HomeView face recognition switches off for a while after several failed attempts, and the smart display then hides your messages, calendar and other personal content until you approve a prompt on your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Recognition runs on the display itself, and what it learns about your face is not shared with Apple or with your apps.
Apple detailed the lockout in new support pages along with repair, setup and power steps for the display, which launched alongside the new Apple TV 4K on November 13. If you need a repair, you have to reset HomeView first, and anything you pack with it, such as the power adapter or magnetic mount, will not come back to you.
HomeView Face Recognition Has a Lockout
When HomeView fails to recognize you several times, it shows a Confirm Your Identity screen and turns face recognition off as a security measure. You can tap Use Personal Device on that screen, and a notification goes to a nearby iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch signed in to your Apple Account. Approving it there identifies you while face recognition stays off.
Help HomeView recognize you
- Angle the screen toward your face.
- Use the display in a room with even light coming from the front.
- Keep your face uncovered, and take off sunglasses.
- Stand centered and closest to the camera when other people are nearby.
- Open Mirror in Control Center to see what the camera sees.
- Keep the camera lens clean and install the latest HomeView software.
Reset face or voice recognition
- If HomeView still doesn’t recognize you, open Settings, tap your name, then tap Recognition.
- Confirm your identity with your paired iPhone or iPad and follow the onscreen steps to set up face recognition again.
- Voice recognition resets from the same Recognition screen.
- If two Apple Accounts in your home use the same voice for Recognize My Voice, turn the feature off on one of them.
- Your face and voice profiles are stored in iCloud, so restoring HomeView erases only your clock face and screen settings.
Your personal content only appears when HomeView recognizes your face and your paired iPhone or iPad was unlocked recently on the same Wi-Fi network. The display recognizes up to six people by face and voice.
Repairs Mean Sending Only the Display
A repair outside warranty costs $279 without AppleCare+, and HomeView repair costs drop to $39 with the plan. The standard one-year warranty covers manufacturing defects only, while AppleCare+ adds unlimited repairs for drops and spills.
Service options
- You can take HomeView to an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider.
- Apple can send you a prepaid box for mail-in service, with no appointment needed.
- With AppleCare+, Express Replacement Service ships you a replacement HomeView before you return yours.
- Express Replacement puts a temporary hold on your card, and Apple charges it if you do not return the original within 10 business days or if the device has unauthorized modifications or severe damage.
Before you send it in
- Open the Home app on your paired iPhone or iPad, tap HomeView, tap the Settings button, then tap Reset HomeView and Remove HomeView.
- Find the HomeView serial number in Settings under About, or on the back of the display near the bottom.
- If the display is frozen or missing from the Home app, connect it to a Mac or PC over USB and restore it from Finder or the Apple Devices app, which takes 30 to 50 minutes.
- Pack only the display, since Apple does not return a power adapter, cable, magnetic mount or other accessory.
- Keep the battery sticker on the shipping box flat and uncovered by tape or the label.
- Keep the courier’s receipt, because Apple is not responsible for damage in transit.
Setup Needs iOS 27.2 and 30W Power
You need an iPhone on iOS 27.2 or later to set up HomeView, and only the Resident (Owner) of your home in the Home app can do it. The standard model comes with its own cable and adapter, while HomeView (Wall Mounted) needs power that you buy separately.
Setup and adding people
- Turn on Bluetooth on your iPhone, and make sure anyone you add also has an iPhone on iOS 27.2 or later.
- HomeView joins the Wi-Fi network your iPhone uses.
- If you see a 6 GHz alert, give your 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands the same network name.
- If setup or adding someone fails, open Find My on each iPhone, tap Me and set Shared From to the device you are using.
- Your role decides which settings you can change, since Admins can change many, other residents mostly manage their own profile and guests get the fewest options.
- If an app shows App Unavailable, its developer may have kept it to your iPhone.
- On a paired iPad, HomeView cannot run third-party audio and video apps or add remote widgets for your accessories.
Power requirements
- A replacement for the standard model must be a USB-C adapter of at least 30W that supports 15V at 2A.
- HomeView (Wall Mounted) ships without power, so you need a separate USB-C cable and an adapter of at least 20W at 9V and 2.22A.
- Some wall mounts hardwire the display to line power instead, and Apple does not offer installation.
If a wall-mounted HomeView shows a Power Adapter Not Supported message, take it off the mount and connect it directly to a compatible adapter. If the display powers on without the message, the problem is with the mount or its installation, so contact the mount maker or your installer.
