How to: Group HomeKit Accesories.

How to Group HomeKit Accessories: The Ultimate Guide

In this guide, we’ll walk through exactly how to group HomeKit accessories, referencing specific steps and best practices. You’ll learn about the key benefits of grouping your smart devices, essential tips to make the process smoother, and alternative ways to control multiple devices at once creating a  more streamlined, intuitive smart home experience—all with a friendly, step-by-step approach.

Understanding the Power of HomeKit Accessory Grouping

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of how to group HomeKit accessories, let’s first explore why you’d want to do so. HomeKit allows you to control many types of devices, including lights, sensors, smart plugs, speakers, and more. As your home setup grows, you’ll often find yourself needing to switch off (or on) multiple devices at once. For instance, consider a multi-bulb ceiling fixture in your living room: without grouping, you might have to tap each bulb’s icon in the Home app or voice-command them individually via Siri. That’s neither efficient nor convenient.

By grouping those bulbs together, you can treat them as if they were a single accessory. A single tap or voice command can power them all on or off, change their brightness, or even adjust the colour (if they’re colour-changing bulbs). This streamlines control, reduces clutter in the Home app, and simplifies your daily routines.

Moreover, grouping becomes an even more powerful tool when paired with other HomeKit features like Scenes, Automations, Rooms, and Zones. Imagine being able to say, “Hey Siri, Good Night,” and having all the lights in your bedroom (or even throughout the entire home) turn off at once. By strategically grouping accessories, you ensure that your Scenes and Automations run smoothly, taking the guesswork out of your smart home management.

Step-by-Step: How to Group Accessories

Below is a clear, actionable guide to grouping HomeKit accessories. This process will be the same on most Apple devices that support HomeKit, such as an iPhone, iPad, or even a Mac with the Home app installed. The steps, courtesy of multiple sources such as [1], [2], [3], and [4], are as follows:

1. Open the Home app

Launch the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

2. Long press or 3D Touch on the first accessory you want to group

Locate the accessory in the Home app. If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, press and hold (or 3D Touch on devices that support it) on the accessory’s icon.

3. Tap the settings cog (⚙️)

After long-pressing on the accessory, a menu will appear. Look for the settings cog icon, typically in the bottom-right corner of the pop-up.

4. Select “Group with Other Accessories” under the GROUP header

Within the accessory’s settings, you’ll see a section labelled “Group.” Select “Group with Other Accessories.”

5. Choose the additional devices you want to include

A list of available devices of the same type will appear. Tick the boxes or select the accessories that you wish to group together.

6. Name the group

Give this grouped set of accessories a clear name—for instance, “Living Room Ceiling Lights” or “Hallway Bulbs.” Make it something descriptive and easy to remember.

7. Tap Done

Once you’ve named your group and selected your devices, tap “Done.” The group should now appear as a single icon in the Home app.

Key Benefits of Grouping

1. Control Multiple Devices as a Single Unit

Whether you have four bulbs in a single chandelier or two lamps in different corners of a room, grouping lets you manage them as though they’re one. A single command such as “Hey Siri, turn off Bedroom Lights” will switch all grouped lights off instantly.

2. Simplify On/Off States

When your day is done, you don’t want to fuss with turning off multiple bulbs or devices individually. By grouping them, you streamline what might normally take several taps down to one.

3. Manage Brightness and Colour Simultaneously

For lights that allow brightness and colour adjustments, grouping ensures that they all adjust in unison. If you have a set of decorative bulbs that show different colours, grouping them allows for a uniform ambience across your living space.

4. Easier Control of Multi-Bulb Fixtures

Fixtures like chandeliers, ceiling lights, and even some decorative string lights often come with multiple bulbs or segments. Instead of cluttering your Home app with each component, grouping consolidates them into one neat icon.

Important Grouping Tips

1. Only Group Devices of the Same Type

HomeKit generally limits you to grouping accessories that share the same functionality—like multiple light bulbs or multiple window shades. Trying to group different device types might cause confusion or simply not be supported.

2. Grouped Accessories Appear as One Icon

Once grouped, you’ll see a single icon for that set of accessories in the Home app. This is very convenient if your Home screen was starting to feel cluttered.

3. You Can Still Control Individual Devices Within the Group

Though grouped accessories behave as one unit by default, it’s important to note that you still have the option to delve into the group’s settings and manage each device individually if needed.

