“Connected” hubs in HomeKit

You might be right, but the Apple techs I spoke with seemed to have the same recollection as me.

Either way, it’s the same problem: There does not appear to be any logic to how one hub gets selected as Connected, and the software should allow users to override its choice. (Presumably there is a decision tree for choosing the Connected device, but my system has managed to pick the worst option out of 7.)

I already spent hours and hours working on this and talking with Apple, with the only resolution being “don’t use the new Mini in your barn.” There may be some IT workaround, but Apple has always been about *not* requiring users to become gearheads to use their products. (Note: Apple user since the ][.)

I’m not using any Apple devices “outside.” Not sure why you’d misdirect the convo that way, but whatever. As stated, the Mini was in an outbuilding which I keep always above freezing and more usually between 45-55 degrees when not in use. I’ve now removed it because it was not working as hoped.

Since you raised it, the Mini specs page says Minis can be used between 32-95 degrees:

HomePod mini - Technical Specifications - Apple

I don’t see any info there on how accurate it is within that temp range, but some sites indicate its thermometer is not accurate below the high 50s.

Anyway, again: Apple’s own techs seem to be surprised not to find this option in the Home menus. Either way, issues have been rampant with updates for the past 1-2 years, causing havoc among accessories which previously were stable. Apple has yet to address it.

If the latest update was meant as a corrective, they did not provide the usual notes on what 16.3.1 is intended to fix. Weird.

A big reason Apple grew and grew under Jobs was that you generally didn’t have to experiment with crazy workarounds to get stuff to work. I started out as a kid learning to program AppleSoft on early Apple ][ models which my gradeschool managed to obtain, so I’m comfortable tinkering. But 99.8% of consumers aren’t. When tons of people are doing odd stuff like scheduling their Minis to cycle on and off daily at 3 am to try to force their AppleTV to be the main connected hub, that’s a symptom of a real problem, and a feature people want.

My guess is that Apple is loathe to allow current users to select the Connected hub may have something to do with Thread or other Bluetooth considerations. But all they have to do is have a pop-up warning that manually selecting your own central hub may have unexpected network results, then let those who want this option to do so at their own risk. One could always restore it to the default method later.

Note: Just an hour or so ago, Apple released the 16.3.1 update. Not sure what it will fix, if anything, but looking forward to seeing if it improves my situation at all. I can’t find any public release notes, but MacWorld reports:

The patch notes simply state that the software “includes general performance and stability updates.” There are no new security patches listed on Apple’s security updates page. Some users have been complaining about smart home performance since 16.3 arrived in late January and these updates to the two devices that can act as a Home hub are likely to address some of those. There are reports that Apple has been testing iOS 16.3.1 as well, so that update could arrive shortly.

I also have been experimenting with plugging in the outbuilding Mini while my AppleTV 4K in the house is on an selected by the system as Connected. When bringing the Mini back online, it didn’t force itself to become the Connected hub (yet). I then turned off the AppleTV 4K, and after 15 minutes it still shows as Connected. Possibly some functions remain active in the background even when not technically on? An Apple tech thought not, but that’s what it’s showing for now.

My concern is that over time, as devices go on and off, and network downtime or power outages occur, that the problem Mini in the outbuilding may manage to jump to the top of the list again and cause my accessories to become unresponsive.

Yes, to deal with the problem I was using the native apps (for Hue and iDevices) on my phone, but this is really not ideal—my partner and I mainly turn lights and scenes off with Siri voice commands. She does not even have the apps installed to controlled them. Being able to use Siri with HomeKit is central to its functionality, so I hope Apple fixes things.

Another theory: I wonder if the order in which the devices updated to 16.3 had some effect on the prioritazation of the Connected hub. The first device I updated was the new Mini in the outbuilding, then the ones in the house. So perhaps somehow HomeKit viewed that as its starting place.

Disagree with this as a statement of hard fact. All three of the Apple techs were surprised when I showed them that the Home app no longer let you prioritize hubs. Maybe I’ve been using this since an earlier version.

I see ambiguous info on this topic online. For example, a 2021 article at the link below, claims that you can select, which HomePod is the hub:

https://www.iphonelife.com/content/how-to-make-your-apple-tv-homepod-or-ipad-homekit-hub#HomePod

A 2019 article at another site said you could do it by deauthorizing hubs in their own settings menus (e.g. an iPad via iCloud) until your preferred hub was the only one left, then turning the other hubs back on afterward:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-to-change-primary-home-hub.2189650/

You even have people putting their HomePods on Eve smart plugs so they can schedule them to regularly power off and on, in hopes of it keeping their AppleTVs as primary hubs more often.

Bottom line: Apple needs to fix this.

Right now (after the 16.3.1 update) my AppleTV 4K is sitting pretty as the Connected hub. But the Mini in the Barn has stopped reporting the temperature and humidity, the main reason I got it.

[Link Edited by Moderator]

Interesting how you’ve gone from “I’m not sure that’s correct” to “I am absolutely 100% sure it’s not correct and it’s really important me to keep saying so.”

HomeKit was introduced in 2014, nine years ago. Have you used every single version of the software?

I can report that the three Apple techs I spoke with each initially instructed me to go to the Hubs menu and change which one I wanted to be the central connected hub.

When I pointed out to them that wasn’t an option in the Hubs menu, they all were surprised. Two of them actually asked me to do screen sharing with them to see whether what I was seeing was right.

Why do Apple techs also remember this feature?

In any case, it appears that the temperature sensor on the HomePod Mini is only accurate in warmer rooms. They get the temperature right in my house, where rooms vary from 67 to 70°. In my outbuilding, which I only heat above 45° when I’m actually using it, the sensor is extremely inaccurate. I have other traditional thermometers that I’ve tested against it, and in the cold the Mini records the temperature a good 10-12° above actual. If it’s 40, it’ll report something like 50.

So in the end, I’m not gonna be able to use this Mini for remote temperature checks and alerts. I’ll have to either return it, or use it somewhere else in my main house. That’s too bad; Apple really should get these things running more seamlessly.