“Assuming that you’ve got all your pre-requisites complete, setting up your Apple TV for HomeKit remote management couldn’t be easier,” Mike Wuerthele writes for AppleInsider.
“But, its sometimes the easiest things that trip up the setup,” Wuerthele writes.
“Crucially, turn off two-step verification, if its on,” Wuerthele writes. “Then, turn on Two-factor Authentication.”
The easy, set-by-step instructions with screenshots in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If you’ve got the latest Apple TV, set it up as your HomeKit hub!
How come I can use my Apple TV as a HomeKit hub but I can’t use my Siri Remote to control any HomeKit devices?
I am able to successfully control my HomeKit devices with the Siri Remote on my Apple TV. Do you have any scenes set up? Or are you trying to control it in a manner such as “turn lamp down to 60%” or something similar?
The problem of using appleTV for HomeKit is that now you’re photos are just one click away. Apple needs to realize the AppleTV is a shared device and should require authentication each iCloud service added like photos.
You can sign out of iCloud Photo Library and still use Apple TV as a HomeKit hub. One is not required for the other. They are two separate things.
You can’t sign out and keep HomeKit functionality. You can deselect the photos option within the iCloud settings so it looks like you’re not using photos, but then person using the AppleTV can turn on Photo options without being challenged for a password by simply selecting any one of the Photos choices because you’ve already authenticated the AppleTV device. Even worse, you can select the Photos app and it will let you turn on the Photo sharing without even going to settings. This is really dumb on the part of Apple.
Photos is simply the worst app ever.
How to use Apple TV:
Option 1: put an Apple sticker on your new Roku box. Enjoy.
Option 2: Buy an old Mac on Craigslist and plug it into the back of your shiny new TV. Use Apple Remote to manage your content or rent/buy more without the annoying app management.
Option 3: any new TV has smart features, any new BluRay player has smart features. Use what you already have.