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Notifications are essential for keeping an eye on your smart home, and the Apple Home app makes it easy to keep an eye on your accessories at all times. With just a few simple steps, you can set up camera notifications, HomePod safety alerts, and more. We show you everything you need to know. MUO VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

What you need for HomeKit notifications Image Credit: Eve You'll need a few things before you get started with Home App notifications. As always, make sure your iPhone, Apple Home Hub, and HomeKit accessories are up to date. If you need help with your devices, check out our guide on updating your Apple HomeKit accessories. You also need an Apple Home Hub: a HomePod or Apple TV. A Home Hub unlocks remote out-of-home alerts for your accessories. Of course, you also need a compatible smart home accessory, such as a camera, sensor, lock, HomePod or sun blinds. Unfortunately, notifications for thermostats, smart plugs, and lights are not supported.

Sensor, lock and blinds notifications To manage the notification settings for smart door locks, sensors and blinds, launch the Home app. Tap the More... button and then Home Settings. Then tap the type of accessory you want to manage by tapping Blinds & Windows, Doors, Locks, or Sensors. Now tap on the name of your device. Enable notifications by tapping the Activity notifications switch. To set when notifications are active, tap Time and then select Any time, Daytime, Nighttime, or Specific times. Then tap People to set notifications based on the location of those in your home. You can choose between Off, When someone is home, When I am at home, When no one is at home, or When I am not at home.

Camera and doorbell notifications As with accessories, the settings for camera and doorbell notifications are in the Home app. However, cameras and doorbells offer a few additional settings that mainly apply to HomeKit Secure Video features. In the Home app, tap the More... button and then tap Home Settings. Now tap Cameras & Doorbells and then tap the name of your device. To enable notifications, tap the switch next to Activity Notifications, then select the Time or People options to determine when alerts are active. Then tap Record a clip, detect any motion, or detect specific motion. Finally, choose event types by tapping People being detected, Animals being detected, Vehicles being detected, or Packages being detected. Additional notification options are also available under activity alerts. These include status change notifications, notifications when the camera goes offline, allowing snapshots in notifications, and doorbell notifications.

HomePod Safety and Security Alerts HomePod Safety Alerts use sound recognition to determine if an alarm sound is active in your home. When your HomePod detects an alarm, it will alert all your devices and those of others in your home. To set up HomePod safety alerts, launch the Home app and then tap the More... button at the top of your screen. Then tap Home Settings, followed by Safety & Security. Now tap Sound Recognition and the switch next to Smoke and CO Alarm. Finally, tap the switch for your HomePod to enable the feature. With Sound Recognition enabled, you'll see a new option to check in and switch for those you share your home with. With Check In, you can listen in on your HomePod or view a camera in your home during a security event.

The Intercom feature of Apple's Home app lets you quickly share audio messages with the people in your home. Intercom messages play through your iOS devices, Apple Watch, and HomePod, and users can send messages to specific people, devices, or rooms. To manage Intercom notifications in the Home app, first tap the More... button. Then tap Home Settings, then tap Intercom. Here you can choose when you want to receive intercom notifications by tapping Never, When I'm home, or Whenever. You can also decide who can receive intercom messages and which HomePods can play them by tapping the remaining switches.

Stay alert with notifications in the Home app With notifications enabled for your accessories, you'll always know the status of your smart home. Enabling camera notifications will help you spot someone snooping around your home, and HomePod Safety Alerts will give you peace of mind when you're out and about.

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