While Apple’s Home app offers plenty of ways to organize your smart home, one simple change will instantly impact your household’s overall experience—renaming your devices. With just a few taps, you can make Siri interactions more natural and make your devices more accessible by assigning names that match how your family refers to things within your home.
We’ll show you how easy it is to organize your smart home by renaming your devices.
Why Device Names in the Home App Matter
Screenshot/Photo by Christopher Close – No attribution required
Spending a few extra moments to name your smart devices provides several benefits. The most significant of these comes into play if youallow others to control your Apple HomeKit and Matter accessories.
With concise and consistent naming, everyone in your household will be on the same page. Instead of looking for a fan attached to a smart plug named Wemo Mini, your household members will know exactly which device to look for if it is simply called a fan.
Choosing a name that mimics its application within your home will also lead to more natural Siri conversations through your iPhone and HomePods. Instead of saying “Hey Siri, turn off the Nanoleaf light bulb in a lamp,” you can simply say, turn off the lamp.
Other organizational options—like creatingHomeKit Rooms and Zonesandadding devices to groups—will open the door to additional Siri commands. When combined, you can say phrases such as Hey Siri, turn off the kitchen lights to quickly adjust multiple devices.
How to Rename Your Devices in the Home App
There are currently two ways to rename your smart device in the home app. The first opportunity appears when youadd a smart home product to Apple HomeKit, while the other occurs after the fact in the Home app.
For this guide, we will focus on renaming existing devices in the Home app:
With your device renamed, you can now focus on other organization options to further streamline your home. For example, you canchange the icons for a smart deviceto better suit its application within your home, change rooms, or add it to a group—all from the same settings screen.
Rename Your Devices to Organize Your Apple Smart Home
Taking the time to name your devices to match your lifestyle plays a significant role in organizing your smart home. Not only will it make locating devices effortless, but it also makes Siri voice commands more natural—leading to less frustration for everyone in your household.
