HomeKit Presence... not present?

Hey everyone, I'm having an odd time in 2.4.1 and 2.4.2 with presence detection in the HomeKit Integration. I don't know if it started in either of those versions, or if this is something known (just not to me) but the fault is pretty simple.

Devices with presence detection don't show up in HomeKit.

That's it. To test I create a Virtual Presence sensor and enable HomeKit. Save it, then I head over to Apple's Home app and it never appears. Furthermore, it doesn't appear in the HomeKit Integration app either, there's not even a Presence section. When I go to delete the device it complains that it's in use by the HomeKit Integration.

I can get it to appear using Homebridge, but that's not really the point. Have I just missed something in the docs?

New devices get added tothe Default Room in Apple's Home App, and usually have to be moved to the Room you're expecting.

I have 4 Presence devices defined in my system and they work fine, but then they've existed for a long time. I don't know if adding new is working or not, just that, once added, they work.

I added a virtual presence device just now, and after 30 seconds or so, it showed up in Apple's Home App.

One method of finding the device in Apple's Home App is to tap the 'circle ...' icon in the top right corner. Then tap Home Settings and scroll to Home Hubs and Accessories. Find the bridge your instance of HomeKit Integration is calling itself and tap that. Finally, tap Accessories and all of your devices should appear. You should find the device on that screen. Plus the number of accessories count increases or decreases to provide even more feedback. :smiley:

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Huh, well, perhaps the problem is between the chair and the computer! I shall give it a try again shortly and report back. Good to know that it is supposed to work!

@csteele, is there a "Presence" devices section in your HomeKit Integration app?

No. Just like "Door Sensors" don't exist in the HomeKit Integration app.

Real Sensors, not the virtual kind, can't be set/reset. The condition of the sensor is internal to the sensor itself. Just like a "Door Sensor" cannot be told to Shut-The-Door, a Presence sensor can't be set/reset by hub logic. Instead, we use a special hybrid virtual driver that mashes together a switch with a presence sensor.

Screenshot 2025-07-05 at 9.00.54 AM

The Switch shows up in the HomeKit Integration app. That then shows up in Apple's Home App and you create Apple Automations to flip the switch.

Then on the Hubitat side, you'd use the Presence attribute in any Rules.

In Apple's Home app, you can create Automations that 'mirror' Apple's Presence detection into the Switch function of the Virtual device. It takes two Apple Automations to do that, one for present, one for not present.

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Brillant, thank you! I've just tried everything again and it's worked perfectly, so I don't know where I was going wrong before. :sweat_smile:

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