Users complain that their security cameras aren't updating in the Home app

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Logitech Circle View Homekit Secure Video
Logitech Circle View Homekit Secure Video (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Some Home app users report that it isn't refreshing security camera thumbnails as it should.
  • No real fix has been found, but some workarounds might help impacted users.

A growing number of users are reporting that their security camera views aren't updating automatically within the Home app, despite having previously worked with HomeKit just fine. Some people have had luck getting things back up and running by removing the camera and re-adding it, but not everyone. Others have found that the problem can be fixed by signing out of their Apple ID and then back in, but even then it's only a temporary fix.

According to multiple reports across social media that were first spied by MacRumors, the issue isn't a huge one — but it's one that's irritating enough for people to contact Apple for assistance. While the security cameras would normally have a placeholder thumbnail in the main Home app, the issue appears to be that some users are finding that it isn't refreshing as often as it should do.

HomeKit Secure Video cameras added to the Home app each have a thumbnail that provides a still view of recent footage, and normally these thumbnails automatically refresh on a periodic basis. However, users on multiple iOS versions are experiencing an issue with the thumbnails failing to refresh and showing outdated footage as a result. The issue appears to extend to the Home app on the iPad and Mac for some users.

Thankfully, going into the camera itself does cause the feed to refresh and live video to be transmitted — so the cameras are working.

Apple's HomeKit is one of the best iPhone, iPad, and Mac features that also happens to be one of the most troublesome for users. Hopefully this is a bug that gets ironed out sooner rather than later.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.