HomePod Annoying bug, any workarounds?

[maugustine]

I've filed so many bugs with Apple for my HomePod stereo pair paired with an Apple TV 4K, but the most annoying bug I've found still does not seem to be fixed.

I have a stereo pair of OG HomePods, paired with the newest Apple TV 4K. I have the HomePods set as the default audio output and it seems like the stereo pair loses it's syncing regularly, and so when I adjust the volume on the Apple TV only one of the HomePods volume adjusts. The other I can adjust on the HomePod itself, but they are no longer synced. And when I press the mute button on the Apple TV remote only the one HomePod mutes while the volume on the other remains unchanged.

I've tried rebooting the Apple TV, unplugging and plugging back in the HomePods, removing the HomePods from the Home app and setting them up as new, and sometimes the problem temporarily goes away but it seems to constantly creep back up.

Has anyone had a similar issue? Were you able to resolve it? I've filed bugs with Apple so I'm hoping for a software fix eventually.

 

[dotme]

I'm not going to blame the network, but don't rule it out. None of my Stereo Paired HomePods are linked to an Apple TV but I used to have sync, volume and response issues when AirPlaying to multiple pairs. Additional wired-backhaul access points fixed the problem (with literally no other changes).

AirPlay sync in general is very demanding on WiFi, even more so if lossless is enabled, so having a strong internal network is vital imho.

Check this post out too in case it provides some answers - the situation sounds similar. Hope this helps!

 

[sparky672]

I'm not saying it's not the network or that it is the network. And I don't blame dotme for his response... he may be 100% correct.

I'm just getting sick and tired of all these annoying bugs and weird problems being blamed on everyone's network... shouldn't this Apple ecosystem be robust enough to handle common "out of the box" network configurations? If not, shouldn't Apple be publishing some very clear network specs, settings, and minimum requirements?

Most people call an ISP, order service, and they're done. Average Joe is the bulk of the user-base... Joe is not registering at the community college to take network administration classes just so he can make his Apple products work as advertised.

 

[maugustine]

I'm not saying it's not the network or that it is the network. And I don't blame dotme for his response... he may be 100% correct.

I'm just getting sick and tired of all these annoying bugs and weird problems being blamed on everyone's network... shouldn't this Apple ecosystem be robust enough to handle common "out of the box" network configurations? If not, shouldn't Apple be publishing some very clear network "specs and settings" and minimum requirements?

Most people call an ISP, order service, and they're done. Average Joe is the bulk of the user-base... Joe is not registering at the community college to take network administration classes just so he can make his Apple products work as advertised.

I totally agree with you here. They really should be plug and play, and especially since many of us have eeros which while have been super reliable for me don’t have many settings I can tweak.

I did see some gradual progress on these issues from Apple, as during one update awhile back I heard the speaker pair seem to recalibrate once one speaker fell out of sync, kind of like they were checking to see if they were in sync when I started a show and then if not, re-synced the connection. However, another update or 2 later and the issue has reverted.

They sound so good when they’re working properly, but it’s astounding to me how many issues I’ve had with them and from what I’ve read others have had too. I will just keep filing bugs with every new iOS release, until they get resolved.

 

[maugustine]

An interesting update -- setting the HomePod as the default audio output results in the left HomePod not being controlled by the volume control, however, if I set the HomePod pair as the temporary audio output it works fine. I've updated my bug report with Apple. At this time I am not sure if it's an issue with the Apple TV or the HomePod software.

 

[sMayn]

After a LOT of digging I think the issue have been located.

The volume syncing issue almost always comes from issues with the WiFi.

I had the same problem after switching ISP and got a new router.
So I tried a ton of different solutions but have found a solution that I think will work for most.

Here are the things you have to do in this order:

1)
Go to your iPhone settings and reset network settings.
Settings > General > Transfer or reset iPhone > Reset > Reset network settings

2)
Reset your HomePods and your Apple TV
Leave them not set up yet.

3)
Reset your router to factory settings and create a WiFi network with a new name.
Preferably disable the WiFi 5G mode. But you can try leaving it enabled and see if it works.

4)
Connect your iPhone to the new WiFi you created.

5)
Set up your Apple TV. Completing the set up with your iPhone.

6)
Set up both HomePods and leave them as individual HomePods for now and not used as TV output.

7)
When they are set up. Pair them as a stereo pair and set them as default TV output.

