Apple warns that the old HomeKit architecture will stop working this fall
You will need to upgrade to Apple’s latest HomeKit architecture by this fall to continue using smart home appliances and automations without interruptions.
“Support for the previous version of Apple Home will end in the fall of 2025,” Apple acknowledges on a new support page. “Update now to avoid interruptions with your accessories and automations.”
The wording suggests that iOS 19 will pull support for the old HomeKit architecture, meaning anyone who installs the update without upgrading their smart home to the new architecture will be unable to use their smart home accessories.
As our step-by-step tutorial explains, you can upgrade to the new HomeKit architecture in the built-in Home app: Hit the … (ellipsis icon) in the top-right corner and choose “Home Settings,” then select “Software Update.” Doing so will perform a software upgrade of all your homes in the Home app simultaneously.
Once finished, you’ll see a message confirming a successful upgrade. “This home can now take advantage of a new underlying architecture that offers improved performance and reliability,” it reads. Keep in mind that any smart home accessories that are not using the latest software will lose access to your home until updated.
Do you have a smart home hub?
If you continue to experience issues with your smart home appliances after upgrading to the new architecture, try removing all HomeKit bridges from the Home app, then re-added them. This will cause HomeKit to load factory settings, which may help resolve your issues.
Keep in mind that the new HomeKit architecture requires a home hub to share control of your smart home, receive notifications in the Home app, add Matter accessories and more.
“You must set up a home hub to add Matter accessories to the Home app,” Apple explains in another support document. “Thread-enabled Matter accessories require a Thread-enabled home hub, such as HomePod mini or Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Ethernet or a supported third-party border router.”
Apple officially launched the new HomeKit architecture in March 2023 with iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, tvOS 16.2 and watchOS 9.2. However, users complained about teething issues and various problems, so Apple pull the upgrade and re-introduced it a few months later.
The new architecture brings benefits such as robovac support, home activity history, guest access and more. According to Apple, it works more reliably than the old HomeKit architecture and faster, too—especially for smart homes with dozens of HomeKit and Matter accessories installed
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/05/13/apple-upgrade-homekit-architecture-fall-reminder/
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