There have been some questions in the comments about what the longest possible duration a HomeKit can run. For what purpose would you need to use a shortcut that takes many minutes you might ask. Well, especially if you’re using motion sensors (or other sensors) for turning things (most probably lights) on and off, you
What is the maximal duration for a HomeKit shortcut? Read More »
When you get into HomeKit accessories, you’ll probably get a few smart switches or buttons to control your lights and other devices so that you don’t have to use your voice or phone every time you want to turn on a light. You also have the idea that this will make everything more spouse and
Using a label printer to customize your HomeKit compatible switches and buttons Read More »
In this post, we’ll have a look at how we can use a motion sensor to turn your lights off with HomeKit, but not before giving you a warning before doing so. I suggest that you start by looking at an earlier post about how to use a motion sensor to turn on and off
I was asked to create a HomeKit automation that turns on a certain light at 4:30AM if the sun has not already risen. This is a good exercise to play with Weather and the wealth of useful information therein. We’ll start by opening either the Home or Shortcuts app. We then choose Automation (at the
Using both time of day and sunrise as a criteria in a shortcut Read More »
If you’re using your AppleTV as a hub for HomeKit and you got bitten by the bug in tvOS 13.3 that broke HomeKit automation shortcuts, you’ll be happy to know that it has now been fixed in the tvOS 13.3.1 update. If you held off from updating to tvOS 13.3, you’re now safe to get
Fixed: tvOS 13.3.1 fixes problems with HomeKit automation shortcuts Read More »
Using motion sensors to turn your lights on and off is both comfortable and can help you save energy. This works best for areas in the home where you pass through, or rooms where you are not perfectly still for a longer period of time. We’ve got a small kitchen that is mostly used for
How to use a motion sensor to turn on and off your lights with HomeKit Read More »
In part two we’ll look at a more advanced example of using time of day as a parameter when writing a HomeKit shortcut. You can find part 1 here. If you need a more in-depth explanation on how to get started, please check the first Do more with the Hue Dimmer Switch (or any switch)
How to use time of day as a parameter when writing HomeKit shortcuts (part 2) Read More »
Using time of day as a parameter might be useful for determining the brightness or color of your lights to be used when turning on your lights. Perhaps you want a higher brightness level in the middle of the day, and a softer warmer light in the evening. This isn’t as straightforward to do in
How to use time of day as a parameter when writing HomeKit shortcuts (part 1) Read More »
Do more with the Hue Dimmer Switch (or any switch) in HomeKit! This is the second of many tips about how you can get more out of your Hue Dimmer Switch. I’m going to talk about the Hue Dimmer Switch, but this is true for any HomeKit compatible light switch. If you can set it
Do more with the Hue Dimmer Switch (or any switch) in HomeKit! This will be the first of many tips about how you can get more out of your Hue Dimmer Switch. I’m going to talk about the Hue Dimmer Switch, but this is true for any HomeKit compatible light switch. If you can set
Hue Dimmer Switch: Use each button as a toggle for a specific light Read More »