8)
If the problem with HomePods volume syncing continues, the problem is most likely your router.
Get a new one and use that to create a WiFi.
I ended up using an old Apple AirPort Extreme. Works perfectly.

Hope this helps if you have problems.

 

[Itinj24]

Very much appreciate the well detailed post and instructions. Don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way. This is strictly a rant against Apple.

This is not a Wi-Fi or router issue. This is a HomePod issue. They suck as Home Hubs too. When all your devices are working fine on Wi-Fi except for one common device, it’s not the Wi-Fi. I perform speed tests right next to the HomePods while connected to the same node and everything looks good. I got two in stereo connected to an AppleTV staring at a hardwired eero node from 12-15’ away, line of sight and connected to that node. Still have this issue the OP describes.

HomePods are supposed to be an average consumer product that are supposed to just work without performing some crazy dance to the devil. It’s on Apple to make sure of that through software. How many times are we going to have to dance like this? It’s seemingly after every other update.

I’ve been using HomePods since they came out in 2018. I can probably count on one hand how many times an update just worked as advertised. These have been infested with bugs since day 1. Some, including myself, are very hesitant to even install an update.

Many of us have a very extensive HomeKit setup and setting up a new network will destroy that. It’s a nightmare. Now if only Apple could figure a way to let us do a HomeKit backup so we can fix the messes they create 🤔. A feature that’s been asked for, for quite some time but I digress. (yes, I know Controller for HomeKit has that but I tried it and it’s not very reliable).

This issue popped up for everyone after the latest update to 16.x. That’s the common denominator.

Once again, really appreciate you taking the time to figure it all out and to post this solution but it shouldn’t have to be this way. I’m not $hitting on you at all so please don’t take it that way for one minute. My beef is with Apple and their incompetent summer internship HomePod software team.

 

[sparky672]

HomePods are supposed to be an average consumer product that are supposed to just work without performing some crazy dance to the devil. It’s on Apple to make sure of that through software. How many times are we going to have to dance like this? It’s seemingly after every other update.

Step 1...

1)
Go to your iPhone settings and reset network settings.
Settings > General > Transfer or reset iPhone > Reset > Reset network settings

Literally blowing out every single wifi network you've ever joined and starting over from zero. Various wifi logins/passwords should be saved forever in the iCloud keychain, not deleted from iCloud whenever network settings are reset on one device.

BTW, somehow mine were automatically and completely blown out with the last three iOS updates, not including 16.6. Weird. Thanks Apple.

 

[Itinj24]

Step 1...


Literally blowing out every single wifi network you've ever joined and starting over from zero. Various wifi logins/passwords should be saved forever in the iCloud keychain, not deleted from iCloud whenever network settings are reset on one device.

BTW, somehow mine were automatically and completely blown out with the last three iOS updates, not including 16.6. Weird. Thanks Apple.

I’ve seen some crazy solutions here and on Reddit to get HomePods to work properly. Imagine nuking everything after every screwed up update Apple releases? I’d be stuck at home all the time. Don’t know old you are sparky but these are starting to remind me of the original Nintendo… blowing on the cartridge, blowing inside the Nintendo cartridge receptacle, running a cotton swap with alcohol along the cartridge chip board, submersing the cartridge in alcohol, etc 🤣🤣🤣

 

[sparky672]

Don’t know old you are sparky but these are starting to remind me of the original Nintendo… blowing on the cartridge, blowing inside the Nintendo cartridge receptacle, running a cotton swap with alcohol along the cartridge chip board, submersing the cartridge in alcohol, etc 🤣🤣🤣

I am older than that. Remember Atari 2600, and the old Atari 800 computer with cassette tapes? I think the 5.25" external floppy disk drive option was $400.

 

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

I’m having the same exact issues. hppefully apple can somehow fix this issue with this falls os updates.

 

[Itinj24]

Looks like a lot of HomePod owners are facing sudden Wi-Fi and network issues. What are the odds?

 

[B/D]

Very much appreciate the well detailed post and instructions. Don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way. This is strictly a rant against Apple.

This is not a Wi-Fi or router issue. This is a HomePod issue. They suck as Home Hubs too. When all your devices are working fine on Wi-Fi except for one common device, it’s not the Wi-Fi. I perform speed tests right next to the HomePods while connected to the same node and everything looks good. I got two in stereo connected to an AppleTV staring at a hardwired eero node from 12-15’ away, line of sight and connected to that node. Still have this issue the OP describes.

