QuickStart Guide

• iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS 26
• tvOS 26 is supported as a Primary without a Controller interface
• Wi-Fi network (Internet required during setup)
• Active subscription or free trial (one subscription covers all platforms)

Additional Notes

• Allow Local Network access when prompted so Roomie can discover devices.
• Remote Access is supported via secure port forwarding from your router.
• The old, PDF-style longform guide is retired — this guide is authoritative. It is also built into the app: gear menu › About › QuickStart Guide.

• 🏠 Home – your overall environment or property
• 🟪 Room – physical space (e.g., Living Room, Office)
• 📺 Device – a thing Roomie controls (TV, receiver, speaker, thermostat, lights, cameras)
• ▶️ Activity – what you do ("Watch TV", "Listen to Sonos", "Movie Night"), often combining multiple devices
• 👑 Primary Controller – an always-on Apple device that coordinates Automations, Alexa, and device relays

🏠 Once set up, you'll use the Dashboard to see Rooms and Activities at a glance, the Homebar along the bottom for common controls, and device-specific Action Panels when you're inside an Activity. Each Room presents a customizable Layout — a grid of activity, scene, camera, weather, clock, and home device cards (see Section 7).

1. 📥 Install Roomie Remote X from the App Store
2. ⭐ Start a free trial or activate an existing subscription previously started inside this app or the Roomie Remote 9 app. Any in-app purchase or subscription from any other app is not compatible.
3. 👤 Sign in with Apple to enable sync, Alexa linking, and other features (can be reset in Apple Settings › Password & Security › Apps Using Apple ID). Child accounts can skip sign in by joining your Home on your local network. Both controllers must be running at the same time to share a Home.
4. 🏠 Create your Home (if you use HomeKit, giving it your Apple Home's name syncs just that home)

Choose one always-on Apple device that stays powered and online to coordinate your system. Settings › Homes › Primary Controller lets you pick a specific controller, or choose Automatic to let the system elect the best online controller dynamically.

In Automatic mode, set each controller's Controller Priority (Preferred, Normal, or Avoid) to establish a hierarchy — the system elects the highest-priority online controller. Automatic mode does not support Remote Access or Alexa Control because those features require a fixed device identity. To use them, designate a specific Primary Controller.

Recommended hardware

• 💻 Mac mini — M6, 16GB/256GB (rock-solid for large systems; 10G Ethernet optional)
• 📱 iPad Pro 11-inch, 256GB + USB-C Ethernet dongle (balanced, can double as a room controller)
• 📱 iPhone 17e + USB-C Ethernet dongle (compact)
• 📺 Apple TV 4K — Ethernet model (affordable, can't double as a room controller; slowest of the current options)

Additional Notes

• On macOS, set Sleep to Never — and consider Kiosk Mode (see Section 10) if you want the dashboard on display while preventing access to the broader system. On iOS/iPadOS, use Guided Access and/or Prevent Screen Idle (see Section 10). On tvOS, Single App Mode configured by Apple Configurator is recommended.
• All controller communication uses reliable network delivery — configuration sync, device feedback, and relay commands are guaranteed to arrive.
• A Primary Controller stores configuration changes so other controllers can sync at any time, even if they weren't online when the change was made.
• Relay routes all commands through the Primary Controller. This prevents connection limits (most devices allow only 1–4 simultaneous connections) from causing failures when multiple controllers target the same device. Disabling relay for a device sends commands directly for a slight speed increase, but risks connection conflicts.

A Home contains all Rooms, Devices, Activities, and Automations. You can share a Home to other controllers on your network with Instant Home Sharing — a one-tap local process that sets up synchronization.

Create/Edit Home: Settings › Homes

• If you use HomeKit, giving it the same name as your Apple Home limits sync to that one home; with no match, accessories from all your Apple Homes sync
• Set your Wi-Fi SSID and Location to help Roomie know when it's local vs. remote as well as provide guide and weather data.
• Enable Automatic Backups (recommended)
• Remote Access is configured with an external DNS address (from services like no-ip or duckdns) and forward TCP port 47149 to your Primary Controller on your router.

