HomeKit on Honeywell T9, Targus Backpack with Find My, Nonda Vehicle Monitor on HomeKit Insider

Honeywell T9 Adds HomeKit, Targus Backpack with Find My, & Nonda Vehicle Monitor on HomeKit Insider

It's been quite the week for HomeKit and Apple news, ranging from the long-awaited T9 thermostat update, to the brand new Nuki Lock — and more. Keep up with everything new in the HomeKit Insider podcast.

Honeywell's adding HomeKit to its T9 thermostat means it has finally followed through with its promise. While the Honeywell T5 Lyric thermostat has had HomeKit support for years, the T9 is particularly welcome for what it now brings to smart homes using Apple's system.

Chiefly, the difference between the two models is that the T9 differs includes support for external sensors. These sensors allow the thermostat to adjust the temperature for the room you're in, and not purely based on where the thermostat is located.

Next, Ecobee might also be known for its themostats, but it wants to do more and as part this has announced that it's changing the name of its home monitoring system to Ecobee Smart Security. With its Ecobee Haven smart platform, the company's service includes professional monitoring, with video confirmation, which can then dispatch emergency services to your home when needed.

Plus Nuki's new 3.0 Lock has been released, Level Inc has announced its acquisition of Dwelo — and Targus has built Find My into its latest backpack set to be released in 2022.

Listener questions

We had a few listener questions this week to tackle. Keith Morrison wanted to know what smart thermostat would integrate well with hits Eve Thermo via HomeKit.

Simon Salvin asked if the new Ikea smart blinds are HomeKit compatible. Chris messaged us to inquire if there was any freezer monitor for HomeKit to help get alerts if your freezer was thawing when it shouldn't.

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1 Comment

AppleZulu 8 Years · 2205 comments

About 3 years ago

Have you tested the Honeywell T9's Homekit compatibility?

I have the T6, which has allegedly supported Homekit for a couple years. My experience is that about 95% of the time, it would show as "not responding" in Homekit, while still connected to WiFi and completely accessible via the Honeywell app. I recently gave up and removed it from Homekit so i wouldn't have to look at the constant "not responding" tile in the Home app. Tried reconnecting it again, but it just doesn't find it. Looking at user reviews for the Honeywell app, it doesn't appear this is an isolated problem.

So I can still control the T6 from my iPhone, but it was never reliably connected to Homekit such that automations or shortcuts or Siri control involving the thermostat would be viable.