Frequently asked questions

Basics

What is Smart Home Life?

Smart Home Life is an app for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo that puts the devices in your Apple Home in one Home Hub list you can control, alongside free network and Thread tools, an Energy tab for rates and usage, and Console, a dashboard for a mounted iPad. Google Home, Philips Hue and other platforms join the same list with Smart Home Life Pro or the free trial.

What do I need to use Smart Home Life?

To use Smart Home Life you need an iPhone or iPad running iOS or iPadOS 17.0 or later, or an iPhone Duo on iOS 27.1 or later, and most of the free features work with a home set up in Apple Home; there is no Smart Home Life account to create. A few features need a newer iOS, noted in their answers below, and the terms of use cover people 13 and older.

Do I need an account?

No, Smart Home Life has no account and no sign-in; if you use Guest Access, our server gives your home a random ID. The only sign-ins are for other companies' services you choose to connect, such as Google, Philips Hue, Tesla, Flo by Moen, a SmartHub utility or Apple Music. Your Philips Hue, Flo by Moen and utility connections and your settings sync to your other devices through your own iCloud Keychain, while Google Home, Sonos, Tesla and the Tesla Wall Connector are connected again on each device. A purchase works on any iPhone, iPad or iPhone Duo signed in with the same Apple Account.

What it does

Can Smart Home Life control my devices, or only show them?

Smart Home Life controls devices as well as showing them: it runs Apple Home lights, scenes, locks, garage doors, thermostats, shades, fans and water valves for free, and Philips Hue, Sonos and Flo by Moen devices with Pro. Google Home and Tesla are view only, and in the app, lock and garage door commands ask for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode unless you turn that off (see controlling physical devices).

What does it mean that devices are deduped?

When the same device is connected to two platforms, such as Apple Home and Google Home, Smart Home Life shows it once in the Home Hub list instead of twice, and keeps the Apple Home entry. Matching is automatic, using the model and the name, and for Google Home the room and kind of device, so it can miss; Organize devices, under Settings, Integrations, lets you fix matches by hand.

What is the Thread map?

The Thread map is part of Thread Network, a free tool in the Smart Home Life Toolbox that reads the routing data your Matter over Thread devices report through Apple Home and shows each router with the devices that route through it. The map's measured connections need iOS 18, and devices added with an Apple Home code show their role but not their connections, because Apple does not share them.

What is Console?

Console is a Smart Home Life dashboard of tiles for the clock, weather, now playing, cameras, scenes, devices, energy and sensors, which works as a glance on iPhone and iPad and as a full-screen wall display on a mounted iPad or a docked iPhone, with a dim night face. The glance tiles are free, and custom tiles, extra boards, wall mode and live tiles come with Smart Home Life Pro.

What is Guest Access?

Guest Access is a paid Smart Home Life tool, part of Pro, that sends a guest one link for a time window you set. The link opens a page in their phone's browser with buttons for the Philips Hue lights and plugs you picked, up to 12, a house note, and a line that says how they get in: a code you set on your own lock, an Apple Home guest invite, or you at the door. Your guest needs no app and no account; you need a Philips Hue Bridge and a Hue account. Scenes cannot be shared, a guest cannot unlock a door from the page, and a pass you make does not set or remove a code on your lock (see the Guest Access terms and what our server keeps).

Does Smart Home Life work with CarPlay, Siri, widgets and Live Activities?

Yes, Smart Home Life has CarPlay buttons named Heading Home, Away Mode, Garage, Security and Vehicle, Siri and Shortcuts actions such as Turn Off All Lights, Lock Up and Run a Scene, Home Screen widgets, and a Live Activity for Tesla charging. In CarPlay, Garage and Security work for everyone; Heading Home and Away Mode need Pro with Away Mode turned on, and Vehicle needs Pro and a Tesla connection. Heading Home, Away Mode and Garage ask you to confirm before they change anything, and Security and Vehicle only show status. Control Center controls need iOS 18, Lock Up needs Pro while Run a Scene is free, and the Live Activity needs a Tesla connection (see Live Activities).

What is Ask Your Home?

Ask Your Home is a free Smart Home Life feature that answers plain-language questions about your devices, what happened recently and recent energy and sensor trends with Apple's on-device model, so your questions are not sent to a server. Ask Your Home needs iOS 26 with Apple Intelligence turned on, and platforms beyond Apple Home need Pro (see Apple Intelligence).

Does Smart Home Life show energy use and rates?

Yes, the Energy tab in Smart Home Life shows your rate plan's current rate window, when it changes and the best time to run heavy loads for free, and Energy Insights in Smart Home Life Pro adds utility usage, an estimated bill and peak rate alerts. The free grid signal needs iOS 26.1, and the utility connection works only with co-op utilities that use SmartHub.

Free vs paid

Is Smart Home Life free?

Smart Home Life is free to download on iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo, and the free version controls your Apple Home devices and includes the Toolbox free tools, Ask Your Home, the Energy tab's rate cards, Console glance tiles and Apple Music, with no account and no time limit. Other platforms and the paid tools come with Smart Home Life Pro, a one-time purchase listed under pricing.

Is there a subscription?

No, Smart Home Life has no subscription: every paid tool comes with Smart Home Life Pro, a single one-time purchase through Apple, and nothing renews or charges you again. It stays with your Apple Account and is shared with your Family Sharing group. If you bought any earlier Smart Home Life purchase, a single tool or the bundle, you already have Smart Home Life Pro. The price is listed under pricing.

