Security Camera Snapshots in Home App Failing to Refresh for Some Users

A growing number of iPhone users across the MacRumors Forums, Apple Support Communities, Reddit, and Twitter have reported that security camera snapshots in the Home app have failed to refresh over the last few weeks.

homekit secure video package
HomeKit Secure Video cameras added to the Home app each have a thumbnail that provides a still view of recent footage, and normally these thumbnails automatically refresh on a periodic basis. However, users on multiple iOS versions are experiencing an issue with the thumbnails failing to refresh and showing outdated footage as a result. The issue appears to extend to the Home app on the iPad and Mac for some users.

Importantly, the cameras still function properly when viewed live, but the thumbnails not updating is proving to be an annoyance for affected users.

While users have attempted to come up with temporary workarounds, such as the tedious process of signing out of their Apple ID account and then signing back in on affected devices, the issue appears to resurface for many over time. We've reached out to Apple to see if it is aware of the issue and/or planning a fix, and we'll update this story if we hear back. Users can also report the bug via the Home app feedback page on Apple's website.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
apple iphone air battery pack

Apple Aims to Boost Popularity of iPhone Air 2 in Two Ways

Tuesday December 16, 2025 11:06 am PST by
We have been covering iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 17e, and iPhone Fold details from The Information's report about future iPhone models, and next up is the iPhone Air 2. The report says that Apple aims to make the iPhone Air 2 more attractive in two ways. First, Apple is apparently considering adding a second rear camera to the device, which would resolve a key limitation. The current iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

ouimetnick Avatar
52 months ago
The Home app as a whole needs some intensive love. It's been lacking for years.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikeDProducer Avatar
52 months ago
This is 100% true. The workarounds suggested are time consuming and frustrating for people with an elaborate HomeKit setup. Deleting and re-adding the cameras is a pain in the neck. Signing out of iCloud is also a whole ordeal.

But both of these are only a temporary fix where the issue persists.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
uller6 Avatar
52 months ago
I just want HomeKit stuff to work, and every year it seems to get worse and worse. The Home app on Monterey won't let you watch live videos when the app isn't in focus, whereas that worked fine in Big Sur.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dominiongamma Avatar
52 months ago

Since when is signing out of an account
Tedious?
Are the staff writers that incompetent they can’t slick sign out. Enter a password. Continue sign out.

Then sign back in

All without having to reconfigure ****?

They are trying to make the work arounds sound a lot worse than it really is. Like cmon

It can take up to 1-2 mins in a device if that for the entire process of signing out and back in.
Why should anyone have to jump though any hoops to make a product work ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dohspc Avatar
52 months ago
I find non native HomeKit devices setup in my homebridge server work better than the native HomeKit devices.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skb3735 Avatar
52 months ago

The tedious part is redoing all of my wallpapers etc. lol Not the end of the world but it’s not fun doing it every day.
Don’t forget about having to re-enter credit cards into wallet as well
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)