A HomeKit home hub is the unsung hero of a smart home. It’s what lets you control your lights, locks, and thermostats when you’re away from home, and it’s what runs your automations while you sleep. Apple lets several of its devices serve as a home hub — but there’s one big catch about the iPad that you need to know before you start.
Important: Apple removed the iPad’s ability to act as a home hub in iPadOS 16. The method below works only on iPads running iPadOS 15 or earlier. If your iPad is on iPadOS 16 or later, use an Apple TV or HomePod as your home hub instead — they’re the officially supported options going forward.
What a home hub actually does
Without a home hub, your HomeKit accessories only respond when your iPhone is on the same Wi-Fi network. A home hub changes that: it stays home, stays connected, and acts as your home’s representative to iCloud. With one set up, you can check your cameras from the office, let a trusted person control accessories, and have automations — like “turn on the porch light at sunset” — run even when every family member is out. Apple’s guide to setting up a home hub covers all three supported devices: HomePod, Apple TV, and (on older software) iPad.
Step 1: Sign the iPad into your iCloud account
The iPad must be signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID that owns your HomeKit home. Go to Settings, tap your name at the top, and confirm the Apple ID matches the one you use in the Home app on your iPhone. If it doesn’t, sign out and sign back in with the correct account.
Step 2: Turn on iCloud Keychain and the Home toggle
In Settings, tap your name, then iCloud. Make sure iCloud Keychain is turned on, and find Home in the list of apps using iCloud — its toggle must be enabled too. Both are required for the iPad to communicate securely with your HomeKit accessories.
Step 3: Enable the home hub switch
Go to Settings → Home and turn on “Use this iPad as a Home Hub.” That’s the entire setup — there’s nothing else to configure on the iPad itself.
Step 4: Check the requirements
Two things must be true for this to work. First, two-factor authentication must be enabled on your Apple ID — Apple requires it for any home hub. Second, the iPad must be running iPadOS 15 or earlier. On iPadOS 16 and later, the “Use this iPad as a Home Hub” option is gone entirely, and an iPad that updates past iPadOS 15 silently stops working as a hub. 9to5Mac’s HomeKit guide walks through hub options and the iPadOS 16 change in more detail.
Step 5: Leave the iPad at home, powered and connected
A home hub only works if it’s actually home. Leave the iPad plugged into its charger, connected to your home Wi-Fi, and powered on. If it runs out of battery, goes to sleep for too long, or leaves the house with you, your remote access and automations stop until it comes back.
If you’re repurposing an older iPad for this, it’s also a good excuse to learn a few new tricks — like how to take HDR screenshots on iPhone and iPad. And if your iPhone and Mac need to stay in sync while you manage the smart home, here’s how to set up message sync between iPhone and Mac.
Step 6: Verify the hub is connected
On your iPhone, open the Home app, tap the More button (…), then Home Settings → Home Hubs. You should see your iPad listed as Connected. If you have multiple hubs — say, an Apple TV and the iPad — one shows as Connected and the others as Standby, ready to take over automatically.
If it still doesn’t work
If the iPad doesn’t appear in Home Hubs, work through the checklist: same Apple ID everywhere, iCloud Keychain on, Home toggle on, two-factor authentication enabled, iPad on iPadOS 15 or earlier, and the iPad on your home Wi-Fi. The most common culprit is the iPadOS version — double-check in Settings → General → About.
If your iPad is on iPadOS 16 or later, don’t fight it: get an Apple TV or HomePod instead. They’re always plugged in, always home, and Apple continues to support them as hubs. A used Apple TV HD is often cheaper than the frustration of trying to keep an old iPad on outdated software.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still use my iPad as a home hub on iPadOS 16 or 17?
No. Apple removed iPad home-hub support in iPadOS 16. The setting no longer exists, and iPads that update past iPadOS 15 stop functioning as hubs. Use an Apple TV or HomePod instead.
Does the iPad have to stay at home all the time?
Yes — that’s the whole point of a hub. It needs to be home, powered on, and on your Wi-Fi to relay commands and run automations. If you take it with you, remote access stops working until it returns. This is why Apple TV and HomePod, which never leave the house, make better hubs.
The bottom line
On iPadOS 15 or earlier, turning an iPad into a HomeKit home hub takes about two minutes: same Apple ID, iCloud Keychain and Home toggles on, flip the “Use this iPad as a Home Hub” switch, and leave it plugged in at home. But know the expiration date on this trick — iPadOS 16 ended it. For a hub that lasts, Apple TV or HomePod is the way to go.