4. Ungrouping Is Possible

If you decide you no longer want certain devices grouped, simply go into the group settings and select “Ungroup Accessories.” You can then manage them separately, as before.

Alternative Multi-Device Control Methods

While grouping is an excellent way to unify accessories of the same type in one location, there are additional tools within HomeKit that can help you manage your devices in a more holistic or functional way:

1. Zones

Zones are large areas of your home that can encompass multiple rooms. For instance, you could have an “Upstairs” zone that includes bedrooms, bathrooms, and hallway lighting. By assigning rooms to a zone, you can say, “Hey Siri, turn off Upstairs,” and it will switch off (or on) everything in that zone.

2. Rooms

A foundational element of HomeKit is assigning every accessory to a specific room. This helps you stay organised. For example, you might have “Living Room,” “Master Bedroom,” “Kitchen,” and so on. Once an accessory is placed in a room, you can say, “Hey Siri, turn on the lights in the Living Room” without having to mention each bulb individually.

3. Scenes

Scenes are customisable “recipes” of states for multiple devices across your home, regardless of their type or location. For example, a “Good Morning” Scene might open the blinds, turn on your bedroom lights, and play your favourite morning radio station on a HomePod in the kitchen. Scenes aren’t limited to grouping only lights; they can include thermostats, blinds, locks, and more.

Unlike grouping, Scenes can combine different types of devices for a single theme or event. This makes Scenes particularly versatile for day-to-day routines or special occasions.

Extended Tips for Smooth Grouping and Control

1. Label Everything Clearly

Effective naming conventions are key to a stress-free HomeKit experience. If you have multiple rooms, multiple zones, or multiple sets of similar devices, clarity is your friend. Instead of labelling two sets of lights as “Lights 1” and “Lights 2,” use names like “Kitchen Island Pendants” and “Kitchen Cabinet Lights” so you instantly know which is which.

2. Consider Physical Location and Usage

When grouping or assigning devices to Rooms, think about how you actually use those spaces. If you frequently turn on the hallway light and the adjacent foyer light together, consider whether grouping them would simplify your life—or perhaps a Scene might be more suitable, especially if they’re physically separate but functionally linked.

3. Don’t Over-Group

While grouping is powerful, try not to go overboard. If you group too many devices into one icon, you might lose the granular control you desire. For instance, you might want to group the four bulbs in your living room’s ceiling fan, but not group the floor lamp in that same room, as you might use it for reading independently.

4. Explore Scenes and Automations

Grouping lights is fantastic for quick toggles, but Scenes and Automations are where HomeKit truly shines. Automations allow you to trigger Scenes or actions based on factors like time of day, location (geofencing), or sensor data (e.g., a motion sensor detecting movement). For instance, if you have an Automation set for “When I arrive home, turn on the Hallway Lights,” grouping can make sure that multiple bulbs in that hallway are all triggered together.

5. Keep Firmware Updated

To ensure your grouped accessories function properly, keep your devices updated with the latest firmware. Manufacturers often push updates that improve HomeKit compatibility and reliability, so don’t ignore those notifications from companion apps.

Real-Life Examples of Grouping

Example 1: Living Room Lights

If you have a typical living room setup with multiple overhead bulbs, a lamp in the corner, and perhaps a decorative string of LED lights behind your TV, grouping can quickly reduce clutter. You might group the overhead bulbs into one icon, keep the lamp separate for reading, and have the string lights as another group if they’re comprised of multiple segments.

By combining the overhead bulbs into a single group called “Living Room Ceiling Lights,” you can say, “Hey Siri, turn off the Living Room Ceiling Lights,” and everything overhead will switch off. At the same time, your reading lamp remains unaffected because it’s independent.

Example 2: Kitchen Fixtures

Kitchens often contain several types of lighting: under-cabinet strips, hanging pendants over an island, and ceiling spotlights. If you have two or three spotlights over the cooking area, you might group those together, especially if you always adjust their brightness in tandem. For under-cabinet strips that you rarely alter but frequently turn on or off together, grouping those is also handy.

Example 3: Garden or Outdoor Lighting

Outdoors, you might have landscape lighting, porch lights, pathway lights, and decorative bulbs for a patio. If each of these has multiple bulbs or fixtures, grouping can keep them organised so you don’t have a dozen “lights” icons in your Home app. For instance, group all the pathway lights into “Front Path Lights” and all the decorative bulbs into “Patio String Lights.”

Example 4: Christmas Tree lights.

