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Annoying problem with HomePod

Bazooka-joe

Bazooka-joe

macrumors 603
Original poster
Mar 12, 2012
5,347
3,743
Swindon, England
Ok so this is annoying unless I am doing something wrong. I am sat down with the HomePod 5 yards away and my Ipad and iPhone next to me. Periodically but not always when I say Hey Siri and issue a command to play music , the Ipad activates the command and starts up Apple Music rather then the HomePod.
Maybe it needs to settle down
 
Do you have Bluetooth on in all the devices? I think that they are using it to determine the proximity to each other.
 
Bazooka-joe said:
I say Hey Siri and issue a command to play music , the Ipad activates the command and starts up Apple Music rather then the HomePod
Click to expand...
I recall hearing about that gripe in some reviews, Is there a way to change the trigger phrase to avoid this confusion?
 
Bazooka-joe said:
Not that I can see and it’s still doing it. I will raise a call with Apple
Click to expand...
I think its a valid reason to call, they want consumers to own multiple apple products, here's one instance where owning them, is causing a bit of confusion
 
On the phone to Apple now. It’s an intermittent fault. When using my iPad and issuing the Hey Siri command, the HomePod lights up but the Ipad picks up the command. It’s really frustrating
 
There are various factors that decide which device will take your request.

When you say "Hey Siri" all the devices hear it, and then they all communicate and try to figure out which device you will probably want to respond.

It not only considers distance, but which device you are using or have just used.

For example, if you are using your iPad, and say "Hey Siri" the iPad will probably take the request.

Craig Federighi explained it really well after WWDC last year on John Gruber's podcast.
 
jabingla2810 said:
There are various factors that decide which device will take your request.

When you say "Hey Siri" all the devices hear it, and then they all communicate and try to figure out which device you will probably want to respond.

It not only considers distance, but which device you are using or have just used.

For example, if you are using your iPad, and say "Hey Siri" the iPad will probably take the request.

Craig Federighi explained it really well after WWDC last year on John Gruber's podcast.
Click to expand...
Yes but it’s not consistent. If I am sat here using my iPad and issue a Siri command then sometimes the HomePod picks up the command and other times it’s the Ipad

Apple HomePod support are escalating to engineers
 
Bazooka-joe said:
Yes but it’s not consistent. If I am sat here using my iPad and issue a Siri command then sometimes the HomePod picks up the command and other times it’s the Ipad

Apple HomePod support are escalating to engineers
Click to expand...

I don’t think it can ever be 100% successful. The devices communicate and best guess which device should respond. It might get this wrong sometimes.

Be interested to see if Apple can explain this better. Good luck!
 
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I like the fact that one command is all i need for all Apple devices so I don't have to think, but would've been good to have an option for "Hey HomePod" as well.

Or "Hey iPhone", "Hey Watch", "Hey iPad". If I ask someone a question in my room I would ask them by name. If a general question I don't use a name ("Hey Siri").

Simple solution really, but maybe not so simple to implement.
 
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I have same issue with iWatch, iPhone and iPad when they are near each other.
Apple "it just works" :|
 
Bazooka-joe said:
Ok so this is annoying unless I am doing something wrong. I am sat down with the HomePod 5 yards away and my Ipad and iPhone next to me. Periodically but not always when I say Hey Siri and issue a command to play music , the Ipad activates the command and starts up Apple Music rather then the HomePod.
Maybe it needs to settle down
Click to expand...
Yeah, i have vaulted ceilings in my house with a large open "room" on the second floor. Sometimes I ask Google Home to do something and Google Home Mini on the second floor responds.
 
How about switch off hey siri when your device is locked? homepod will work and be the direct connect. I know not ideal but least the homepod will work purely on that
 
Rene Ritchie had a segment of his HomePod overview where he discussed a scenario where different devices have different permissions for specific tasks. I believe the example he used was locking/unlocking a HomeKit door lock. The gist is that HomePod can handle the securing action, such as locking the door, but cannot unlock the door. The reason is that they don't want someone breaking a window, sticking their head through, and yelling "Hey Siri, unlock the doors!"

I'm not sure if this pertains to your requests or not, but it's worth noting.
 
I’ve switched off “Hey Siri” on my iphone and iPad. I never used it much, and can always press the home buttons if I need Siri on those devices. Less than a day with the HomePod, and the “Hey Siri” feature seems essential on that device.
 
I found if I turn my iPhone face down the HomePod picks up. Same goes for the watch - if your not using the raise wrist feature HomePod listens instead.
 
ttate90303 said:
I found if I turn my iPhone face down the HomePod picks up. Same goes for the watch - if your not using the raise wrist feature HomePod listens instead.
Click to expand...

That probably goes hand in hand with the face down and not lighting up the screen for notifications. One od the Apple Store employees told me once that when restoring your iPhone from an iCloud backup to turn it upside down and it will restore faster. I tested it and it was a little faster. might be why your phone doesn't respond when placed upside down.
 
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