explaingit

peaks2000/homeassistantforlegacyios

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 1Objective-CAudience · developerComplexity · 4/5Setup · hard

TLDR

A jailbreak companion app that brings Home Assistant smart home control to iPhones running iOS 4 through iOS 14.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Controls smart home devices
      Native entity list
      Camera viewer
      Apple Watch companion
    Tech stack
      Objective-C
      Theos
      Xcode
    Use cases
      Old iPhone smart home control
      Jailbreak device support
    Audience
      Jailbreak users
      Home Assistant owners

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Control lights, locks, covers, and automations from an old jailbroken iPhone.

USE CASE 2

View a live authenticated camera feed from connected security cameras.

USE CASE 3

Switch between multiple saved Home Assistant homes on one device.

USE CASE 4

Control smart home devices from a companion Apple Watch app.

What is it built with?

Objective-CTheosXcodeUIKit

How does it compare?

peaks2000/homeassistantforlegacyiosaonez/macreflowerburningtyger/gmail-notifr
Stars111
LanguageObjective-CObjective-CObjective-C
Last pushed—2016-11-272013-01-22
Maintenance—DormantDormant
Setup difficultyhardmoderatemoderate
Complexity4/52/52/5
Audiencedevelopergeneralgeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires Theos and specific per-device build commands, Watch app needs a Mac with Xcode and Apple code signing.

In plain English

Home Assistant Legacy is a companion app that lets people control their Home Assistant smart home system from very old iPhones, going back as far as iOS 4 and forward through iOS 14. Home Assistant's current official app needs iOS 16.4 or newer, so this project is a separate Objective C application built specifically for jailbroken older devices that can no longer run the modern version. The app lets you log in with your normal Home Assistant username and password, including two factor codes, and it automatically refreshes your access when it expires. It shows a native list of your smart home entities such as lights, switches, locks, covers, scenes, scripts, and automations, along with brightness and color controls for compatible lights, so you do not have to rely on loading the web based dashboard on an old device. You can save multiple homes and switch between them, organize your own list of favorite devices separate from the full device list, and view a live camera feed if you have connected security cameras. There is also a companion app for very old Apple Watches that mirrors device states and sends control commands back through your iPhone. The project is upfront about its limits. Push notifications still require Apple's own server credentials, so jailbreaking does not get around that requirement. Because iOS suspends apps running in the background, the app can only reliably check for updates while it is open. Some modern Home Assistant dashboard code may not run properly in the old web engines these devices use, and old TLS security may not connect to current servers, so the author suggests placing a modern reverse proxy in front of Home Assistant instead of weakening security settings. To build the iPhone app you need a tool called Theos and you run separate build commands depending on which iPhone chip and iOS version you are targeting, then install the resulting file through a jailbreak package manager. Building the Apple Watch companion instead requires a Mac with Xcode. Unsigned app files are also provided for non jailbroken devices, installed through a sideloading tool with your own Apple account.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through building the iPhone package with Theos for my specific iOS version.
Prompt 2
Explain how to set up the Apple Watch companion app using Xcode and XcodeGen.
Prompt 3
Show me how to install the generated package on my jailbroken device.
Prompt 4
Explain why push notifications still require an official Apple entitlement here.
Prompt 5
Help me understand the TLS limitations on iOS 4 through 8 and how the reverse proxy workaround helps.

Frequently asked questions

What is homeassistantforlegacyios?

A jailbreak companion app that brings Home Assistant smart home control to iPhones running iOS 4 through iOS 14.

What language is homeassistantforlegacyios written in?

Mainly Objective-C. The stack also includes Objective-C, Theos, Xcode.

How hard is homeassistantforlegacyios to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is homeassistantforlegacyios for?

Mainly developer.

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