HomePod Cannot unpair or reset HomePods

[robbiemc]

Hmm, I'm having some major issues with my stereo pair HomePods.

Recently they've been unreliable playing AirPlay - often not showing up and if we do get it to play via AirPlay it will stop after a few minutes.
I used the Home app and have just updated the Homepods software, but now although I can see them listed on Airplay, it says ‘unable to connect’.
I've unplugged them, which hasn't helped.

A reset seems to be the most logical thing to do, however there is no option to do this at all.

If I go to the Home app, long click on the stereo pair, settings, all I see is: 'Room, Speakers (2), Included in favourites, and Alarms'.
According to the Apple Support website I should see 'ungroup accessories', but it's not there.
I can't do a reset by holding finger on a HomePod for 5 seconds, because you need to ungroup them first!

Something is going on here, and its a bit frustrating I can't simply 'force' them to reset.

To clarify: Hey Siri works on the Homepods, and I can play music on the HomePods that way, and they seem to work perfectly that way, it’s just impossible to connect via Airplay.
They are both on same wifi network as me.

What can I do?

 

[robbiemc]

Edit:
For the sake of completeness, I'll answer my own question

I managed to fix this by removing myself from 'Home' in the home app. Sadly this also removes all existing HomeKit gear, which isn't ideal but it did reset the HomePods back to individual and I was able to set them both up again.

Once setup, I do get an error saying 'Airplay may not work as your network doesn't support peer-to-peer networking'. This is unusual, but for some reason it appears to working as intended, and I can get Airplay to work correctly.
I'm using a new Asus router using its 'Smartconnect' feature which may be causing this error message.

Anyway, Ill update if something else happens!

 

[waw74]

Thanks for updating, with your answer
I can't tell you how many times I've found a question that I have, and they fixed it themselves, and say "never mind, fixed it"

For your airplay dropouts.
reboot your router and wifi gear.
Try googling "airplay <your router name and model>" sometimes there are weird settings that can mess stuff up.

if that doesn't help...
The network broadcasts required for devices to find each other and airplay don't always play well with wifi
wifi tends to make these packets lower priority.

every so often devices will broadcast a packet that goes to every device on the network saying "hey, I'm at this IP, and I can do ________"

you can test this with an app called discovery (this is just a viewer, can't change anything, so don't worry about breaking anything)
Mac - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id1381004916?mt=12
iPhone - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id305441017


In that app, I see my HomePod in several groups (listed below), if they don't show up for you, then you have problems.

_companion-link​

_homekit - I think this is for devices that are homekit hubs​

_raop -​

_airplay - This is for video airplay​

(your aTVs should show up in these too)
by comparing your Mac and phone, and the way they are connected (which wifi band, or wired) it can help troubleshoot.


---
from what I can tell, smart connect only tells your devices which wifi radio to connect to.
you router is either dual or tri-band, meaning it's got 2 or 3 radios. Even if you've only got one wifi network name, it will be broadcasting 2 or 3 different times.
each radio has it's own strengths (mainly related to range and bandwidth)
smart connect helps to steer your devices to the radio that's best for what they're doing
it shouldn't affect what's happing on the network, but there's always a chance.

---
in the future, you can reset the HomePod without using your phone

Reset HomePod or HomePod mini - Apple Support

Learn how to reset your HomePod or HomePod mini to its factory settings before sending it in for service, selling it, or giving it away.

support.apple.com