Create/Edit Room: Settings › Rooms

• Name + color (colors identify rooms throughout the UI)
• Optional: room thermostat reference (useful for zone-based HVAC)
• Choose whether the room appears on the Dashboard

Additional Notes

• Deleting a Home on the Primary Controller does not remove it from other controllers — those will need to choose a new Primary Controller.
• Prior iCloud-based sharing is deprecated — use Instant Home Sharing going forward and auto-backup to iCloud Drive
• Smarter Remote Access: Roomie stays on fast local control whenever a controller can reach the Primary directly — even across different Wi-Fi networks at home — and only switches to Remote Access when the Primary truly isn't reachable on the local network.
• Add Controller by Address: If a controller lives on a different subnet or VLAN and isn't discovered automatically, use Add Controller by Address… on the home-join menu to join by entering the Primary Controller's internal IP address or hostname.

Settings › Devices › Add Device

• Roomie auto-discovers supported devices on your network (this may take a few moments)
• Not listed? Tap Add Device Manually and enter IP/DNS and port
• Use the Compatibility Assistant for additional information on how to connect specific devices
• Home Assistant is discovered automatically via mDNS — add a long-lived access token to connect. HA cameras are auto-discovered (snapshots plus live HLS streaming) and mapped to the matching Room, and climate/thermostat entities support fan-mode control — alongside lights, switches, covers, fans, locks, and sensors.
• For infrared gear, add a Roomie IR 100 or IR 110 adapter (Wi-Fi/Ethernet/PoE) — these also double as Proximity Beacons (see below)
• For serial gear, add an IP to Serial adapter such as the Global Caché iTach Flex

Use Test before saving to confirm control. Many IP devices provide live feedback so Roomie provides live updates as you use the Activity for the device.

Additional Notes

• Primary Volume for Room designates the canonical volume device for that room.
• Always Turn This On makes sure the device is powered in every Activity.
• Input Switching can be configured on displays/receivers so the right input is chosen per Activity.
• Track Power State is for legacy toggled-power devices without discrete on/off; leave off if you have discrete commands.
• Devices that enumerate many items (Home Assistant, Lutron, Hue, Elk, etc.) can be managed with the Manifest Editor — show or hide individual items using domain filtering, search, and bulk show/hide.
• Need an unsupported device? Custom Devices editor supports many protocols; IR codes can be learned or found online. Paste them into the Custom Devices editor and then tap Add Device Instance.

Proximity Beacons & Room Switching

Proximity Switching automatically sets a controller's active Room based on which Proximity Beacon is nearest — so the right Room is already showing before you open the app, and it keeps working in the background.

• 📡 Beacons: Use the dedicated Roomie Beacon devices (available in the Roomie store), the Roomie IR 100 and IR 110 adapters (which, as of 10.4, advertise as Bluetooth beacons in addition to blasting IR), or standard third-party iBeacons (such as BlueCharm).
• 🏠 Assign to Rooms: Open Settings › Homes › Proximity Beacons to see detected beacons, assign each one to a Room, adjust its settings, and update Roomie IR firmware. A Room can have more than one beacon.
• 🎚 Enable per controller: Turn on Proximity Switching in Settings on each controller that should follow beacons. Each controller follows the beacon it hears most strongly. It can't be used at the same time as Snap to Room (set per controller in Settings › Controllers).
• 📶 Detection Sensitivity: Choose Balanced, Conservative, or Responsive to tune how close you must be before the Room switches — Conservative needs a stronger, closer signal; Responsive switches sooner.

Google Nest Thermostat Setup

Google requires end users to set up their own Device Access project to enable Nest thermostat control. There are many steps, but once completed it works well. Read all steps before starting.

Prerequisites:

• A working Google Account with at least one Nest thermostat associated and controllable via the Google Home or Nest app.
• Use a real browser on a computer (Google Chrome recommended). Do not use a mobile device for these steps.
• Have an empty note ready — you will save a Project ID, Client ID, and iOS URL Scheme (each roughly 80 characters, unique to you).

Step 1 — Register for Device Access: Go to developers.google.com/nest/device-access and click Go to console. There is a one-time non-refundable $5 registration fee paid to Google.

Step 2 — Create a Project: On the Device Access Console, tap Create project, enter a unique name (e.g. "Roomie – Smith Family"). When asked to add an OAuth client ID, click Skip for now. On the Events screen select Disable, then Create Project. Copy the resulting Project ID to your note.

Step 3 — Enable the API and Create OAuth Credentials: Go to developers.google.com/nest/device-access/get-started and click Enable the API and get an OAuth 2.0 Client ID. Enter a project title, agree to the terms, set application type iOS, and Bundle ID com.roomie.unified exactly.

