In the iOS 16.2 update released yesterday, Apple upgraded the underlying architecture of Apple Home, and Apple officially stated that it can improve HomeKit performance. However, the upgrade process was not smooth, and some HomeKit users reported that they were stuck after the upgrade.
The new Apple Home architecture is available to users of eligible devices after upgrading to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, watchOS 9.2, or tvOS 16.2. If there are multiple family members in Apple Home, they will all need to upgrade to the latest version or they will not be able to control their smart home products.
Apple officials say the entire upgrade process is very fast, taking only a few seconds to complete, after which a “Home Upgrade Complete” reminder will pop up. However, some users have given feedback that there are several problems in the upgrade.
One of the most popular problems is that users are stuck in the “Update” state, and the upgrade that can be completed in a few seconds can get stuck. Stephen Robles, co-host of the AppleInsider podcast, saw many of his accessories not responding after the update. He ended up manually re-adding any unresponsive products after hours of waiting for the problem to resolve itself.
Former AppleInsider executive editor Neil Hughes also reported issues with his setup, though it was probably much more confusing. One of his user accounts became unresponsive. He finally decided that the only way out was to delete the Home app and reinstall it.
