Can I use Alexa to control HomeKit devices?

Chances are, your HomeKit door locks, smart plugs, and light bulbs also work with Alexa, thanks to the abundance of affordable Echo devices on the market. Enabling Alexa support on these devices is as simple as linking your Amazon account through the vendors app or using the device discovery feature on your Echo.

Even though these devices support multiple platforms simultaneously, Alexa and HomeKit don't work together behind the scenes. This limitation means that you won't be able to incorporate your Echo devices into HomeKit automation or scenes, but one-off commands like turning on the lights through Alexa work just fine with the status syncing to HomeKit as you would expect.

The only caveat to this is that some HomeKit accessories — especially those that utilize Bluetooth for connectivity, require a bridge or hub to communicate with cloud services like Alexa.

For accessories that are HomeKit-only, you can add Alexa voice control through software like Homebridge. Homebridge is a lightweight server that runs on an always-on Mac or Raspberry Pi, which opens your HomeKit home to non-compatible accessories and services like Alexa.

Homebridge is entirely free to install on your hardware, or if you want to take the easy route, you can buy a plug-and-play system such as the HOOBS Starter Kit. Once up and running, you will have access to hundreds of available plugins — including several that focus specifically on allowing Alexa to control your HomeKit devices that install with a few clicks.

We cover additional details for Homebridge and other software alternatives like Home Assistant in our guide — How to connect incompatible accessories to HomeKit. Be sure to check it out if you are interested in running your own server.