Step 4 — Enable the Smart Device Management API: Go to console.developers.google.com/apis/library/smartdevicemanagement.googleapis.com and click Enable if needed.

Step 5 — Create Credentials: At console.developers.google.com/apis/credentials, tap Credentials › +CREATE CREDENTIALS. Choose User Data. Under App Information enter Roomie Remote and your support email. Under Scopes, add all Smart Device Management API scopes (at least 9). On the OAuth Client ID screen select iOS, enter Bundle ID com.roomie.unified, App Store ID 1455871956, Team ID DDDDD99DD9, and CREATE. Copy the Client ID to your note.

Step 6 — Copy the iOS URL Scheme: On the Credentials tab, tap iOS Client 1 and copy both the Client ID and iOS URL Scheme to your note.

Step 7 — Link OAuth Client to Your Project: Return to console.nest.google.com/device-access, open your project, and next to "OAuth client ID" use the 3-dot menu › Add Client ID. Paste your Client ID and save.

Step 8 — Configure the OAuth Consent Screen: At console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials/consent, ensure the consent screen is External. On the Audience page, find Publishing status and click Publish app to move it from Testing to In production. ⚠️ If left in Testing, Google logs you out every 7 days and you must re-pair. You do not need a logo, links, or domain verification.

Step 9 — Add the Cloud Service in Roomie: In Roomie, add the Google Nest Cloud Service from the Devices panel. Enter the Project ID, Client ID, and Scheme. When complete, the Pair button appears — proceed with pairing. If Google shows a "Google hasn't verified this app" screen, tap Advanced › Go to (your project name) — this is normal and safe for a personal project. Allow access and turn on each thermostat in Google's permission panels. The thermostats then appear in the Climate section of the Homebar.

Activities represent what you do (e.g., "Watch TV"). When you add devices, starter Activities are created automatically. Edit them to add commands, choose inputs, and arrange controls in the Action Panel (buttons, feedback, progress slider, and the ellipsis button for extra commands).

Room Layouts

Each Room is a Layout — a customizable grid of cards. Activities, scenes, toggles, cameras, home devices, weather, and clock all live as cards on the same grid. The whole-home Dashboard uses the same system, aggregating items across rooms.

• ▶️ Now Playing card — the active Activity floats to the top and expands automatically with transport controls, volume, mute, progress scrubber, and artwork (when the source device provides feedback).
• 💡 Home Device cards — lights, shades, fans, locks, and Lutron keypad buttons appear as inline-control tiles tinted by category, with real-time state.
• 🎥 Camera cards stream live video, taking turns when several are on screen (a camera waiting its turn shows a Paused snapshot); choose Continuous Video from a camera card's menu to keep that one live. Tap to open the full HomeBar camera view.
• 🌤 Weather & Clock cards are size-adaptive — current conditions or a 10-day forecast; standard time or a giant kiosk-style clock. Weather combines Apple Weather with any local weather and air-quality stations you've added into a single master view of local conditions. The Homebar Weather panel adds a forecast lens — Conditions, Precipitation, or Wind — across the hourly and 10-day views, plus current and peak UV.
• 🛜 System Status card — mesh health at a glance: overall status, the Primary, Voice, Sync, Remote, and Queue links, and the controller roster, plus recent and upcoming automations at larger sizes. One per Layout, available in rooms and on the Dashboard.

Edit Mode: Tap the grid icon in the toolbar to enter edit mode (full-access users only). Drag cards to reorder, tap the size badge to choose from the shapes that card supports (small, wide, large, and tall for cameras and Now Playing), tap the minus to remove. Use Add Item… to open the categorized picker (Utilities — Now Playing, Weather, Clock, System Status, Section Headers — then Activities, Scenes & Toggles, and the Room's cameras, home devices, and keypads); only items not already on the Layout are listed. Tap the checkmark to save.

Multiple Layouts per Room: A Room can hold several Layouts — for example, a guest-mode read-only layout on a wall iPad, a compact layout for iPhone, and a full-control layout on a Mac. The toolbar's layout picker switches between them. Layout Settings controls:

• Name and Default Layout — the default is the fallback when no rule matches.
• Auto-Add New Items — when on, new activities and devices added to the Room appear on this Layout automatically.
• Auto-Select Rules — Activities (running / no activity), Controllers, Guided Access, Permission, Screen Size. Evaluated in that priority order — first match wins.
• Display Scale — Auto / Normal / Large / Extra Large. Set to Large or Extra Large for wall-mounted controllers so cards, fonts, and icons read clearly across the room.
• Duplicate This Layout / New Blank Layout — start a new variant; Reset to Defaults rebuilds a single Layout from the Room's activities and devices.

