Apple Releases HomePod Software 17.5

[MacRumors]

Apple today released new software for the HomePod and the HomePod mini, debuting HomePod Software 17.5. The update comes two months after the 17.4 HomePod software release, which introduced new features for music preferences.

Apple does not specify what's included in the ‌HomePod‌ 17.5 software, and the generic release notes only say that it brings stability and performance improvements.

HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌ software is installed automatically on the ‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌ unless the feature is disabled‌‌‌‌, but the ‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌ can also be manually updated in the Home app by following the instructions in our HomePod‌‌ update how to.

Article Link: Apple Releases HomePod Software 17.5

 

[kagharaht]

Somehow I have a feeling this will fix NOTHING! As all previous updates since version 15, it's been downhill from there.

 

[BarrettF77]

What do you expect from Tim Cook’s Apple ?

He is more into subscriptions and health, and AR.

 

[howywood]

Thank you for bricking my HomePod to render it useless, Tim Apple.

 

[decypher44]

Thank you for bricking my HomePod to render it useless, Tim Apple.

Did this update actually brick your HPs, or is this venting? Want to know before I hit “update”.

 

[symphony]

Ah, hopefully Siri can define words for me again instead of suggesting web results to my iPhone

 

[MrWeenus]

Does anyone notice an increase in bass for their 2nd gen HomePods?

 

[incidentallycheckout]

Did this update actually brick your HPs, or is this venting? Want to know before I hit “update”.

Update ran fine on my 2 HomePod minis, no issues to report.

 

[benoit79]

I will install the update on one stereo pair before updating all my HomePods as I expect bugs. As mentioned by someone, my HomePods have been broken since the release of OS 16.0. I'll update this thread with fixes and/or new bugs once I have tested it properly.

 

[SantaFeNM]

Did this update actually brick your HPs, or is this venting? Want to know before I hit “update”.

I updated two OG stereo HomePods, two stereo minis, and one stand-alone mini. All are working just fine after this update.

 

[frenchcamp49er]

Quickest update in a very long time

 

[Aves]

the important thing here is that they updated without exploding

 

[chineseguy38]

SIRI still unless as usual with 17.5

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

I will install the update on one stereo pair before updating all my HomePods as I expect bugs. As mentioned by someone, my HomePods have been broken since the release of OS 16.0. I'll update this thread with fixes and/or new bugs once I have tested it properly.

What's wrong with them? Just curious.

 

[MonkeySpank158]

Really hoping all HomePod models will get updated with more intelligent Siri / AI with HomePodOS 18.

 

[benoit79]

What's wrong with them? Just curious.

Apple introduced tons of issues in OS 16.0 and then added more in the following updates. For instance at a certain point if your HomePods were in a stereo pair, you would experienced audio issues where songs would skip parts and restart from the beginning after a few seconds. HomePods were also disconnecting very often and adjusting the volume with Siri for all HomePods was often impossible. You had to adjust each HomePod or stereo pair individually.

At the moment my HomePods disconnect on a regular basis. After pausing the music, if I resume it, half of the time it starts new random music. I still experience volume adjustment issues and if I ask Siri for the weather in two hours, I get the weather at 2 h PM or 2 h am instead.

Don't get me wrong, OS 17.4 is better than any of the OS 16 versions. However, considering my HomePods were working well with OS 15.7 and that I now experience issues on a daily basis, I'm extremely dissatisfied and I fear every time Apple release an update that they will add more bugs.

That being said I think I found a way to fix one HomePod issue by deactivating an iPhone feature. Basically the widgets on my iPhone Lock Screen were draining my battery life like crazy. Now that I removed all of them my iPhone battery life is better, same thing for my Apple Watch and the HomePod issue where the music would stop for two seconds doesn't seem to happen anymore or at least, much less than before.

I hope that answers your question.

Have a great day!

 

[That70sGAdawg]

Update went fine on 2 OG HomePods

 

[String]

My HomePods have went a bit deaf lately. When trying to tell them to increase or decrease volume they don’t want to know. A few times after telling them they sometimes obey but a lot of times they just ignore.

 

[kirbyrun]

Apple introduced tons of issues in OS 16.0 and then added more in the following updates. For instance at a certain point if your HomePods were in a stereo pair, you would experienced audio issues where songs would skip parts and restart from the beginning after a few seconds. HomePods were also disconnecting very often and adjusting the volume with Siri for all HomePods was often impossible. You had to adjust each HomePod or stereo pair individually.

At the moment my HomePods disconnect on a regular basis. After pausing the music, if I resume it, half of the time it starts new random music. I still experience volume adjustment issues and if I ask Siri for the weather in two hours, I get the weather at 2 h PM or 2 h am instead.

Don't get me wrong, OS 17.4 is better than any of the OS 16 versions. However, considering my HomePods were working well with OS 15.7 and that I now experience issues on a daily basis, I'm extremely dissatisfied and I fear every time Apple release an update that they will add more bugs.

