If you need to blaze your home with an audio solution, SONOS is the way to go. Currently, there are several models of SONOS devices to own. The good news is that the newer generation of these devices are internally built with an ability to work with Home-Kit.
This makes your control of music easier and reliable. However, there are older generations of SONOS devices that don’t connect directly with Home-kit. The best thing is that there is a remedy to this barrier. After experiencing this problem for quit long, I researched across several sites, read books and browsed different forums to search for a remedy.
After compiling all my work done, I came up with this comprehensive guide on SONOS apple home kit. If you want to know if SONOS work with apple Home-Kit and how to connect, read out guide closely.
Does SONOS work with Apple Home-kit
While SONOS is an audio solution, Home-kit is an Apple brand smart home device that helps you to command or control smart audio devices like SONOS through your voice. This interface allows you to customize settings for easier device control.
So, does SONOS work with the Apple home-kit? As mentioned, there are certain models of SONOS with inbuilt modern technologies to connect smoothly with apple home-kit devices? Some of these models are SONOS beam, SONOS Amp and SONOS play-base among others.
However, there are older versions of SONOS devices that don’t work with apple Home-kit. Although these devices are not directly compatible with Apple Home-Kit, there is a simple remedy for that. This entails adding a newer version of SONOS speaker to the older speakers to upgrade it and the entire system will work with Home-kit. What’s amazing is that the process is so easy and seamless. Alternatively, you can use a home-bridge to integrate the two. Luckily, we have a detailed process for you below.
How do SONOS work with Home-Kit
Before digging deep into how to connect SONOS with Apple Home-kit, it’s wise to know how these two network operate. Integrating your SONOS network to Home-kit allows you to play music or sound effect on your SONOS speakers using a voice command. This allows you to control and monitor the speakers through your voice, courtesy of SIRI. In fact, you can use your iPhone to give out these commands and play whatever song you love on your SONOS speaker on a specific room. The newer version of SONOS speakers that automatically integrate with Home-Kit avail with an inbuilt Air-Play 2. This makes it safe and easy to play music directly from the phone to your SONOS speakers.
How To Connect Incompatible SONOS With Apple Home-Kit
When you realize your SONOS speaker is out-of-date and incompatible with Home-kit, you don’t need to buy a completely new system as it comes with high price tags. As a result, SONOS has created a remedy to integrate your old version speaker to Home-Kit. You can use Home-Bridge to integrate the two.
Use of home-bridge
As the name has it, home-bridge is a linking bridge used to integrate non-home-kit devices to home-kit. Basically, this technology helps to break communication barrier and enhance message transmission between home-kit and other smart home devices. Home-bridge can be installed on a computer or run through a hub. Using your computer, home-bridge receives signal and transit to your home kit as a message. Therefore, your computer has to remain on all the time for successful integration.
Alternatively, you can home-bridge through HOOBS SONOS hub for home-kit integration. This is through the following process:
- Buy HOOBS home-bridge hub and connect it to your router or any other home WIFI source.
- Visit HOOBS official website and create an account
- On your account’s home screen, allow connection of HOOBS to your Home-kit and tap on “add button”
- Next, tap “add accessory”
- Scan QR code to add HOOBS to your home-App
- Install SONOS plugin to sync specific devices. This plugin is called Home-bridge ZP plugin
- Configure the installed plugin on the screen.
- On your Home-app, manually add SONOS accessories
- Update your SONOS app if need be to successfully sync and use it with your Home-Kit.
How To Connect Compatible SONOS Devices To Home-Kit
To connect compatible SONOS with Apple Home-kit, you have to update your SONOS app to enable Home-Kit and Air-Play 2 support. Below is the detailed process:
- On your launched SONOS app screen, navigate to the bottom-left.
- Tap on “more” followed by “update”.
- This will either launch the app store or update your app directly.
- After a successful app update, tap on “check for updates” to update your app and enable new features.
- Next, you will get detailed instructions on how to use your updated app
- Tap on “+” followed by “add accessory”
- Here, tap on “ can’t scan or don’t have a code”
- On the available list of devices, chose your SONOS speaker.
- This has successfully added your new SONOS to Home-Kit and also given you access to Air-Play 2
- At this stage, your SONOS network is integrated with Home-kit successfully.
How To Troubleshoot Home-Kit That Does Not Allow SONOS Integration
In case Home-Kit refuse to add to SONOS, you should reset to fix it. This is resetting it to factory default and later reinstalling in to the system. To do this, unplug your device, look out for “connect button” and hold it down. Plug it back and hold on until you notice an orange or white flash. Install back your SINOS app and try to reintegrate SONOS to Home-Kit.
Final Say
Apple Home-kit is a worth device to own at home. Whether you are a home enthusiast or not, there is fun in controlling your smart home devices using a voice command. With SONOS apple Home-kit, you will be able not only to communicate with your SONOS speakers but also control them through an APP. The good thing is that SONOS is now releasing new devices with inbuilt Home-kit compatibility. However, if you have older generation of SONOS products like mine, there is a remedy to integrate it to Home-Kit as explained above.