Activity Types

Roomie chooses an Activity Type when it creates an Activity for you, but you can change it with the Type row in the Activity editor (Settings › Activities › [Activity Name]).

1. Media Activity — includes Devices that relate to audio, video, and other media.
2. Inline Activity — does not change the current activity for the room. Has Start Commands. Three variations:
   • Simple — Start Commands with no Action Panel. Executes commands as needed.
   • Toggle — Start and Stop Commands with no Action Panel; tracks its own state.
   • Popup — Start Commands with an Action Panel, opened without changing the room's current activity.
3. Homebar Scene — uses home devices (lights, shades, etc.) set to a specific state by its Start Commands; considered on or off based on whether those devices are in that state.
4. Power Off — stop commands that apply when the Activity is powered off. Has no Action Panel.

Remember On/Off State: Whether an Activity toggles (tracks its own on/off state) or acts as a one-shot button is now explicit — if an Activity behaves the wrong way, correct it with the Activity State row in the Activity editor. The editor also flags Activities that reference missing devices and toggles with no On Stop commands, and shows automatic power and input commands read-only so they can't be edited away by accident.

Customizing the Action Panel (Design)

An Activity's Action Panel is assembled from modules. Edit the Activity and open its Design to add or remove modules, add or delete buttons, and change what each panel shows:

• ▶️ PlayPad — the standard transport cluster (play, pause, skip, and so on). Its grid positions are fixed; you choose which command each position sends.
• 🎯 DPad — arrows plus Enter for menu navigation, with a few surrounding slots. Layout is fixed; commands are assignable.
• 🎚 Media Bar — the volume / mute / progress strip.
• 🔳 Flow — a freely editable set of buttons and rockers shown on the main panel. Add, delete, and reorder as you like.
• ⋯ More — the same freely editable set, but its buttons appear only after tapping the More (ellipsis) button — for commands you want available without cluttering the main panel.
• 📖 Guide — a button on the Action Panel rather than a module; it opens the channel/media guide when the Activity has one.

Buttons in Flow and More modules can send a single command or a sequence — attach commands, delays, conditions, and repeats from the button's editor.

Daily use tips

• 🏠 The Dashboard shows Rooms and Activities together; active Activities are highlighted in the room's color and float to the top of the grid.
• 🔴 The Power icon inside a Room powers off the current Activity.
• 📖 The Guide button opens channel/media/DVR guides.
• 👆 Long-press a card for a context menu — Edit Activity, Restart, Delete (Activity cards), or jump straight into edit mode for the Layout.
• 🚨 The Homebar Sensors button tints when a sensor is triggered — red for smoke/CO/gas/leak, blue for motion/occupancy/contact — and the Sensors panel pins the triggered sensors at the top.

Additional Notes

• You can change an Activity's type with the Type row in the Activity editor (Settings › Activities › [Activity Name]).
• Complex Action Panel layouts are supported — see Customizing the Action Panel (Design) above for the module types and what each allows.

Roomie can react automatically to times, delays, or device state changes:

• 🔵 Device-Based – e.g., if lights turn on, start "Watch TV"
• 🟠 Time-Based – fixed times or sunrise/sunset offsets
• 🟢 Timer-Based – delays and scheduled stops built into Activities
• 🟡 Dynamic – temporary rules created by delayed commands

History

Roomie keeps a record of what happened and why. Open History from the gear menu:

• ⏱ Activity — every action with its origin (tap, Watch, Alexa, automation, and so on). Segments filter to All, Activities, individual Commands, or Automations.
• 🤖 Automations — the Automations segment shows recent runs — including missed and delayed ones — plus upcoming scheduled automations for the active home.
• 🌐 Network — a searchable timeline of address and path changes, controllers coming and going, and network issues.
• 🔐 Security & ⚙️ Config — trails of security-relevant events and configuration changes.
• 🔍 Tap any row to open Around this moment — the events just before and after it, on this controller or across the Home — so you can see what caused what.

