Apple Home Hubs & Thread Border Routers
Apple TV, HomePod, and the hubs that hold an Apple Home together after the 2026 architecture change.
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- HomePod as a Home Hub: Same Job as Apple TV 4K, No Ethernet Port
What a HomePod does exactly like an Apple TV as a home hub, where it differs, and the temperature and humidity sensor Apple enabled in January 2023.
- How to Set Up an Apple TV 4K as a Thread Border Router
The right Apple TV 4K becomes a Thread border router automatically once it's a home hub. Here's how to confirm it and fix the gaps.
- Best Thread Border Router for Apple Home in 2026
Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini are the only Thread border routers Apple Home uses, and your eero probably runs a second Thread network you can't see.
- Your iPad Stopped Being a Home Hub, Here's the Fix
iPads stopped working as Home hubs when Apple retired the old HomeKit architecture. Moving hub duty to an Apple TV or HomePod takes minutes.