Skip to main content
r/HomeKit icon
Go to HomeKit
r/HomeKit
A banner for the subreddit

Private in protest to Reddit’s handling of API rules. Join us on discord: bit.ly/HomeKitDiscord


Members Online

Migrating HomeKit Hub from an old Apple TV to a new Apple TV

How-to

I'm about to move from a 1st gen Apple TV 4k to a 3rd gen Apple TV 4k. I use the 1gen as my HomeKit hub. Any special tips I need to know to migrate to the 3gen hub? I would guess I have to turn off the HomeKit hub on the 1gen before turning the hub on the 3gen. I've already set the 1Gen One Home Screen setting on.

Share
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options

You shouldn’t need to do anything, the new Apple TV once signed in will pick up where the old one left off.

If you are moving the older one to a different room be sure to assign it to the new location in the home app, if you are getting rid of it just do a reset

Nothing special to do. In fact I would plug in and set up the new Apple TV first and once you know everything is set up the way you like it disconnect the old one. The new one will just take over.

You don't have to do anything specific, just log into the new unit and let it be a hub. Log out of the old one if you're getting rid of it.

Have you seen any performance differences in your HomeKit network since making the upgrade. I have the 1st gen 4k, considering the 3rd gen.

I’ll let you know when the 3Gen unit arrives tomorrow.

Ok

I'm really looking for the Thread capability. I'm starting to build a HomeKit empire. :)

I'm happy with the upgrade. I was having problems with apps hanging on the 1Gen and every so often I'd lose signal, requiring restart. None of those issues so far with the 3Gen. My WeMo Thread smart plug is a lot more stable so far as well. The remote is a huge upgrade if you use that.

As most of the helpful posters mentioned here, the migration was essentially automatic, especially if you have the One Home Screen setting set to "on" on the 1Gen before you migrate. I hooked the 3Gen up to ethernet, powered it up, configured it through my iPhone, updated TvOS and it was running. The 3Gen automatically picked up the HomeKit settings and disabled the hub setting on the 1Gen.

Since I was retiring the 1Gen, I went into the Home app on the iPhone and removed the 1Gen from HomeKit by long pressing the tile and selecting 'Remove Accessory'.

More replies
More replies

i made the same upgrade a week ago and it makes a difference. opening home app on any device updates all the devices in milliseconds. it was fast before but a little faster now. if im away and connect to my home with Lte it's almost just as fast, great for viewing cameras.Note that I only have one apple tv with ethernet as hub, no homepods.

Profile Badge for the Achievement Top 1% Commenter Top 1% Commenter

Curious if you are on new architecture or old?

im on old!

More replies
More replies
More replies

I have a similar question and hope the answer is just as easy. We have an OG HomePod as our homekit hub and it’s signed in to my wife’s apple account. But I want to switch it over to my account. Will I have to start all over and setup every device all over again or will it remember. We only have this one HomePod and no Apple TV.