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I'm the Home owner but cant add accessories, why?

In the Home app (on my iPhone), I'm identified as Resident (Owner) which makes sense because I created it. But for some reason, I cant manage it. I cant add accessories... it tries to but then ends with "Unable to add accessory. Access denied". I've tried other admin functions like trying to manage the other members of the household and it tells "Could not modify user's access".

Its as if it doesnt recognize me as the owner even though I'm signed in with my Apple ID properly.

Any ideas on how to fix this? Need any other details?

Thanks!



Posted on Oct 21, 2023 3:54 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 22, 2023 3:44 AM

Ok, got it solved. Here is what I know in case this helps anyone else.


I happen to have two Apple TVs... one significantly older (dont recall the year/model) and one is the newest 4K (with USB-C remote).

After looking around in the Home app, I noticed that the older Apple TV was acting as the Home Hub and the new Apple TV was on 'standby'.

I unplugged the older Apple TV and waited for the newer 4K model to become the primary. Once that happened, my iPhone magically updated. It now shows the correct status for the resident I made an admin, and it is now showing the accessories that were added.


So there is something funky with that old Apple TV acting as my Home Hub. I dont know why that only affected my iPhone and not my MacBook or the other resident's iPhone, but I'm glad its resolved.

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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 22, 2023 3:44 AM in response to Gregory Singleton

Ok, got it solved. Here is what I know in case this helps anyone else.


I happen to have two Apple TVs... one significantly older (dont recall the year/model) and one is the newest 4K (with USB-C remote).

After looking around in the Home app, I noticed that the older Apple TV was acting as the Home Hub and the new Apple TV was on 'standby'.

I unplugged the older Apple TV and waited for the newer 4K model to become the primary. Once that happened, my iPhone magically updated. It now shows the correct status for the resident I made an admin, and it is now showing the accessories that were added.


So there is something funky with that old Apple TV acting as my Home Hub. I dont know why that only affected my iPhone and not my MacBook or the other resident's iPhone, but I'm glad its resolved.

Oct 21, 2023 5:10 AM in response to Gregory Singleton

On my iPhone, I went into Settings -> iCloud and then turned off Home. The Home app stopped working (as expected). I even deleted the Home app and re-installed via the App Store (hoping it would clear cached data). After re-installing and running it, it tells me I have to enable iCloud so I let it.

Unfortunately, its still in the same state. It's like its unaware of the new accessories added to the home and isnt even aware that I made the other resident an admin. So its stuck with some stale data about my home for some reason. I really dont want to have to wipe and set up my iPhone again... so I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks

I'm the Home owner but cant add accessories, why?

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