HomePods are supposed to be an average consumer product that are supposed to just work without performing some crazy dance to the devil. It’s on Apple to make sure of that through software. How many times are we going to have to dance like this? It’s seemingly after every other update.

I’ve been using HomePods since they came out in 2018. I can probably count on one hand how many times an update just worked as advertised. These have been infested with bugs since day 1. Some, including myself, are very hesitant to even install an update.

Many of us have a very extensive HomeKit setup and setting up a new network will destroy that. It’s a nightmare. Now if only Apple could figure a way to let us do a HomeKit backup so we can fix the messes they create 🤔. A feature that’s been asked for, for quite some time but I digress. (yes, I know Controller for HomeKit has that but I tried it and it’s not very reliable).

This issue popped up for everyone after the latest update to 16.x. That’s the common denominator.

Once again, really appreciate you taking the time to figure it all out and to post this solution but it shouldn’t have to be this way. I’m not $hitting on you at all so please don’t take it that way for one minute. My beef is with Apple and their incompetent summer internship HomePod software team.

@Itinj24

Fantastic post and very true. Every single device and process in my house that is network related, most of them considerably more bandwidth intensive than what the homepods do, works without a hitch, every time, all the time.


Except the god damn pods. Its not the router (which is properly configured, including mdns and multicast), its not the pods themselves (great hardware, sound, and form factor), its the abysmal software. Their OS. It´s the same with the brand new second gen homepod so it´s not a fault of the original model. It´s not even Siri (which works surprisingly well in IOS, tvOS and Mac OS even for Homekit related tasks), is the Homepod implementation of it.


The team must be the same in charge of the abysmal Mac OS Music app, which to this day is still riddled with bugs, some of which affects playback itself (songs randomly skipping/stopping/buffering, anyone?).

This situation has been there since day one of the original homepod, back in 2018. It´s still a problem in 2023 with the mini and the second gen models and it will very likely be a problem with future models unless Apple decide to do something about it.

One thing that irks me in particular is the home theater feature with the Apple TV 4K. Introduced in November 2020 with 14.2, this thing is still fundamentally broken, bringing networks slowly to its knees if the pods remain connected for a long while. Not to mention the degradation/saturation of the apple tv wifi chipset when using the pods as the default audio output, which practically forces you to hardwire it to your router if you want to keep enjoying the maximum video quality.


This particular feature is gaining a "enhanced dialogue" setting with tvOS 17 that, according to those who use betas, is a game changer with the homepods and the apple tv. HUGE difference.

The Homepods themselves, with audioOS 17, are saying goodbye to "Hey Siri" (only "Siri" will be necessary). They are also gaining natural conversation, so you will be able (in theory), to ask Siri to do various things in one continuous sentence/speech. Last, but not least, audioOS 17 will also be available for the original homepod.

So they still care about the platform. They are still supporting it and introducing new features. That´s fantastic.

But its foundation is shaky, so everything is unreliable/unstable.

So Apple, for the love of god, stop introducing new features. Just go the drawing board and fix the damn software, please.

Please.

 

[Itinj24]

@Itinj24

Fantastic post and very true. Every single device and process in my house that is network related, most of them considerably more bandwidth intensive than what the homepods do, works without a hitch, every time, all the time.


Except the god damn pods. Its not the router (which is properly configured, including mdns and multicast), its not the pods themselves (great hardware, sound, and form factor), its the abysmal software. Their OS. It´s the same with the brand new second gen homepod so it´s not a fault of the original model. It´s not even Siri (which works surprisingly well in IOS, tvOS and Mac OS even for Homekit related tasks), is the Homepod implementation of it.


The team must be the same in charge of the abysmal Mac OS Music app, which to this day is still riddled with bugs, some of which affects playback itself (songs randomly skipping/stopping/buffering, anyone?).

This situation has been there since day one of the original homepod, back in 2018. It´s still a problem in 2023 with the mini and the second gen models and it will very likely be a problem with future models unless Apple decide to do something about it.

One thing that irks me in particular is the home theater feature with the Apple TV 4K. Introduced in November 2020 with 14.2, this thing is still fundamentally broken, bringing networks slowly to its knees if the pods remain connected for a long while. Not to mention the degradation/saturation of the apple tv wifi chipset when using the pods as the default audio output, which practically forces you to hardwire it to your router if you want to keep enjoying the maximum video quality.


This particular feature is gaining a "enhanced dialogue" setting with tvOS 17 that, according to those who use betas, is a game changer with the homepods and the apple tv. HUGE difference.

