Does Nest Work With HomeKit? How To Guide (2024)

Last month I got promoted so I had to shift my overall setup to a new place. My promoted position made a demand for me to shift to a new office. My last apartment was far away from my new office so I had to do the required shifting.

I had to buy everything for my new apartment. I was fairly satisfied with my Nest thermostat. The reason why I chose to use the word “Fairly” is because last week I had to face some issues like there was no power providence to the Rh wire of my thermostat and along with this it was continuously showing the delayed message as well.

I have used other thermostats as well but Nest is the best among them. I wanted my new home to be completely smart that is why I chose Nest thermostat for the process. Well, you know there is always a “But”. In this case, I got to know that Nest thermostats don’t work with homekit. What a bummer!

After a lot of searching the only conclusion that I received was that Nest thermostats are compatible with Apple’s homekit.

Nest Thermostats Are Compatible With Apple Homekit. This Integration Is Done With The Help Of A Homebridge Hub Or A Device. You Should Know This Thing That Nest Thermostats Don’t Allow Direct Integration With Homekit.

DOES NEST WORK WITH HOMEKIT?

Nest thermostat is not a homekit enabled thermostat. However, it becomes compatible with Apple’s homekit by performing an integration through a homebridge hub or device.

There are various integration methods that could be adopted to perform this process. In the next section of this article we will be discussing those integration methods.

INTEGRATION METHODS FOR NEST THERMOSTAT:

Does Nest work with homekit? Nest thermostats only work with Apple homekit but the integration is a must in every case scenario. However, if you want to integrate your Nest thermostat with homekit then there are total 2 approaches for this which are mentioned below.

Setting up the Homebridge on your computer and have full control over your thermostat
Use a Homebridge device that works on the plug-and-play mechanism

PROBLEM WITH FIRST APPROACH:

Out of the two approaches, the second one is more preferable. The reason for this choice is that in the first approach you need to keep your computer ON the entire time. This thing is not convenient most of the time.

The second reason is that this process requires high technical skills which might not be possessed by an ordinary person.

WHY SECOND APPROACH IS BETTER?

The second approach is considered to be better because it operates on a lesser complex approach i.e. plug and play. Homebridge device is a small device which establishes the connection with your network to integrate all your Nest products. Along with this, there are other benefits as well which this device has to offer so you can experience maximum automation technologies. That’s why we will discuss the second approach because it is more convenient than the first one.

INTEGRATION OF NEST THERMOSTAT WITH HOMEKIT VIA HOMEBRIDGE HUB:

The integration process requires your efforts like you will have to connect the small hub device to the router. Doing this will integrate all the products with the home app present on your apple smartphone.

WHICH HOMEBRIDGE HUB TO CHOOSE?

The best Homebridge hub option to consider is Starling Home Hub. It is the most versatile and convenient option to consider. However, this is not the only available option so you can always consider other options as well. But we will state the reasons that why we chose this particular model for our process.

REASONS:

This hub shows compatibility with all nest devices. It means you are not at all restricted to some specific products, you can even use Google nest products in this cause and control them through your homekit.
The installation process is not complicated at all. There are no complex instructions which might require professional help. Simple steps are available which should be followed correctly in order to experience the proper installation.

If you want to add Nest to homekit using Starling Home Hub then it is definitely possible. You just have to take care of the firmware updates and the rest will be taken care of automatically.
Moreover, you don’t have to worry about your privacy concerns at all. This device doesn’t maintain a copy of your personal or confidential data. It doesn’t save any data and is extremely paranoid about security which is a fair deal.
Along with this it also extends its support to both Nest and Google accounts and also offers two-factor authentication.

Starling Home Hub supports all the Apple products which have been manufactured in the last 5 years including the watches as well. So you don’t have to face any compatibility issues.

STARLING HOME HUB SET-UP PROCEDURE:

As mentioned before, the reason for choosing starling home hub device was due to its easy setup process. There is no rocket science involved in the setup so you can get the job done within a few minutes. There are some setup steps which should be followed carefully and we have mentioned them below.

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

STEP 1 – Unbox your Starling Home Hub
STEP 2 – With the help of Ethernet cable, connect the Hub to the switch or to your router
STEP 3 – Make sure both of the devices (Nest thermostat and Homekit) use the same Wi-Fi
STEP 4 – Plug the power cord of Hub into the near outlet and turn it ON
STEP 5 – Now take your phone/computer and visit “setup.starlinghome.io”
STEP 6 – You will see some instructions on the screen, make sure to follow them so that you can pair your Apple homekit and Nest account
STEP 7 – You can also use two-factor authentication for logging in
STEP 8 – Make sure to follow all the steps correctly so you don’t have to perform the steps again

NOTE

While pairing your thermostat with the homekit you will get to see a message on the screen saying “This Accessory Is Not Homekit Certified”. You should ignore this message and continue with your process.

