Eero Just Added Apple HomeKit Support
Eero today announced that it has added Apple HomeKit support to its lineup of routers. The idea of flipping the switch on HomeKit support is to make IoT setups more secure, but of course, there's also the benefit of being able to control your router through the Apple Home app. Support is rolling out today, with Eero putting together a multi-part post on its help site to guide people through the set up process.
That help article is fairly detailed, opening with a description of what HomeKit is and why this integration can be useful to customers. "Eero will firewall each of your supported HomeKit-enabled accessories, preventing them from communicating with other WiFi devices connected to your home network, and from unauthorized services on the internet," the company said. "HomeKit accessories are automatically given permissions based only on what they need."
Eero then went on detail the three levels of security that HomeKit users can set for their routers: "Restrict to Home," which is the most secure level and effectively cuts devices off from the internet, allowing them to only interact with HomeKit through Apple devices; "Automatic," which is the default setting that sees the router allowing for only manufacturer-improved internet connections; and finally "No restriction," which will allow devices to bypass the router's security and interact with any other device on the network or connect to internet services.
In order to add eero routers to HomeKit, you'll need to have the eero App version 3.1.0 or later installed and your network needs to be in NAT mode with your phone connected to it. Your phone needs to be running iOS 13.2 or later, and similarly, you need a Home Hub that's running iOS 13.2+ as well. If you've got all of that, you'll then open up the eero App, tap "Discover" and then tap "Apple HomeKit."
From there, tap "Set up HomeKit," read through the description and tap "Set up HomeKit" again, and then when you see a pop-up notification telling you that "eero" wants to access your Apple Home data, allow it. Once that's done, you're ready to access HomeKit settings and add or remove devices. Check out the help article linked above for more on Eero's HomeKit integration, and look for support to roll out to your router beginning today.