I have two Meross smart plugs that we use for the Christmas tree lights, these are then grouped together making switching on or off easier.

Troubleshooting Common Grouping Issues

1. Grouping Option Not Showing

Occasionally, you might notice that the “Group with Other Accessories” option isn’t available. This usually happens if you’re trying to group devices that aren’t of the same type (e.g., grouping a light switch with a thermostat), or if you’re dealing with an accessory that doesn’t fully support grouping. Double-check that the accessories you wish to group are indeed of the same function, like light bulbs.

2. Grouped Devices Not Responding in Unison

In some cases, one or more devices within a group may fail to respond. This could be due to temporary network glitches or range issues—particularly if a bulb is at the edge of your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth coverage. Try resetting the device or moving your Home Hub (an Apple TV, HomePod, or iPad) to a more central location. Also, verify that the firmware is up to date.

3. Voice Commands Not Working as Expected

Sometimes, Siri might get confused if you have multiple groups with similar names. If you find that Siri isn’t responding correctly, rename your groups to something more distinctive. Instead of “Living Room Lights” and “Living Room Lamp,” you might go for “Living Room Ceiling” and “Living Room Corner Lamp.”

4. Changes Not Reflecting Across Devices

If you make changes on your iPhone but don’t see them on your iPad or Mac, make sure iCloud sync is enabled for Home on all your devices. A stable internet connection is also crucial for iCloud to propagate these changes.

Tip: Knowing When to Group vs. Scene vs. Zone

Deciding whether to group, create a Scene, or use Zones often depends on your goal:

• Group when you have multiple accessories of the same type (e.g., multiple bulbs) in one fixture or location that you always operate together.

• Scene when you want to orchestrate a specific mood or routine involving different types of devices (lights, thermostat, blinds, locks, etc.) across potentially multiple rooms.

• Zone when you want a broader brushstroke for controlling entire areas of your home, like “Upstairs,” “Ground Floor,” or “Garden.”

These methods aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, the best HomeKit setups often combine them all. For example, you might have a “Kitchen Pendants” group, which is also part of the “Downstairs” zone, and you might incorporate that same group into a “Dinner Time” Scene.

The Bigger Picture: Bringing It All Together

A well-organised HomeKit setup can significantly enhance your day-to-day life. By grouping accessories effectively, you reduce clutter in the Home app, streamline your voice commands to Siri, and ensure that you’re only a tap or phrase away from adjusting your home’s ambience. When complemented with Scenes and Automations, you can orchestrate a variety of tasks—from setting the perfect lighting for a weekend movie marathon to ensuring all the lights are off and the thermostat is lowered when you leave the house.

Furthermore, grouping accessories can be a real lifesaver when hosting guests or simplifying routines for family members. Instead of explaining which specific bulbs to toggle for the perfect living room lighting, you can say, “Just ask Siri to turn on the Living Room Ceiling Lights,” and everything else is taken care of automatically.

Final Thoughts

Grouping HomeKit accessories is a simple yet powerful method to enhance your smart home experience. By consolidating multiple similar devices into one easy-to-control icon, you reduce clutter, streamline management, and open up opportunities to create more cohesive Scenes and Automations. From multi-bulb chandeliers to outdoor lighting, grouping frees you from juggling multiple switches and icons, allowing you to enjoy a more intuitive and efficient home.

Remember these key takeaways:

1. Use Grouping for Same-Type Accessories: Stick to bulbs, blinds, or devices that share the same core function to prevent compatibility issues.

2. Keep Names Distinct: Naming your groups clearly helps Siri understand your commands and keeps your Home app looking tidy.

3. Consider Supplementing with Scenes and Zones: Grouping is just one tool in your HomeKit arsenal. Scenes allow you to control different device types simultaneously, and Zones help you manage entire areas of your home.

4. Monitor Connectivity and Updates: Ensure your devices remain reliably connected to your network and keep their firmware updated to maintain a smooth experience.

By following the steps outlined above and incorporating best practices, you’ll be well on your way to creating a smart home that truly makes life easier. Whether you’re turning on all the bulbs in your lounge with one command or dazzling guests with a well-timed “Welcome Home” Scene that includes grouped lighting, HomeKit empowers you to curate an atmosphere tailored to your needs.

So go ahead—fire up the Home app, gather your accessories, and start grouping! With just a few taps, you’ll enjoy the simplicity and elegance of a well-orchestrated smart home that responds to your every need.