Additional Notes

• Create one from the gear menu › Automate, then tap +. Choose Schedule (an exact time, or sunrise / sunset / solar noon with an offset, repeating on the days you pick, with an optional condition on a device value or an Activity's state) or Watch Device (a device value or keypad button press), then add the actions: commands, a URL to open, an Activity to start or stop, a notification, a HomeKit scene, audio to play, or a delay.
• Before creating an Automation, create the Activity it should run.
• Many ecosystems (Home Assistant, HomeKit, Lutron, Hue, Vera, ISY, etc.) can be monitored to trigger Automations.

• 🟣 Roomie Voice Control – enable in Settings with three modes: Local (on-device), Roomie AI (natural language via cloud), or xAI Voice (hands-free conversation via cloud) – this setting isn't shared between devices
• 🔵 Siri, Spotlight & Shortcuts – no setup required. Siri accepts fixed phrases: "Start [Activity] with Roomie", "Start the [Room] with Roomie", "Turn off the [Room] with Roomie", "Play / Pause / Mute / Unmute the [Room] with Roomie", and "Set the [Room] volume with Roomie" (say "this room" in place of a Room name for the one you're in), plus "Talk to Roomie" or "Roomie voice command" to speak a command. Every Activity is a Spotlight result that starts it. The Recent Activities and Activity Home Screen widgets (the second starts one Activity — your pick or your most recent) and the Control Center / Lock Screen / Action button controls (Activity, Room Off) run without opening the app; the Recent Rooms widget opens the app to a Room. Activities and device commands also appear as actions in the Shortcuts app
• 🟠 Apple HomeKit – accessories sync automatically (and don't count toward subscription limits)
• 🔷 Amazon Alexa – enable Amazon Alexa Control on the Primary Controller (Settings › Managed Device Options), link both Alexa skills in the Alexa app, and make sure both use the same Sign in with Apple Account

The "Hey Roomie" wake word is detected by Roomie Voice — a neural classifier trained for the phrase, running entirely on device. Voice Control is off by default; enable it in Settings on each device that should listen. It can also be activated by tapping the voice control button in the Homebar.

Roomie Voice Control Modes

• 🌊 Local – fully on-device. Roomie Voice listens for "Hey Roomie," then Apple's on-device speech recognizer transcribes the command. No cloud. Structured commands only (e.g., "Hey Roomie, Watch Apple TV").
• 🧠 Roomie AI – speech recognized locally, then interpreted by AI for natural language understanding. The recognized words, along with your Room and device names, are sent to xAI's Grok service to be interpreted. Say "Hey Roomie" followed by a natural command (e.g., "turn off the kitchen lights"). Say "Hey Roomie, start voice" to enter hands-free xAI Voice mode.
• 🗣 xAI Voice – after connecting, audio streams directly to xAI, along with your Room and device names, for the fastest, most natural experience. Speak naturally without a wake word once connected. End a session by saying "that's all" or "goodbye". Requires your own xAI API key (entered in Settings).

Roomie Voice Commands

Brackets indicate optional; room defaults to current if omitted. Local mode uses structured commands prefixed with "Hey Roomie". Roomie AI and xAI Voice modes accept natural language for all of these and more.

Starting Activities

• Hey Roomie, Watch/Start/Launch ActivityName [in Room]
• Hey Roomie, Turn On/Activate/Open/Toggle ActivityName [in Room]

Playback Control

• Hey Roomie, Play/Pause/Stop [in Room]
• Hey Roomie, Skip/Next/Replay/Previous [# times] [in Room]

Volume Control

• Hey Roomie, Set Volume # [in Room]
• Hey Roomie, Volume Up/Down [# times] [in Room]
• Hey Roomie, Mute/Unmute [in Room]

Channel Tuning

• Hey Roomie, Tune Channel [in Room]

Lights, Shades & More (all modes)

• Hey Roomie, Turn On/Off LightName [in Room]
• Hey Roomie, Open/Close ShadeName [in Room]
• Hey Roomie, Lock/Unlock [Room]

Power Off

• Hey Roomie, Turn Off/Power Off/Shut Down [in Room]

Intercom

• Intercom All/Hang Up
• Intercom Name

AI Modes Only

• Hey Roomie, Launch Netflix (or other Apple TV apps)
• Hey Roomie, Play Gandhi (Kaleidescape, Plex, Kodi, Zidoo)
• Natural language: "turn off the kitchen lights and dim the living room to 30%"

