Apple enabled the built-in temperature and humidity sensors in the HomePod and HomePod mini with iOS 16.3, making them instantly useful for Apple Home users. If you’re also running Home Assistant, however, you’ll quickly discover that these sensors aren’t exposed directly.
Fortunately, there is a workaround that allows Home Assistant to receive temperature and humidity readings from your HomePods, making them available for automations, dashboards and heating controls.
I’ve been running this setup successfully for several months and it’s proven to be a reliable way to bring HomePod sensor data into Home Assistant.
Why Use HomePod Sensors in Home Assistant?
Many smart heating setups rely on temperature readings from thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs). While convenient, these sensors often sit close to a radiator, which can result in inaccurate room temperature measurements.
HomePods are usually placed in more representative locations around the home, making them surprisingly useful as room temperature and humidity sensors. By bringing these readings into Home Assistant, you can create more accurate heating automations and climate controls.
How the Integration Works
Because Apple doesn’t currently expose HomePod sensor data directly to Home Assistant, we need to use a small workaround.
The process works by:
- Creating template sensors in Home Assistant.
- Creating a helper switch that is exposed to Apple Home.
- Triggering an Apple Home automation every few minutes.
- Reading the HomePod temperature and humidity values.
- Sending those values back to Home Assistant using its REST API.
- Updating Home Assistant sensors using custom events.
While it sounds complicated, once configured it runs automatically in the background.
What You’ll Need
- Home Assistant
- At least one HomePod or HomePod mini with temperature and humidity sensors enabled
- Apple Home
- HomeKit Bridge configured in Home Assistant
- A Home Assistant Long-Lived Access Token
Setting Up Home Assistant
The first step is creating an Input Boolean helper in Home Assistant. This helper acts as a trigger that Apple Home can see.
Once created, expose the helper through HomeKit Bridge so that it appears in Apple Home as a simple switch.
Next, create a Long-Lived Access Token in Home Assistant. This token allows Apple Home Shortcuts to securely send data back into Home Assistant using API calls.
You’ll also need to create template sensors that listen for custom events. These sensors will store the temperature and humidity values received from Apple Home.
Creating the Automation
In Home Assistant, create an automation that turns the helper switch on every five minutes, waits a few seconds and then turns it back off again.
This creates a predictable trigger that Apple Home can respond to.
Inside Apple Home, create a new automation that runs whenever the helper switch turns on. Convert the automation into a Shortcut and use it to:
- Read the HomePod temperature value.
- Read the HomePod humidity value.
- Store the values in variables.
- Send the data to Home Assistant using HTTP POST requests.
Each POST request fires a custom event inside Home Assistant which updates the corresponding template sensor.
Using the Data
Once configured, your HomePod sensors behave like native Home Assistant sensors.
You can use them in:
- Heating automations
- Climate dashboards
- Notifications
- Energy-saving routines
- Humidity monitoring
- Room occupancy and comfort calculations
The data updates automatically every five minutes and can be used anywhere within Home Assistant.
Complete Setup Guide and Files
Rather than duplicating all of the YAML, API examples and configuration steps in this article, I’ve published the complete setup guide and example files on GitHub.
You can find everything you need here:
HomePod Data to Home Assistant Setup Guide
The repository includes:
- Example YAML templates
- Home Assistant configuration examples
- Apple Home Shortcut setup guidance
- Troubleshooting information
- Example event names and API calls
Final Thoughts
Apple’s HomePods contain surprisingly capable environmental sensors, but they’re currently underutilised outside the Apple ecosystem. By combining Home Assistant, HomeKit Bridge and Apple Home Shortcuts, you can make use of those sensors throughout your smart home.
If you’re already using HomePods around the house, this is a simple way to gain additional room sensors without purchasing any extra hardware.
