This guide will teach yo how to reset and reconfigure your HomeKit on iOS 10. As with all electronic devices sometimes a simple hard reset can solve an otherwise unsolvable problem.
The following article will show you the way to get both devices and the general HomeKit configuration reset. Usually, this process is an easy one.
Generally, you can perform a reset in two basic ways: by pushing the physical reset button on the device itself, if available. The other possibility is to complete a reset via your controlling iOS device. Below we have discussed both possibilities. The example below will be the Philips Hue Bridge 2.0, the HomeKit authorized update to the genuine Hue Bridge system. Remember that this system is not prone to issues, it is just being used as an example to illustrate our steps.
How to Reset HomeKit iOS 10
The Guide
Hard Reset your HomeKit iOS 10 Device
In most of the cases, there will be a physical reset button located somewhere on a given device. In general, what you need to do is to push the tiny button with a pen or paperclip for 3 to 5 seconds. After that you have to release the button.
However, the cons of performing a factory reset on any piece of your hardware is that any settings recorded on the device itself – for example, Wi-Fi details or configuration files – are going to be deleted and the device will go back to its factory state.
For instance, given that your device is the Hue Bridge, performing a factory reset is going to remove all the lights. Also, you will be required to manually add them to the hub again. The case in which it is obligatory to do a factory reset is if you get a secondhand HomeKit equipment as the devices are likely to still be connected to the last owner. Reset them right after you get them in such a case to spare yourself the stress and unpleasant situation.
Reset Your HomeKit iOS 10 Configuration
Maybe the reason why you are experiencing such an issue is some kind of hiccup with your HomeKit system itself. In case the factory reset is not the thing that can get your problem fixed, maybe you will need to reset your HomeKit configuration on the controlling iOS device.
With the introduction of iOS 10 and the corresponding HomeKit update that was released along with it, everything about how HomeKit is handled on the iOS level completely changed. The change included the location and naming of the reset feature. For example, in iOS 9, the reset feature used to be located under Settings > Privacy > HomeKit – and to be very clearly titled as ‘Reset HomeKit Configuration’.
If you are an iOS 10 user, what you need to do is to launch the Home app, from the new HomeKit dashboard.
Bear in mind that this method could only apply to an iOS device logged into the same iCloud account as the person who set up and handles the HomeKit home. This is usually the case.
Once you have launched the Home app, select the tiny arrow icon in the upper-left side to reach the settings menu.
From there scroll down to the very bottom. Then you will see the entry ‘Remove Home’.
Choose this entry and after that, in the corresponding pop-up menu, hit ‘Delete’.
At that moment your HomeKit home will be removed.