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Apple Releases New 13.3.1 Software for HomePod

MauiPa said:
I get it - Sonos bad. Maybe you could help educate me, I am not aware of Apple (who has been in business for many years longer than Sonos) of ever intentionally bricking devices (yes that oops moment with a bad software update on HomePod, but they replaced those and it was a mistake). Maybe you can send links to articles where this has happened, I'm not finding any.

Typically as an Apple product ages and does not have adequate hardware to keep up with new OS features, you can still keep using them on the old OS's, nothing lost, just lack of unsupported new features. Never heard of them bricking devices though
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sonos didn‘t brick the speakers they are just not releasing any more firmware updates for four speakers that came out between 2006 and 2015 because of aged hardware. the speakers work fine by themselves, they just don‘t play nice with updated, newer devices. exactly the same same as with older apple products.

they usually work for quite some time (i think, you can still use an old ipod if you got the right adapters), but not always. good luck using airport utility with a 2nd gen airport express, for example.
 
I am Andy said:
Hi,
I own three HomePod and they are terrible.
Some examples:
- I asked HomePod to play the album 'Sleep' by Max Richter.
Instead of playing the first title of that album it starts in the middle (Path 3 (7676) [Pt. 3]).
Before you ask: No. It's not set to random play. Background noise is around 35 dB. So it should be able to understand correctly.
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Oy. I own two, and they are buggy. That said, I just tried doing what you wrote above -- asking Siri to play the album Sleep by Max Richter -- and it started at the beginning of the album, with Dream 1 (before the wind blows it all away) [Pt. 1]. That said, I've had so many weird Siri problems I can totally imagine this happening to you. The bugs are just so random.

It'd be a hell of a product if Apple could figure it out.
 
Unami said:
sonos didn‘t brick the speakers they are just not releasing any more firmware updates for four speakers that came out between 2006 and 2015 because of aged hardware. the speakers work fine by themselves, they just don‘t play nice with updated, newer devices. exactly the same same as with older apple products.
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Yes they did. Google for Sonos bricking speakers. :) They announced they will stop supporting the first gen speakers which means you can't use old and new speakers in the same network. In the Sonos app there was a message that reads something like users will get a 30% discount on new speakers if they press the upgrade button and buy a replacement speaker. Once you do this a countdown starts saying in 30 days your existing working speakers will be put into recycling mode. Recycling mode bricks your device. No way back. Done. Poof. A perfectly fine piece of music gear is electronic waste. No way to give it to your kids or use them in the office or just sell them on eBay.

Unami said:
I think, you can still use an old ipod if you got the right adapters, but not always. good luck using airport utility with a 2nd gen airport express, for example.
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I in fact use my 12 year old iPod Nano for the kids. No adapter or extra software needed. And I do in fact also have two 2nd gen AP Express for airplaying to my existing sound system and they work with the airport utility on Mac or iPhone. They are having hiccups though. Thats why I am eying new smart speakers to replace my sound system at home but the way it all looks at the moment I think I will be using it for a while.
 
colinwil said:
This! Siri seems to have gone nuts recently - it used to work much better.

Me: "Hey Siri, play Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto"
Siri: "Playing piano concerto K123 by Mozart"

Me: "Hey Siri, play Piano Concerto number 3 by Beethoven"
Siri: "Playing Piano concerto number 2 3rd movement by Beethoven"

etc, etc. For me it's barely usable with Siri & Apple Music these days. Most of the time I have to use it to play music that's in my playlists.
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Definitely has gone mad.

I ask my HomePod: “ what’s the weather like “

“You’ll have to continue on your iPhone”

The only way I can get it to tell me the weather is to ask “What is the weather condition in my location”
 
We really do need a separate EQ for the HomePod. By far the worst thing about them. Putting your phone on Bass Reducer etc. is a massive hassle. My three Homepods absolutely rattle my 400 sq foot apartment; which is nice but not all the damn time. I can barely use them at night and it’s hard to hear podcasts sometimes because you have to have the volume so low.

This is by far my most wanted software wish across all apple devices. It shouldn’t be that hard..
[automerge]1580334640[/automerge]
MauiPa said:
Hey Siri, turn down the volume! Bazinga!
[automerge]1580334132[/automerge]

LOL
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You can barely make out the lyrics or what they’re saying on podcasts if you don’t have the volume high enough on Homepods.
 
I am still having a horrible issue with my HomePod sporadically dropping phone calls. It either mutes the voice of the person I'm speaking to or drops the call completely. In addition the iPhone has no volume control of the HomePod during phone calls. When pressing the volume buttons a HomePod volume icon comes up on the phone...but it does nothing. Volume can only be controlled from the top of the HomePod itself. Very buggy. Has anyone else experienced this?
 
I have only had issues with my homepods when telling them to play some video game music with made up words in the title. That said, if I pronounce it juuuuuuust right sometimes it will get it. Otherwise I don't have that many problems with them. I love the fact that the bass can be heard even at very low volumes, **** is fire as ****. Picked up 5 of them during black friday for 199, these things **** ALL OVER similar sized smart speakers for sound quality. They can hear you whispering across the room which is either good or bad depending. The biggest issue I guess i've had is they don't like being on a different wifi network from my iphone. That. Shouldn't. Matter. But whatever. I hope apple gets the bugs straightened out.
 
Is it just me or is HomePod automatically working with AppleTV now? I’ve noticed that if my TV is on and I ask HomePod to play something, it’ll show the cover art and in sync lyrics on the screen. And just now, I asked it to play a song and it instead went and found the music video, playing the audio on my HomePods and the video on my AppleTV.
 
Applebot1 said:
That’s interesting because there was an early update that reduced the bass. I preferred that sound signature.

Totally agree, we need the ability to adjust sound settings.
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I have a number of HomePods and haven’t updated two as I preferred the bass and general sound of the original firmware 11.4.3. I updated others for the new features in HomePodOS 14.1 and tried to compare those with the two I haven’t updated to see if Apple brought back the sound quality but it’s impossible to determine the sound differences when they’re bouncing off one another.

I posted a few threads asking for advice as I’d like to update them esp with the improvements in AirPlay support, etc but I’m so afraid I’ll lose the sound quality as you cannot rollback updates.

Any advice or experience would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!
 
CJ Dorschel said:
I have a number of HomePods and haven’t updated two as I preferred the bass and general sound of the original firmware 11.4.3. I updated others for the new features in HomePodOS 14.1 and tried to compare those with the two I haven’t updated to see if Apple brought back the sound quality but it’s impossible to determine the sound differences when they’re bouncing off one another.

I posted a few threads asking for advice as I’d like to update them esp with the improvements in AirPlay support, etc but I’m so afraid I’ll lose the sound quality as you cannot rollback updates.

Any advice or experience would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!
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I’m on the latest developer beta. The sound is fabulous, as it has been for years. I would update - definitely
 
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