The Homepods themselves, with audioOS 17, are saying goodbye to "Hey Siri" (only "Siri" will be necessary). They are also gaining natural conversation, so you will be able (in theory), to ask Siri to do various things in one continuous sentence/speech. Last, but not least, audioOS 17 will also be available for the original homepod.

So they still care about the platform. They are still supporting it and introducing new features. That´s fantastic.

But its foundation is shaky, so everything is unreliable/unstable.

So Apple, for the love of god, stop introducing new features. Just go the drawing board and fix the damn software, please.

Please.

And it’s amazing how crappy the HomePods are as Hubs. Like terribly unusable crappy. I know exactly when a HomePod takes over as the Hub. Don’t even have to check anymore. Automatons don’t fire, editing anything takes forever, HomeKit requests are slow, HKSV gets buggy. I have a bunch of the 4-gang LIFX scene controller/switches in my house controlling Hue lights bulbs. When AppleTV is the hub, it takes no more than 2 seconds for the bulb to turn on using the switch. When HomePod is the Hub, 10 seconds minimum. I sit there and wait and wait and wait for the lights to turn on.

Why is Apple so stubborn with letting us select our hub??? I would even be happy if they let us disable the HomePod as a hub. People want this!

 

[B/D]

And it’s amazing how crappy the HomePods are as Hubs. Like terribly unusable crappy. I know exactly when a HomePod takes over as the Hub. Don’t even have to check anymore. Automatons don’t fire, editing anything takes forever, HomeKit requests are slow, HKSV gets buggy. I have a bunch of the 4-gang LIFX scene controller/switches in my house controlling Hue lights bulbs. When AppleTV is the hub, it takes no more than 2 seconds for the bulb to turn on using the switch. When HomePod is the Hub, 10 seconds minimum. I sit there and wait and wait and wait for the lights to turn on.

Why is Apple so stubborn with letting us select our hub??? I would even be happy if they let us disable the HomePod as a hub. People want this!

Completely agree.

This is Apple. The system should be inteligent enough to detect if a hardwired Apple TV with the same Apple ID is up and running on the network. If it is, IT ALWAYS should take priority as the hub.

PS: I believe that you also had issues with the homepods as default apple tv speakers slowly degrading the performance of the entire network even if the apple tv is hardwired, right?.

Jesus, is a cluster****.

 

[Itinj24]

Completely agree.

This is Apple. The system should be inteligent enough to detect if a hardwired Apple TV with the same Apple ID is up and running on the network. If it is, IT ALWAYS should take priority as the hub.

PS: I believe that you also had issues with the homepods as default apple tv speakers slowly degrading the performance of the entire network even if the apple tv is hardwired, right?.

Jesus, is a cluster****.

Yep, sure did. That actually prompted me to have some Cat6a run throughout my house and especially to where I have an AppleTV with HomePods setup. The crap I had to do to fix Apple’s mess.

 

[B/D]

Yep, sure did. That actually prompted me to have some Cat6a run throughout my house and especially to where I have an AppleTV with HomePods setup. The crap I had to do to fix Apple’s mess.

Jesus christ...

 

[xsmett]

Same problem here and reddit has several threads with that issue.
The homepods are a nightmare (at least for a lot of people) specially when they are stereo paired with an apple tv.

Theres something happening in the network when they get paired with an apple tv. Before connecting to the atv i can find them as wirless devices in my router settings, the moment i connect them to the atv they dissapear and get connected back as a not known device via ethernet (like the atv is). Anyway, apple has messed up something really bad, because there are so many complaints.

 

[6SpeedPourover]

I'm in a similar boat. Starting on July 22nd, I got home from a trip and when I turned on my TV I couldn't use my OG HomePod or HomePod mini as an AppleTV speaker, couldn't airplay, or really do anything.

Fast forward about a month, I have done probably three dozen factory resets on my HomePods, a full reset and restore on my phone, reset my router and network... I have tried to set up from my iPhone, iPad, and my partner's iPhone that's still on iOS 16. Yes, it's beta software, but it worked fine for the first month and a half on said beta software. I've reported this problem multiple times on each beta release and nothing has changed.

I can't use my HomePods. They "set up", but usually get stuck on "configuring" in the Home app. IF they get past that stage, they appear normal in the Home app, but they're still unusable. All they do at this point is "Here's some music just for you" if I accidentally bump the top button. Siri doesn't even respond anymore. I have almost $500 of dumb bricks on my shelf and it's so frustrating.