Apple Watch App

Roomie returns to Apple Watch with a companion app for quick control from your wrist:

• ▶️ Control the active Room — play/pause, skip, mute, volume on the Digital Crown, a cursor/D-pad for menus, and power off.
• 🎬 Start & switch Activities — pick any Room's Activity, or change the one that's running.
• 🎙 Voice — follows the voice mode set on your iPhone: dictated commands in Roomie AI mode, or hands-free conversation in xAI Voice mode (in sessions of up to 30 seconds). With Local or no voice mode on the iPhone, the watch shows no Voice button. Voice and commands relay through your nearby iPhone when the watch can't reach a controller directly.
• ⌚️ Complication — add a Roomie complication to your watch face to open Roomie or start Roomie Voice in one tap. Roomie opens to your iPhone's last Room when an Activity is running there.

Amazon Alexa Skills

Roomie Remote X provides two Alexa skills that are linked separately — add both for full functionality:

• Custom Skill ("Roomie Remote") – detailed commands using "Alexa, ask Roomie to..." syntax
• Smart Home Skill ("Roomie Remote X") – convenient control of Activities and Rooms without the "ask Roomie" prefix

Custom Skill Commands

Use 'Alexa, ask Roomie to...' or 'Alexa, tell Roomie to...' followed by the command. Brackets indicate optional.

• Watch/Start/Launch ActivityName [in Room]
• Turn On/Activate/Open/Toggle ActivityName [in Room]
• Play/Pause/Stop [in Room]
• Skip/Next/Replay/Previous [in Room]
• Set Volume to # [in Room]
• Volume Up/Down [in Room]
• Mute/Unmute [in Room]
• Tune to Channel [in Room]
• Turn Off/Power Off/Shut Down [in Room]

Examples:

• 'Alexa, ask Roomie to watch Apple TV in Living Room'
• 'Alexa, tell Roomie to set volume to 50'
• 'Alexa, ask Roomie to pause'

Smart Home Skill Commands

The Smart Home Skill controls devices directly without the "ask Roomie" prefix. Names come from Roomie rooms/activities or Alexa groups you create.

• Alexa, turn on the Living Room. (launch first activity with an opening device)
• Alexa, turn on Office DISH. (open "Watch DISH" in the Office)
• Alexa, set the Bedroom Receiver to 25%. (set volume on the Denon Receiver)
• Alexa, set Kitchen Sonos to 60. (set Sonos volume to 60)
• Alexa, turn off the Bedroom. (run the first Power Off activity)
• Alexa, turn off the Office DISH 1. (send POWER OFF to the DISH device in Office)

Control from Claude (MCP)

Roomie can act as an MCP server, letting Claude — Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or another MCP client on your network — view and control your home on your own Claude subscription: start Activities, set volume, control lights, shades, locks, fans, and garage doors, or check what's playing. Recent-action and device-health tools let Claude verify that commands actually landed.

1. On the Primary Controller, turn on Local Network Control (Settings › Managed Device Options).
2. Tap the MCP Access row that appears beneath it, then Create Access Key if the home doesn't have one yet. Every connection must present the key, so treat it like a password. The key syncs across the home and survives a Primary change.
3. Point your MCP client at http://<Primary address>:47147/api/v1/mcp with the access key as a Bearer token. For Claude Code, the MCP Access screen shows a ready-made claude mcp add command to copy.

Additional Notes

• Expose only what you want to Alexa via Alexa Visibility (declutter device lists).
• Local Network Control (a switch in Settings on the Primary Controller): allows unauthenticated Activity and device commands from your local network over HTTP/S. It powers two things — the HTTP/S REST API for launching Activities from external systems (home automation, bridges), and the Apple Watch app's direct local connection to the Primary, over plain HTTP (without it, the watch routes everything through your iPhone). Consider LAN security before enabling; it shares the local security certificate with Remote Access when HTTPS is used. Recommended on if you use the Apple Watch app or the HTTP API. It is a shared setting that runs on whichever device is the active Primary Controller — in Automatic primary mode you enable it once and it follows the elected Primary. Because it's only active while a device is the current controller, a dedicated Primary is recommended for reliable access.

