Abode Iota Gateway Now HomeKit Compatible
Abode has announced today that their Iota Gateway is now HomeKit compatible. This means that any Abode devices that use the Iota Gateway will automatically get exposed to HomeKit, and will be controllable via the Home app or any 3rd party HomeKit app. The list of child devices includes the following devices purchased after December 2018;
- Abode Door Sensors
- Abode Occupancy Sensors
- Abode Motion Sensors
If you’re an owner of the Iota, you need to ensure the Abode app is up to date, and from there update the firmware for the gateway, where, in the settings section, you simply follow the onscreen instructions, where a HomeKit code will be generated within the app, and begin the pairing process.
For users of the 1st and 2nd gen gateways, currently they’re not HomeKit compatible, but the company are apparently working to make this compatibility a reality for these older devices too.
For more information about Abode’s new HomeKit integration, go to Abode’s website
No it’s not. You can’t arm the system if the motion sensor is set off when trying to use home kit. Also, I keep getting a “No Response” from the alarm and all the sensors. Iota my work with HomeKit but it does not work well and you can’t depend on it with HomeKit automation. And yes I have reached out to support, not getting anything but “sorry”.
Hi Simon!
My iota Security system arrived and I installed it. So far, so good.
Homekit functionality is sometimes inconsistent. With the Home app on MacOS it always works. On the Home app on IOS it sometimes shows as unresponsive. The Home app on IOS is more buggy than that Home app on MacOS. iota works on MacOS Home when IOS Home shows unresponsive. So there are issues with the IOS Home App. Several issues which exceed the scope of this article.
The iota system itself has all the functionality of the many professional wired systems I’ve installed and in several cases exceeds the capability of those systems. Even the hybrid systems I’ve designed and installed don’t match some of the functions here. And….. No wiring!
I installed many systems into new homes and prewired all the contacts, sensors, and controls in those systems before the sheetrock went up which is easy compared to retrofitting an older home. Which I’ve done as well. So this system was a breeze to install. I installed several mini door/window sensors, a standard door/window sensor, three motion sensors, one camera/motion sensor, several recessed door/window sensors, glass break detector, key pad, several indoor sirens.
It was easy and fun to install. The Gateway pairing process for each separate component was flawless. The Homekit integration had a hitch or two but you only had to do that once with the Gateway unit. The iota app generates a Homekit code that needs to be added manually. Adding each component to the Gateway unit adds automatically adds that component to Homekit. Then all you have to do is designate what room in Homekit you want each component to be in.
Not every component in the iota system will be added to Homekit. Only sensors, cameras, and the iota Gateway control itself. Sirens, the glass break sensor, and the motion camera are not added.
Not sure why the motion camera is not available in Homekit, but I’m not impressed with the motion camera. Picture quality is not good and it only does still photos. So what’s the point? The motion sensor works like the other motion sensors and can trip the alarm like the rest of them, but in addition it snaps a photo. The other motion sensors show up in Homekit and can be used for Homekit automations.
Well that turned out to be a mini review. More detailed review coming. I have most of the components recently featured here in Homekit News so I’ll break the review into individual component reviews.
Regards!
Bart
Hi Bart, thanks for the detailed comment, I’m envious! The iota gateway really appeals to my taste in design. I’ve got a small setup that also uses RF for communication (LifeSmart) instead of WiFi, Bluetooth or Zigbee, and the connectivity is flawless. Looking forward to hearing all about the different sensors etc. I have to say, the Motion Camera sounds a bit of an odd one if it only takes pics. Thanks again.