If you’ve done everything correctly, all your Ring devices that have been set up will also show up in the Home app.
How To Integrate Siri
HomeBridge can do everything HOOBS can (and more, actually). That means you can also integrate Siri if you choose this method.
Here is how you can do it:
- Run the command “npm install -g homebridge-siri”
- Add a new “platform” entry in the config.json file:
"platforms": [ { "platform": "Siri", "name": "Siri" } ]
Take a while to ensure the JSON file is altered correctly.
Then:
- Save the JSON file
- Reboot your Mac
- Open the iOS Home App
Tip: Even though HomeBridge takes more work to function, it is very lightweight, thus presenting better performance.
You can also modify its code to perform any functions you want. The community is very active, meaning you can find plugins for anything.
Method #4: Use Raspberry Pi
HomeBridge does not work only on your MacBook. If you want, you can install it on a Raspberry Pi.
If you are a techie just like us, you know very well that Raspberry Pi is a paradise for experimentation.
Because of its very nature, Raspberry Pi can be used to bridge the gap between Ring devices and the Homekit framework.
Are you interested in it? Then let’s go to the steps:
- Open a terminal window on your Raspberry Pi
- Enter the following command to install Node.js:
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_14.x | sudo -E bash - sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
- Then type this command to install HomeBridge:
sudo npm install -g --unsafe-perm homebridge
- Start Homebridge by typing “homebridge”
- Add the line below and replace “USERNAME” with your actual user name:
#!/bin/bash su -l USERNAME -c 'homebridge'
- Save the startup script and exit the editor
- Make the script executable with this code:
sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/homebridge sudo update-rc.d homebridge defaults
After successful installation, you must open the Apple Home on your iOS device and look for additional devices.
You must be able to add the Raspberry Pi, and then the Apple Home will automatically recognize Ring devices.
Tip: You can immediately set Homebridge to boot whenever you start your Raspberry Pi.
Just use this command to set it up: sudo nano /etc/init.d/homebridge
What We Learned
How to add Ring to Homekit? You can use a few different ways to make your Ring devices Homekit-recognizable.
None of them is official, but all of them work wonders. First, you need software to bridge the gap between the two technologies.
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