Which tools are free?

Smart Home Life's free tools sit in the Toolbox tab and need no account: Thread Network; Device Layers; Bandwidth Check, a speed test; Provider Status; Home Map; Room Planner; Pair Vault; and Device Lifespan. Some free tools have a paid part in Smart Home Life Pro: Mesh Health in Thread Network, background alerts in Provider Status, measured Thread coverage on the Home Map, and QR export, photos and iCloud sync in Pair Vault. Network Scanner, Home Watch and Guest Access are Pro tools.

What do the paid features include, and is there a trial?

Smart Home Life's paid tools are Network Intelligence, Home Watch, Pair Vault extras, Energy Insights, Console, Guest Access and Coverage Map, and a single one-time purchase, Smart Home Life Pro, unlocks all of them. A 14-day free trial lets you try every one of them first. The trial is a free item in the App Store named 14-day Trial. It starts when you choose to start it, needs no card and never charges you, and before it starts the app tells you what locks again when it ends. Smart Home Life Pro adds:

• Network Intelligence adds Network Scanner, which identifies devices on your network by make and model, the Google Home, Philips Hue, Sonos, Flo by Moen and Tesla connections, the deduped list and Mesh Health.
• Home Watch adds background alerts when a device drops off or comes back, Away Mode and the leaving-home check.
• Pair Vault extras add QR export, photos and iCloud sync for your saved pairing codes.
• Energy Insights adds utility usage and an estimated bill for SmartHub co-ops, and peak rate alerts.
• Console adds custom tiles, extra boards, wall mode and live tiles.
• Guest Access adds time-boxed guest passes for your Philips Hue lights and plugs.
• Coverage Map paints measured Thread coverage on the rooms of your Home Map, with a suggested fix for weak rooms.

How do I restore purchases?

To restore purchases in Smart Home Life, open the Settings tab, tap My Purchases, then tap Restore Purchases, while signed in to the App Store with the same Apple Account you bought with. Most paywalls also have a restore button. Earlier purchases restore too, and they give you Pro.

Can I get a refund?

Refunds for Smart Home Life purchases are handled by Apple, not by us, so you ask for one through Apple's Report a Problem page, signed in with the Apple Account you bought with, and Apple decides. We cannot issue refunds ourselves, as the purchases and trials terms explain.

Privacy and data

Does Smart Home Life send my device data anywhere?

Most of what Smart Home Life knows about your home stays on your device, but our server gets each device's make and model, for product photos; your location, rounded to about 1 km, for air quality; Apple's install attribution token; and Live Activity tokens. If you use them, your email list signup, the device reports you turn on with Share device fingerprints (they include device names), devices you suggest with Missing a device?, Guest Access passes, a sealed copy of your Philips Hue sign-in while Hue guest control is on, your phone's notification address once you turn Hue guest control on, and your Tesla token and car data, including its location, reach it too; the privacy policy lists each one, and we do not sell your information.

Does Smart Home Life work without internet?

Partly: on your home network Smart Home Life still controls Apple Home, Philips Hue and Sonos devices, reads a Tesla Wall Connector and runs its network, Bluetooth and Thread scans, but Google Home, Flo by Moen, Tesla vehicles, weather and Guest Access need the internet. Away from home, controlling Apple Home devices and running scheduled scenes depend on an Apple home hub such as a HomePod or Apple TV.

Does Smart Home Life scan my network? Why does it ask for Local Network and Bluetooth?

Yes, Smart Home Life asks for Local Network access to find and identify the smart home devices, Hue bridges, Sonos speakers and Thread border routers on your network, and for Bluetooth to show which nearby devices broadcast over Bluetooth Low Energy. Each found device's make and model go to our server to fetch product photos (see device lookups), and you can turn either permission off in iOS Settings.

Why does Smart Home Life ask for location?

Smart Home Life uses your approximate location to show local weather, sends it rounded to about 1 km to our server for outdoor air quality, and, with Home Watch and Always location, checks your locks and appliances when you leave home. The leaving-home check runs on your device, and you can limit or turn off location in iOS Settings (see weather, air quality and location).

Platforms

Which smart home platforms does Smart Home Life work with?

Smart Home Life works with Apple Home for free, and Smart Home Life Pro adds Google Home, Philips Hue, Sonos, Flo by Moen, Tesla vehicles and the Tesla Wall Connector, with Thread and Matter devices showing up through the platform they are paired to. Alexa is not a connected platform: the app can spot devices on your network that work with Alexa, but it cannot sign in to Alexa or control anything through it.

Can I use Apple Home and Google Home at the same time?

Yes, Smart Home Life can show Apple Home and Google Home devices together in one Home Hub list, with a device that is on both shown once, after you add Google Home with Smart Home Life Pro or the free trial. Google Home devices are view only in the app.

Does Smart Home Life replace Apple Home or Google Home?

No, Smart Home Life does not replace Apple Home or Google Home: your devices stay set up in the platform that owns them, and the app reads and controls them through each platform's own connection. Camera, notification and presence automations are still built in Apple Home, so you keep those apps.

Is there an Android version?

No, there is no Android version of Smart Home Life; it is made for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo, available on the App Store, and it needs iOS or iPadOS 17.0 or later to run, or iOS 27.1 or later on iPhone Duo. There is no Apple Watch app either.