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I adore Apple Home, but its lack of a dedicated light toggle really bugs me. So, I use a trick to get around this limitation. It’s quick, it’s easy, and all it takes is to create a simple shortcut.
Why Use a Toggle?
A toggle is necessary for folks who still rely on a physical switch to turn on the lights when they walk into a room. By using a toggle, you can have a dedicated switch for them without the hassle of giving up your other smart light features.
How the Toggle Works
To make our toggle, we’ll use Apple Home’s automations and built-in Shortcuts support. We’ve discussedsome other awesome ways to use iOS Shortcutsin the past, but here it’s perfect.
When our automation activates, the shortcut uses aconditional statementto determine if a connected light is on or off. It then performs the opposite action. Conditional statements are like a railroad switch. Depending on the position of the switch (the condition), something is routed in one or more directions (the actions).
If that sounds complicated, don’t worry — I’m going to walk you through it.
Configuring Apple Home and the Shortcut
First, open Apple Home. Find the button or switch you’d like to use as the toggle. Tap it and open its settings using thegear iconin the lower right corner of the screen. My switch is calledWall Hue.Yours will probably be labeled differently.
Creating the New Shortcut
On this switch, I have four physical buttons, and each button supports multiple presses. I will be using the button labeledButton 3with aSingle Press. So, I’ll tap the yellowAddtext listed next toSingle Press. Again, your button may be labeled differently, but the process is the same.
This will bring up a list of all your smart home devices, but don’t select anything just yet. Instead, scroll to the bottom of the page until you seeConvert to Shortcut. Tap it.
We’ve now created a new shortcut that executes whenever we activate our smart button or switch. If done correctly, you should see one entry that saysSet Scenes and Accessories.
Selecting your smart light at this point would turn your smart light either on or off. But it would only work one way. We need to make it so that the shortcut can do both. For that, we’ll call the “If” function.
Creating the Conditional Statement
At the bottom of the screen, in the bar labeledSearch Actionstype “If”. This should bring up the “If” function. Its icon looks like a fork in the road. Select it.
The “If” function is how we tell Shortcuts to use one of those conditional statements we discussed earlier. Now, you should see three new entries in the shortcut:If Condition,OtherwiseandEnd If. These entries are our railroad switch.
Adding the Actions
We still need to add one action to the one we have and configure both. In theSearch Actionsbar, type “control” and selectControl Home. When you do, you’ll notice that another entry labeledSet Scenes and Accessorieshas appeared belowEnd If.
From here, all we need to do is fill in theScenes and AccessoriesandConditionfields, then organize everything so it operates in the correct order.
Tap the firstScenes and Accessoriesfield at the top of the screen and select the smart light you’d like to control. Mine is calledLED Overhead. Now, tapNext.
We’ll also need to ensure the light will turn on. To do this, on the next screen you’ll see awhite and yellow rectangular iconlabeled with the name of your smart light. Make sure the text at the bottom of that icon saysTurn On. Then tapDone.
You’ll follow the same procedure for the bottomScenes and Accessoriesfield, only this time, you’ll need to ensure the rectangular icon on the second screen is set toTurn Off.
Setting the Condition
Lastly, we’ll provide the condition that dictates which of these actions will occur. Tap theConditionfield next toIfon the main shortcut screen and select your smart light. Mine is calledLED Overhead.Then tapDone.
This should populate theConditionfield with the name of your light. Next to it, you’ll see a new field labeled “Is On” has appeared.
Organizing and Testing
Finally, we’ll put everything in the proper order. We’ll do this by dragging the bottomSetentry, which turns our light off, until it is betweenIfandOtherwise. Then, drag our topSetentry, which turns our light on, until it is in the space betweenOtherwiseandEnd If. Once complete, tapNextand test the action.
When you press the button, the shortcut should check to see if the light we are controlling is on. If so, the shortcut should turn the light off. Otherwise, it should turn the light on. If you are satisfied with how it works after testing, tapDone.
Following this procedure, you should be able to create a toggle for any light in just a couple of minutes. You can also use this format to control other devices,such as smart plugs. I’ve even set up a toggle for the sound machine in my bedroom and the air purifier in my living room. While it’s not the only way to create a toggle with Apple Home, it works for me. Hopefully, it’ll work for you as well.
