HomePod Can a HomePod send/receive messages and Audio calls without an iPhone?

[kat.hayes]

My daughter had an older iPhone with her iCloud account and she used it for Messages and FaceTime until she lost the phone. We also have an older iPad we let her use with her account, though she does not get to use it all the time. I just bought her a Home Pod mini thinking that I would be able to connect her iCloud account to it so she could send and receive messages and FaceTime audio calls. I briefly searched the web and from what I read it seemed that she would be able to do this without an iPhone present. I tried to have Siri send a message and it indicated that there were no phones close by.

1. Is there a way for her to use the HomePod mini for messages or FaceTime calls without an iPhone?
2. If not, can she do it with an iPad?

Thanks

 

[BigBlur]

It should work. An iPhone is only required to make phone calls and SMS messages. She should be able to use the HomePod mini, along with the iPad, to send and receive iMessages (not SMS) as well as making FaceTime calls.

There a couple things to keep in mind first since it sounds like you'd prefer she doesn't have access to the iPad all the time...

• The HomePod mini doesn't notify you of new messages. So without being able hear the new message alert from the iPad or looking at it to see if there are new messages, she would have to periodically ask the HomePod mini/Siri to read her unread messages. I'm not sure if there's a way to go back and hear them again after they've been read.
• Similar thing also applies to FaceTime calls. Only the iPad would ring for incoming calls. She could say "Hey Siri, who's calling?" and/or "Hey Siri, answer the phone." for it to play though the HomePod mini...but she'd need the iPad nearby to know/hear she's getting a call in the first place.

I'm not sure if the HomePod mini is the best use for this situation. For messaging and calls, it's more of a companion device to be used along with an iPhone or iPad. Maybe it'd be fine if you just want her to be able to contact you easily, but it may be a bit more troublesome for you to contact/get ahold of her in a timely manner if she doesn't have access to the iPad to hear the alerts. Any particular reason why you don't want her to use the iPad all the time? You could use Screen Time to set limitations if that was your concern.

If you really want her to use the HomePod mini instead of the iPad, I would check the following:

• She is signed into her account on the iPad, and iMessage and FaceTime is set up.
• The iPad is on and connected to the network.
• The HomePod was set up with her Apple ID. Perhaps set up the HomePod mini using the iPad for good measure.
• Since the HomePod mini can recognize multiple voices, have her try to send a message instead. Or have her say "Hey Siri, who am I?" to see if it detects the right person. My guess is that it didn't recognize your voice, therefore didn't know what account/device to use. This KB has more info: https://support.apple.com/HT204753