For wall-mounted controllers, lock down and keep displays awake:

• For iOS/iPadOS, enable Guided Access (Settings › Accessibility)
• For tvOS, enable Single App Mode using Apple Configurator (details below)
• For macOS, disable Sleep and use Kiosk Mode (details below)
• In Roomie Settings › Managed Device Options, turn on Prevent Screen Idle
• Per-controller lockdown lives in Settings › Controllers › [controller]: Permissions (Full Access, Read Access, View Access), Prevent Editing, Restricted Room Mode (a checklist of the Dashboard and Rooms that controller may show), and Snap to Room with a timeout — ideal for guest/kiosk-style tablets
• Ethernet beats Wi-Fi for reliability, use whenever possible for the Primary Controller

Kiosk Mode (Mac)

Kiosk Mode — the macOS equivalent of Guided Access — locks the Mac app full-screen above everything: the Dock and menu bar are hidden and force quit is disabled, ideal for a dedicated wall or kiosk Mac. Toggle it with the Kiosk Mode switch in Settings › Managed Device Options, from the View menu, or with ⌃⌘K; exiting requires Touch ID, Apple Watch, or your password. Kiosk Mode is a per-machine setting and re-engages automatically on relaunch.

tvOS Single App Mode Setup

Requirements

• Ethernet model Apple TV 4K (model A2843), updated to latest tvOS
• Mac with latest Apple Configurator 2 and macOS installed
• Apple TV not already in supervised mode

Setup Process

1. On Apple TV, go to Settings › Remotes and Devices › Remote App and Devices. Leave this screen showing.
2. On Mac in Apple Configurator, open Paired Devices from the menu. Select your Apple TV and pair with the code. The pairing may appear to fail but proceed anyway.
3. Select Apple TV, right-click and choose Prepare. Select Manual Configuration and allow devices to pair with other computers. Leave Setup Assistant boxes unchecked.
4. If you encounter an error that Apple TV is already setup, proceed with the full reset. After reset, delete the existing pairing and pair again, then Prepare once more. Keep the physical Apple Remote out of reach so you don't accidentally advance the Setup Assistant.
5. When Apple TV reaches the springboard, sign in with your Apple ID, set Sleep to Never, and configure other settings. Wait for HomeKit to synchronize if needed.
6. Install Roomie TV on the Apple TV, complete setup, Sign in With Apple, and pair it with Roomie Remote.
7. In Apple Configurator, right-click the Apple TV, select Advanced › Start Single App Mode, and choose Roomie TV.

Additional Notes

• Volume Matching: physical volume buttons can map to the room's volume device when an Activity is open.
• Incoming Call Pauses: Roomie can auto-pause any active media device when a call arrives.

Settings › Homes

• ⬆️ Tap Backup to iCloud (recommended) — works across all your Controllers, including Roomie TV
• 🔄 Enable Automatic Backups for daily protection
• ⬇️ To restore, tap the Restore icon and choose a backup file/folder

Automatic Backup Timing

• Automatic backups run at 4:00 AM local time, with a retry at 2:00 PM if the first attempt fails.
• As of 10.3, Roomie TV can save and restore iCloud backups directly — choose Save to iCloud when enabling. The Save to Custom Location option still requires a file picker and is unavailable on Roomie TV.
• A success notification appears when backups complete. If backups fail repeatedly, a failure notification will alert you.

Additional Notes

• Need to wipe the local config? Use Reset Local Settings (make a backup first).
• Delete Account and Data purges local settings and the associated Sign in with Apple account linkage. Note that Roomie X does not store anything in the cloud so your data is only accessible by you.

Complete Reset Process

This detailed reset process resolves issues related to Synchronization or Purchase Restoration. Perform these steps on the Primary Controller associated with the Apple ID that owns the subscription unless otherwise indicated:

