Hello,
About a month ago one of my brother's HomePods bricked. The white light that usually indicates Siri was replaced by red and the volume buttons became extra bright and flashed both at the same time over and over when plugged in. I told him I thought I read here there was an issue with the 13.2 update, but that was replaced quickly by 13.2.1 so I was at a bit of a loss. He told me it did happen during an update, but I'm not sure why it would have taken so long.
His Apple devices also didn't recognize his second HomePod anymore. We tried everything we could through the Home App to no avail. He scheduled time for the Genius Bar and brought it in last week with his 2016 MBP for keyboard replacement. He reserved two back to back slots I believe - one for the keyboard replacement and one for the HomePod issues.
The Genius (Genius #1) took the 2016 MBP in without question for replacement. A second Genius then spoke with him about his HomePods. He (Genius #2) took a look at the one that was not being recognized by his devices first and "fixed" it. He then took the second HomePod, plugged it in, and told him it was 2 months out of warranty and to go pound sand and enjoy his paperweight.
When he took the HomePods home the one that wasn't bricked stopped functioning properly again. We both can't imagine how this would have happened, but since the only way to access it is through the Home App we didn't have many options. I don't feel the need to make up a story here on MR, which I have been a part of for some time so please trust me when I say that both HomePods sit on his desk and never even get moved. That is to say, we're completely perplexed by the fact that a device with no inputs could even brick like this without someone throwing it against a wall (and I'm not even sure that would "brick" the device - it would probably just cause it not to turn on). There is clearly not even a scratch on the bricked HomePod (nor the other one).
What rubs salt in the wound is that we have spent an inordinate amount of money on Apple products for our start up. The Genius was so smug and rude it was mind blowing (I have other words to better articulate his character, but I'm doing my best to not make this a rant). He even said, "We take pride in our products here. Why don't you go buy a Sonos instead."
I mean - is this even real???
It's so disheartening now that we've gotten so heavily into the ecosystem for our 2 and a half year old business to get service like this. A few months ago we met with a business advisor so we could properly set up and manage the company's devices. She applauded us for being so proactive and said many companies come in later and regret it because of all the legwork that it takes to set up a system once a makeshift on is in place for companies with many employees (we started as two and are now seven). Ironically, I've been trying to email her back and she hasn't been very responsive. I believe, and am hoping, this is a coincidence, though. I've been an Apple customer since graduating high school prior to the arrival of the first iPod. That might not mean anything, but I'm mentioning it to contextualize the situation for anyone who might take the time to read this post.
$349.00 USD for this thing (HomePod) and they're not even willing to work with us or be courteous about it (at a minimum).
Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone had a bricked out-of-warranty HomePod replaced? I'm thinking of going back to the store and explaining the situation again to another "Genius" and seeing if we don't get a different outcome. If Apple won't work with me I'm going to file a complaint with the state's Attorney General so I at least feel I've done my part in case this happens to more people. I'm very disappointed to the point where I'm trying to let a little spilled milk boil over into rage. It makes me more grateful for the vendors who have treated us well, at least.
The HomePod is a personal, and not business, device. Again, I'm just trying to frame the whole situation.
Thank you for any insights or personal experience you may have that will help with this. Thank you for reading. I'm not a total crazy person - just a partial one.
ZLM
About a month ago one of my brother's HomePods bricked. The white light that usually indicates Siri was replaced by red and the volume buttons became extra bright and flashed both at the same time over and over when plugged in. I told him I thought I read here there was an issue with the 13.2 update, but that was replaced quickly by 13.2.1 so I was at a bit of a loss. He told me it did happen during an update, but I'm not sure why it would have taken so long.
His Apple devices also didn't recognize his second HomePod anymore. We tried everything we could through the Home App to no avail. He scheduled time for the Genius Bar and brought it in last week with his 2016 MBP for keyboard replacement. He reserved two back to back slots I believe - one for the keyboard replacement and one for the HomePod issues.
The Genius (Genius #1) took the 2016 MBP in without question for replacement. A second Genius then spoke with him about his HomePods. He (Genius #2) took a look at the one that was not being recognized by his devices first and "fixed" it. He then took the second HomePod, plugged it in, and told him it was 2 months out of warranty and to go pound sand and enjoy his paperweight.
When he took the HomePods home the one that wasn't bricked stopped functioning properly again. We both can't imagine how this would have happened, but since the only way to access it is through the Home App we didn't have many options. I don't feel the need to make up a story here on MR, which I have been a part of for some time so please trust me when I say that both HomePods sit on his desk and never even get moved. That is to say, we're completely perplexed by the fact that a device with no inputs could even brick like this without someone throwing it against a wall (and I'm not even sure that would "brick" the device - it would probably just cause it not to turn on). There is clearly not even a scratch on the bricked HomePod (nor the other one).
What rubs salt in the wound is that we have spent an inordinate amount of money on Apple products for our start up. The Genius was so smug and rude it was mind blowing (I have other words to better articulate his character, but I'm doing my best to not make this a rant). He even said, "We take pride in our products here. Why don't you go buy a Sonos instead."
I mean - is this even real???
It's so disheartening now that we've gotten so heavily into the ecosystem for our 2 and a half year old business to get service like this. A few months ago we met with a business advisor so we could properly set up and manage the company's devices. She applauded us for being so proactive and said many companies come in later and regret it because of all the legwork that it takes to set up a system once a makeshift on is in place for companies with many employees (we started as two and are now seven). Ironically, I've been trying to email her back and she hasn't been very responsive. I believe, and am hoping, this is a coincidence, though. I've been an Apple customer since graduating high school prior to the arrival of the first iPod. That might not mean anything, but I'm mentioning it to contextualize the situation for anyone who might take the time to read this post.
$349.00 USD for this thing (HomePod) and they're not even willing to work with us or be courteous about it (at a minimum).
Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone had a bricked out-of-warranty HomePod replaced? I'm thinking of going back to the store and explaining the situation again to another "Genius" and seeing if we don't get a different outcome. If Apple won't work with me I'm going to file a complaint with the state's Attorney General so I at least feel I've done my part in case this happens to more people. I'm very disappointed to the point where I'm trying to let a little spilled milk boil over into rage. It makes me more grateful for the vendors who have treated us well, at least.
The HomePod is a personal, and not business, device. Again, I'm just trying to frame the whole situation.
Thank you for any insights or personal experience you may have that will help with this. Thank you for reading. I'm not a total crazy person - just a partial one.
ZLM
