Is it possible to control the lights in our home when we are away from it? If we have an iPhone, there are several ways in which we can control connected devices and accessories remotely. Whether they are smart lights, wall lights or plugs, we will learn how to control them remotely in a very simple way, as well as what is necessary to carry out this process.
Control your home lights away from home
The first thing we must take into account to control the lights in our home, when we are outside and with the iPhone, are the characteristics of our connected device: is it a plug that connects a lamp? is it a smart bulb? And the most important:This smart accessory is connected to the Wi-Fi network? If the answer is yes, then we already have part of the way done. Normally, these smart lights and plugs can be linked to the iPhone through two different channels: through the manufacturer’s app, or through a voice assistant. The iPhone is compatible with the Google Nest range of speakers, with Google Assistant, and with the Amazon Echo range of speakers, whose assistant is Alexa.
Once we have the voice assistant linked to the Wi-Fi router in our home, and connected to the iPhone with the corresponding application, it is time to link the bulb, lamp or smart plug. Depending on the manufacturer, the steps may differ. But, at the end of the day, the process in its essence is the samewhich consists of the following steps:
- We download the device application on our iPhone
- We install the device and execute the command that the manufacturer tells us (if it is a light bulb, for example, turn the light on and off with the conventional switch several times).
- With the app open, the iPhone will recognize the device.
- When the device is already linked to the Wi-Fi network and to the iPhone, it can be managed from the mobile.
- If we have a voice assistant at home, from the manufacturer’s own app, if the device is compatible with the assistant we have at home, an option will appear to link the device with the assistant, and thus we can control it using voice commands.
Now, what happens if we are away from home and we want to turn the lights on or off in our home with the iPhone? Can be done? The answer is that it depends on the manufacturer from which we have purchased the light, wall lamp, LED strip or plug. The truth is that, more and more, these products receive firmware updates that allow remote control. It makes it no longer necessary for our iPhone and our light to have to be in the same physical space in order to interact with each other. If the device allows remote control from its proprietary appAlthough it is not 100% compatible with HomeKit, we can control it remotely from our iPhone.
HomeKit is Apple’s standard for interaction with other connected devices in the home. Now, Mater is a new standard that unifies device compatibility with the voice assistants currently on the market. Therefore, with the arrival of this new protocol, it does not make HomeKit necessary to control the lights remotely. Because the important thing is that the device allows remote control, and that it has its proprietary app for the iPhone with the option to perform this task.