1. Ensure you have a backup of your configuration. Backup to iCloud is recommended; RoomieBackup.zip, SimpleControlBackup.zip, or older Roomie.plist backups also work.
2. Delete all Roomie Remote apps from all Controllers (iOS, tvOS, macOS), including older apps like Intercomm and Simple Control and sister apps like Now Showing.
3. Fully restart (power cycle) all Controllers from step 2.
4. For each macOS Controller, delete these folders: ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.roomie, ~/Library/Containers/maccatalyst.com.roomie.x (and com.roomie.unified), and ~/Library/Containers/Roomie Remote. Some may not exist—that's fine.
5. Install latest Roomie Remote X on your Primary Controller (logged into the Apple Account that owns your subscription). All Controllers must support iOS/tvOS/macOS 26 or later.
6. Restore your backup via the Homes › Restore Home button. Select the backup from step 1.
7. Use Restore Purchases under Settings › About if your subscription doesn't reflect immediately. Subscriptions must be Active and started from either the Roomie Remote 9 app or Roomie Remote X, and use the same Apple ID for Sign in With Apple during install of the app.
8. Verify Code Sets downloaded count in Settings shows completion (e.g., 20/20). If counting, wait. Otherwise press Force Codeset Update and wait for completion.
9. Test your Activities on this Primary Controller. Verify it's designated as Primary in the Homes panel and keep it running for all steps below.
10. Install latest Roomie Remote X on any additional Controller of the same Apple Account on the same home network. Launch it; a new Controller with no Home shows a banner that your Home was detected on the network. Tap it (or open Settings › Homes › Detected on Network), join the Home, allow sync in foreground, and verify code sets are complete.
11. For Controllers using a different Apple Account: First share your HomeKit Home (if applicable) via Apple's Home app from the owning account to the sharee account using the same home name. Then launch Roomie on the sharee Controller, tap the banner that your Home was detected on the network (or open Settings › Homes › Detected on Network), and join it. (Instant Home Sharing must be enabled in Managed Device Options on the Primary Controller, and both Controllers must be on the same network.)
12. Activate the Home if necessary from the Homes panel (usually automatic).
13. If your intended Primary is an Apple TV: once the Apple TV has joined the home and synchronized (step 10), switch the Primary designation to it via Settings › Homes › Primary Controller on any Controller. Verify the Apple TV is elected before taking offline the Controller you used for the restore.

This section holds Roomie-specific procedures that don't map one-to-one to a numbered Quickstart section. Keep it current as features evolve.

Migrating from Roomie Remote 9

Roomie Remote 9 and Roomie Remote X are separate App Store apps with separate data containers. Migration is not done via iCloud or Apple ID sync — installing RR X on a brand-new device will not pull over an RR 9 configuration.

To migrate:

1. 📲 Install Roomie Remote X on the same device that already has Roomie Remote 9 installed (do not uninstall RR 9 first).
2. ▶️ Launch Roomie Remote X. On first launch it reads RR 9's local data and copies it over. RR 9 itself is left untouched, so you can keep both installed during the transition.
3. 🔁 To bring the migrated configuration to other Apple devices, use Instant Home Sharing from your Primary Controller (Section 5) on the same Wi-Fi network — that's the supported way to add additional Controllers.

Two-way audio (talkback) on RTSP cameras

Roomie can send audio from your iPhone or iPad mic to compatible IP cameras and door stations — useful for door intercoms and any camera that has a built-in speaker. Currently supported on Axis cameras with audio output (covers most Axis IP cameras and the A8207-VE / A8207-VE Mk II door stations).

To enable it for a camera:

1. ⚙️ Open Settings → Devices, tap the camera.
2. 🎙 Scroll to Talkback and turn it on.
3. ✅ Done. The mic glyph in the camera's full-screen view will now route your voice to the camera's speaker output.

While in full-screen view, press and hold the mic glyph to speak; release to stop. (HomeKit cameras with two-way audio use a tap to turn the mic on and off instead.) The Talkback toggle is off by default for every camera — opt in per-device.

Launching another app from a Roomie tile

To make an Activity (or any tile) hand off to a third-party iOS/iPadOS app — for example, opening the Eufy Security, Plex, SiriusXM, or MusicCast app directly — use a non-device URL command:

1. 🛠 Edit the Activity (or any container that takes commands).
2. ➕ Add a command of type Open URL (under the non-device commands).
3. 🔗 Enter the target app's custom URL scheme — e.g. eufysecurity://, plex://, siriusxm://, musiccast://.
4. ⚙️ Set Open Mode to Launch App or Safari. (This is the default for new URL commands; "Open in Roomie" / "Load Silently" are the alternatives for in-app embedded loads.)

Roomie hands the URL to iOS, which launches the matching installed app. If the app isn't installed, iOS will fall back to the App Store entry for that scheme. For a tile that's purely a launcher, make this the only command in the Activity.

That's it—your daily workflow is select a room → tap an Activity card → use the Action Panel and Homebar. Customize the Layout's cards anytime via the grid icon. The Primary Controller keeps everything coordinated behind the scenes.