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Apple says Home app upgrade deadline is fast approaching

Avatar for Ryan Christoffel  | Jan 9 2026 - 10:55 am PT
8 Comments

Years ago, Apple introduced a brand new Home app architecture for improving accessory reliability and enabling new features. The deadline for users to upgrade was originally last fall, then got pushed to February, and now Apple is reminding users of the deadline once again.

Support for previous version of Apple Home will end February 10

HomeKit and the Apple Home app have been around for over a decade. But in 2022 Apple released a new underlying architecture to make controlling home accessories “even more efficient and reliable.”

At the time, the upgrade wasn’t forced on users. It was an optional update that required manual approval.

While most Home app users likely upgraded to the new system long ago, for those who haven’t, Apple has a deadline fast approaching.

Fall 2025 was the original deadline, but back in November the company revised it to February 10, 2026.

Now, as reported by MacRumors, Apple has started emailing users to reinforce that the February deadline is still in effect, and remind them to update soon.

As explained in this support document, the update process is very simple:

  1. Open the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
  2. Tap or click the More button
  3. Select Home Settings
  4. Select Software Update
  5. Tap or click Update Now, then follow the prompts

Note that devices running much older versions of iOS will need to be updated before they can access the upgraded Apple Home. Apple explains:

Any device connected to an updated home that doesn’t use iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1, tvOS 16.2, or watchOS 9.2 or later will lose access to the updated home until you update the device. This includes people that you invite to control your home.

Rumors indicate Apple has a big smart home push coming this year, with potentially five new hardware products set to launch. The latest expectation is for the first Home products to arrive around March.

Are you holding off updating your Apple Home to the latest version? Let us know why via the comments.

Best Apple Home accessories

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Author

Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Ryan Christoffel

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.