Sometimes you need to remove a Homekit device from your smart home. Here's how to do it. The Home app allows you to remove devices from a HomeKit network. A smart home can offer many benefits, but over time it can become a chore. Over the years, you can collect quite a few HomeKit devices, filling the Home app with operable hardware throughout the home. Ultimately, instead of adding items to the HomeKit network, you want to remove them. This could be for a variety of reasons, such as deleting entries for broken devices as there is no point in leaving them there. If you're replacing a damaged device with another, you may want to delete the original, if only to avoid confusion by activating the wrong one in the Home app. With devices often associated with a user account, you may also want to remove them from your HomeKit network before including them in another. Likewise if you are going to resell a device. Sometimes it is also necessary to completely reset an accessory, which in some cases requires it to be re-added to the network. In any of these cases and a few others, you'll want to completely remove your HomeKit device from the network.

Removing HomeKit devices

Removing an accessory from a HomeKit network is relatively easy and takes a few taps in the Home app.

Remove a HomeKit accessory

1. Open the Home app.
2. Long press on the accessory and select Accessory details.
3. Swipe up to view the settings for the accessory.
4. At the bottom, select Remove accessory.
5. Tap Delete to confirm.

Removing an accessory from HomeKit will disconnect it from the home network. The accessory will also be removed from the Home app.

If you have a number of devices that connect via a bridge, such as smart bulbs, you can remove individual devices this way or via an associated app. You can remove the bridge, but that will also disconnect any devices from HomeKit that depend on that bridge. This can be a quick way to get rid of many devices that work together, such as unplugging smart lights when you move.

Remove the bridge from a HomeKit accessory (method 1)

1. Open the Home app.
2. Long press on an accessory connected to the bridge.
3. Tap Accessory details.
4. Swipe up and select Bridge.
5. Tap Remove Bridge from Home, then tap Remove to confirm.

Removing a bridge from HomeKit will disconnect it, along with any associated devices, from the home network. The bridge will be removed from the Home app.

If you're in a situation where you want to remove a bridge, but don't see any accessories that you know are connected to it, you can also remove the bridge more directly.

Remove the bridge from a HomeKit accessory (method 2)

1. Open the Home app.
2. Tap the dots in the top right corner under the Home tab.
3. Select Home settings.
4. Select Home Hubs & Bridges and then the desired bridge.
5. Tap Remove Bridge from Home, then tap Remove to confirm.