How to securely store your HomeKit and Matter setup codes

Keeping a setup code secure comes down to two things. You must not lose it, and nobody else should end up with it. The first is what usually goes wrong. The code is printed on a sticker, Apple Home never shows it to you again after pairing, and one factory reset or house move later it’s gone.

The second matters less for any single code. A setup code only works during pairing, close to the accessory, so a leaked one is little use to someone far away. But a full list of your codes is also a list of every camera, lock and sensor in your home, room by room. That list deserves the same care as anything else you’d rather keep private.

This guide covers how to store your codes with PairVault so they’re safe on both counts. If you’d rather use a spreadsheet or a password manager, our general backup guide covers those options.

What secure storage needs to do

Whatever you use, it should:

• Survive losing your phone. A copy that lives on one device is only one accident away from gone.
• Keep each code with its accessory. 888-32-107 is no use in two years if you can’t tell which device it belongs to.
• Stay private. No account with a company that can read your list, and nothing readable by anyone who picks up your unlocked phone.
• Get you paired again quickly. Ideally it gives you a scannable QR code, not just eleven digits to type.

How PairVault keeps your codes safe

There are no servers. PairVault has no accounts and nothing to sign up for. Your codes are stored on your iPhone and are never sent to us.

Sync goes through your own iCloud. If you turn on iCloud Backup & Sync, your vault is stored in your private iCloud database, which only your Apple Account can reach. With Apple’s Advanced Data Protection turned on, it’s end-to-end encrypted, so not even Apple can read it.

The app locks. Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode protects the vault, and you choose how soon it locks again after you leave the app.

Copied codes don’t stay on the clipboard. When you copy a code, it’s cleared from the clipboard after two minutes and isn’t shared to your other devices.

Exports leave codes out by default. You can export your vault to PDF, CSV, Markdown or JSON. The codes are only included if you turn that on for that export.

To be clear about one thing: the app does send anonymous usage statistics through TelemetryDeck. None of your vault is in them, and the privacy policy lists exactly what is sent.

Set it up in five steps

1. Import your accessories from Apple Home

Give PairVault permission to read Apple Home, and choose which homes to import. It brings in each accessory’s name, room, manufacturer and model, so you don’t have to type them. Setup codes can’t be imported, because Apple Home never shares them with any app. That’s why the next step exists.

2. Add each code once

For each accessory, add its code in whichever way is easiest:

• Scan the label. The QR code on the accessory, the box or the manual. The scanner reads the printed number next to the QR too, which helps with small or worn stickers.
• Pick a photo. If you took a picture of a label before you mounted something, PairVault can read the code from that photo.
• Type it in. Codes of any length, for labels with no QR code at all.

Do this as soon as each accessory is working, before you fit it to a wall or ceiling. Cameras, doorbells and in-wall switches are the ones whose labels you won’t be able to reach later.

3. Turn on iCloud Backup & Sync

Sync is off by default, which keeps everything on one device. Turn it on in Settings so your vault survives a lost or replaced phone.

4. Turn on Advanced Data Protection

This is an iCloud setting, not a PairVault one. Go to Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then Advanced Data Protection. Once it’s on, your synced vault is end-to-end encrypted.

5. Lock the app

Turn on Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode lock, and choose how quickly PairVault locks again. Your phone is often unlocked and in someone else’s hand, and this keeps your vault out of reach when it is.

When you need a code again

Open PairVault, unlock it, and open the accessory. It shows the setup code exactly as it was printed, with the digits grouped the same way, and a QR code rebuilt from it. Use whichever one your Home app asks for.

That’s it. No ladder, no torch, no prising off a light switch.

What it costs

The first five setup codes are free, permanently. There’s no trial and nothing expires. Storing more is a single one-time purchase of £5.99 or $5.99, not a subscription. PairVault runs on iPhone with iOS 17 or later.

Download PairVault from the App Store and save your first codes before you need them.