I may try the solution from @sMayn, but I agree with what has been said here about the problem being the HomePod and not my network. I can use over a dozen other devices on my network with zero problems. I don't want to reset all of my network data to use a speaker. The problem is the HomePod, and I'll probably never buy another one at this point.

 

[B/D]

Same problem here and reddit has several threads with that issue.
The homepods are a nightmare (at least for a lot of people) specially when they are stereo paired with an apple tv.

Theres something happening in the network when they get paired with an apple tv. Before connecting to the atv i can find them as wirless devices in my router settings, the moment i connect them to the atv they dissapear and get connected back as a not known device via ethernet (like the atv is). Anyway, apple has messed up something really bad, because there are so many complaints.

Yeah. But the interesting thing is that the ad-hoc network taking advantage of the hardwired connection of the Apple TV should considerably improve performance (and help with things like lag and lip sync). Instead, the entire network performance is slowly degraded until you unpair the homepods from the Apple TV.

Does not make any sense whatsoever, but it is what it is.

 

[6SpeedPourover]

I tried @sMayn's instructions, and they're the first thing to give me a functional HomePod in 25 days. While I'm thankful for this solution, I blame Apple's mismanagement of HomePod software for this catastrophe. I shouldn't have to perform a factory reset on multiple devices, my router, and completely delete and recreate all of my network settings to use a speaker.

If I bought a car, took care of it, and then had to completely disassemble the gas tank and put it back together using the exact same parts after a year so that I can keep using it, I don't blame the gas station or the roads I'm driving on. I'm blaming the manufacturer for making a car that doesn't work after a year.

I hope this fixes it moving forward, but I'm not holding my breath.

Edit: HomePod is still pretty bad. I can airplay to it, but personal requests are impossible, and it still just shows up as "configuring" in the Home app. I can't ask it to turn on my Apple TV because it thinks I don't have any other smart devices set up.

 

[B/D]

@Itinj24

Just rewatched X-Men Apocalypse in Disney+. Great sound and visuals (in 4K HDR), fun flick

But several times during the runtime of the film, the homepods went into Siri "waiting for an answer" mode completely on their own, and therefore drowning the film soundtrack almost completely during several seconds. This happened 4 o 5 times.

And also, the volume bar appeared and dissapeared on its own several times during the course of the film. On these instances, the sound didnt lowered, just the volume bar came and went on screen.


Sigh. 16.6 is a wild ride so far .

 

[Itinj24]

@Itinj24

Just rewatched X-Men Apocalypse in Disney+. Great sound and visuals (in 4K HDR), fun flick

But several times during the runtime of the film, the homepods went into Siri "waiting for an answer" mode completely on their own, and therefore drowning the film soundtrack almost completely during several seconds. This happened 4 o 5 times.

And also, the volume bar appeared and dissapeared on its own several times during the course of the film. On these instances, the sound didnt lowered, just the volume bar came and went on screen.


Sigh. 16.6 is a wild ride so far .

All of 16 has been a wild ride lol but usually by now, a month away from the next big software release, this stuff should be running silky smooth.

This weird bug popped up out nowhere, somewhere in the midst of OS 16.5. When asking a HomePod for a future request (e.g. “turn off the light in 10 minutes”), Siri now doesn’t recognize your voice. Try for yourself. It’s widespread from what I understand. Saw it plastered on Reddit and here a few times. There was no update that caused this and it’s been going on for a good two months at this point. 16.6 didn’t fix it.

 

[6SpeedPourover]

Final solution for now... On top of all of the resetting and starting over, I also deleted my home in the Home app and made an entirely new one. Nothing is stuck on configuring anymore and it all seems to be working for the time being.

 

[Itinj24]

Final solution for now... On top of all of the resetting and starting over, I also deleted my home in the Home app and made an entirely new one. Nothing is stuck on configuring anymore and it all seems to be working for the time being.

Well that’s good to hear. There is hope yet but this is not sustainable. Don’t know what your HomeKit set up looks like but I’m pushing ~150 devices (no where near finished) with numerous scenes, automations and shortcuts. If I had to do this every time the HomePods presented with buggy software, which is quite often, I’d be perpetually setting up a HomeKit home.

I actually planned on nuking my whole system one of these days to hopefully clear out as many bugs as possible. Gonna need a few days to a week to get everything back and I’m an absolutely dreading it. This should not have to be the way though.