That being said I think I found a way to fix one HomePod issue by deactivating an iPhone feature. Basically the widgets on my iPhone Lock Screen were draining my battery life like crazy. Now that I removed all of them my iPhone battery life is better, same thing for my Apple Watch and the HomePod issue where the music would stop for two seconds doesn't seem to happen anymore or at least, much less than before.

I hope that answers your question.

Have a great day!

Just adding to the list of issues... My HomePods (four minis, one OG) will work just fine...and then suddenly decide "Sorry, I'm having trouble connecting to the internet." This, despite nothing changing in our network. The only solution is to reboot the HomePod via the Home app. This happens all the time.

What adds to the frustration is that after being told about the problem, Siri goes on to say, "For more information, please check the Home app." But when you check the Home app, THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION! No troubleshooting info, no acknowledgement of the disconnect...nothing!

And then the other day, the HomePods came up with a new wrinkle: "Sorry, I'm having trouble connecting to the iPhone." Which...shouldn't be a problem since I was using it to add a reminder, which should go to iCloud, not to the phone.

Ugh.

 

[benoit79]

Hi everyone,

So here are my observations on OS 17.5 installed on 11 HomePod minis and 2 Second generation HomePods.

In terms of update process, the download was smooth and I managed to install the new OS without any issue on all 13 HomePods.

That being said, pretty much all issues I had with the previous OS are still there:

1. If you ask Siri for the weather in two hours, it still gives you the weather for 2 h PM instead of the appropriate time and weather.

2. The HomePod current music information displayed on the iPad still has issues. Basically after a while the information doesn't show up on the iPad Lock Screen. Sometimes I cannot bring it back by going to control center. It just doesn't work. I have to restart the iPad to connect it to the HomePods.

3. Sometimes the HomePod current music information displayed on the iPad is truncated. Sometimes it doesn't show all the connected HomePods.

4. I still experience the issue where the music stops on all HomePods at the same time for two seconds and then resume.

5. I still experience an HomePod that suddenly stops playing and then starts again. That being said, it's the first time I can use my office HomePod mini stereo pair since Apple released OS 16.0. They can play music for a long time without having any issue. I'll have to wait a few more days, but that could be an improvement over the last 21 months.

6. On my end I didn't experience any improvement on the sound balance related to the «sound check». I tested this with the "The New Rock" playlist on Apple Music. Some songs were definitely louder than others.

7. I experienced one HomePod stereo pair on which the music was delayed compares to the others, but that happened not long after the update. Since then it hasn't happened anymore, so maybe it won't be an issue.

8. If you have French Canada Siri configured on your HomePods, Siri still says words that are not French. It actually sometimes try to say English words but with a French accent, which makes no sense at all.

There might be some improvements too. So far Siri has been able to tell the volume percentage every time I asked. However, this was an intermittent issue in the past, so it might resurface. But for the moment, let's assume it might be fixed.

Overall at the moment OS 17.5 is either an improvement over the previous OS or pretty much the same thing. I guess we'll still need to wait (or hope) to have a more reliable OS such as OS 15.7. If you are still on any of the OS 16 versions, OS 17.5 is better. I'll continue to monitor them and see if I discover some fixes or more bugs. If so, I'll publish the details here.

Take care!

 

[jasonmichaelh]

4 OG’s and 4 minis updated overnight without issue.

I thought one of my minis was bricked after the update, but it turned out to be a tripped circuit breaker 😳

Prior to the update my Ecobee thermostat connection had been broken for a long time. It is back now. Not sure if it’s a result of the HomePod reboots, or the SW update.

The other thing that might be fixed is the temperature updates. Prior to the update, going into Home app and selecting climate-> temperature, it took like 30 seconds or more to update the temps reported by the minis. Now the update is near instantaneous.

 

[zapmymac]

I’m just not going to update them anymore….until an update with new improvements is bluntly noted…

 

[benoit79]

Hi again,

It feels like the "sound check" feature is now working on my end. All the songs seem to be playing at a similar volume. I'm doing my test once again with the "The New Rock" Apple Music playlist.

I think I might had to restart all the HomePods for the change to be effective. So far that would be the only improvement I can observe over OS 17.4. However, there doesn't seem to be new issues with hat OS.

Thanks!

 

[jasonmichaelh]

Prior to the update my Ecobee thermostat connection had been broken for a long time. It is back now. Not sure if it’s a result of the HomePod reboots, or the SW update.

The other thing that might be fixed is the temperature updates. Prior to the update, going into Home app and selecting climate-> temperature, it took like 30 seconds or more to update the temps reported by the minis. Now the update is near instantaneous.

Thermostat is not available after a few days. No problems with other devices. Temperatures still refresh quickly in Home App. Think I’ll get rid of this Ecobee. Not really fond of them or their devices.

 

[MonkeySpank158]

Thermostat is not available after a few days. No problems with other devices. Temperatures still refresh quickly in Home App. Think I’ll get rid of this Ecobee. Not really fond of them or their devices.

I’ve not had any issues with my ecobee, before or after update of the homepods.