Amazon’s Eero routers get updated with Apple’s HomeKit support
Amazon’s Eero routers are getting a new update today: adding support for Apple’s HomeKit smart home system.
The update allows Eero routers to integrate with Apple’s Home app (just like any other HomeKit-enabled routers), allowing for more granular control over other HomeKit accessories that are connected to the internet.
To set up the new feature, you’ll need to use the Eero iOS app, go to the “Discover” tab, and follow the instructions to set up HomeKit. As a quirk of Apple’s HomeKit system, once you’ve configured your Eero router with the Home app, Apple recommends that users remove and re-add their Wi-Fi HomeKit products back to the app for “a more secure connection.” It’s annoying, but it’s the sort of thing you should only have to do once.
The benefits of setting up Eero routers with HomeKit are simple: Apple’s Home app gives three options for restricting internet connectivity for smart home devices, allowing you to have a more secure setup (something that’s important given the often-problematic nature of connected devices).
HomeKit allows for three levels of security:
- Restrict to Home: devices “can interact only with HomeKit through your Apple devices,” with no access to the internet at all (meaning that some things, like firmware updates, won’t work)
- Automatic: the default option, which allows limited internet access to HomeKit and “connections recommended by its manufacturer”
- No Restriction: devices can “interact with any device in your network or Internet-based service”
The HomeKit security features are in addition to Eero’s existing security functions, which will continue to work even if you’re using HomeKit. HomeKit is supported on all Eero, Eero Pro, and Eero Beacon devices running eeroOS 3.18.0 or later and should be available starting today.
Amazon’s Eero routers are getting a new update today: adding support for Apple’s HomeKit smart home system. The update allows Eero routers to integrate with Apple’s Home app (just like any other HomeKit-enabled routers), allowing for more granular control over other HomeKit accessories that are connected to the internet. To…