After performing the above mentioned steps, check on your home app to see whether the thermostat appeared or not.

HOW TO FIX NEST THERMOSTAT’S HOMEKIT INTEGRATION ERROR?

When you are pairing your thermostat and homekit, you might run into one error which can be solved by following the below mentioned fix.

HOMEKIT NON-CERTIFICATION:

As we know that direct integration is not allowed by Nest thermostat so you will get a warning by Apple that the device is not officially homekit certified. To get rid of this error, simply press “Add Anyways” and continue with the process.

This error doesn’t demand much of your efforts so it is better to get it resolved before hand so you don’t have to face any inconvenience in the future.

PERKS OFFERED BY HOMEKIT INTEGRATION WITH THERMOSTAT:

Is nest compatible with homekit? No. Does nest work with apple? Yes. These two answers should be remembered by you because they hold great importance. With the use of Starling home hub, you will bring lots of ease into your life because it gives you full control over the AC, and heating units of your thermostat. Moreover, it works with both Nest learning thermostat and Nest thermostat E as well.

You can set the temperature of your house by saying “Hello Siri, set the temperature to xyz value”

You can choose the mode as well by saying “Hello Siri, change the mode to xyz”
You can also make a switch between the AUTO and ON modes of your HVAC system’s blower fans by asking Siri to do this job
You can ask Siri to control the humidity as well

You can give command to Siri to turn ON the Eco-Mode
You can even ask Siri about the temperature value of a room

WHAT ELSE SIRI HAS TO OFFER?

As told above, we have a number of tasks which can be done with the assistance of Siri. Now you don’t have to look at your phone every time you have a task to be done. Even if you want to ask a relevant question then you can do so by shooting that question to Siri.

You can set the temperature with the help of Siri, you can also switch between various modes, you can ask about the temperature value of your room and the list goes on.

Other than this, you can set scenes using your home app. After doing this, you can ask Siri to activate those scenes according to the situation you are in.

Example:

For instance, you can connect your Nest thermostat to a weather station in order to detect the changes. The thermostat settings will be automatically changed according to the change in weather conditions.

You can also configure the settings according to day or night. There might be a possibility that the area where you are currently living has a bit chilly weather at night so you can ask Siri to change the temperature settings according to weather changes.

NEST HOMEKIT CODE:

You will receive 8-digits pairing code along with your homekit. This code is essential when you have to add accessories to the homekit. Each device has a unique code so it is impossible to use one code for the same device. However, Nest thermostat doesn’t support homekit and also doesn’t come with a code so how to enter the code?

Well, Starling Smart Hub assigns a unique QR code to your device at the installation time. You can scan that code with your IPhone and in this way you can easily add Nest thermostat to the Home app.

PRIVACY CONCERNS:

By now you must have gotten the answer to your query saying is nest compatible with homekit or does google nest work with apple homekit. Now another question arises which asks about the privacy concerns of your data.

One thing which is guaranteed by homebridge hub is the privacy. This device doesn’t transfer your any data to their servers nor it save your confidential data for any reason. The hub doesn’t come with a cloud based server so it is impossible to save any data.

Secondly, this device cannot see your password or even your browsing history because it respects the privacy of the users. You can use your smart phone without worrying about the privacy issues.

FIRMWARE UPDATES:

You will always be notified about the firmware updates whenever any update occurs. Even if the updates are not set to automatic mode, they will still be surfaced on your screen. It is better to keep the latest version of your hub because by doing this there are very less chances for the occurrence of bugs and other issues.

RECOMMENDED IOS VERSIONS:

As long as you have an Apple device with a version up to IOS 14, you will not face any compatibility issues.

WHICH IS THE BEST HOMEKIT THERMOSTAT?

The best homekit thermostat has to be Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat. The reason why this thermostat is the best one so far because it doesn’t need additional help/efforts to work with a homekit. You can connect the thermostat and your homekit directly without involving any integration process steps.

CLOSING WORDS:

Nest thermostats are no doubt the smartest ones available in the market. But every device has some pros and cons so if you want to buy the nest thermostat, go for it. But be ready for small challenges associated with it like the one discussed above where you have to put in some extra efforts to perform the integration.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q – Will Nest Ever Work With Homekit?
A – Nest works with homekit only if the homekits are manufactured by Apple. You can integrate the two with the help of a homebridge device or a hub.

Q – Which Thermostats Work With Apple Homekit?
A – Following are the thermostats which work with Apple homekit.

Honeywell Home
Ecobee

Emerson
Mysa etc.

Q – Does Nest Work With Siri?
A – Yes, Nest shows full compatibility with Siri. You can perform various tasks with the assistance of Siri like changing the mode or temperature of your room and getting information about the current temperature of the room.