What, if any, other symptoms were the HomePods showing of this issue other than heat?
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HomePod Faithful HomePod seems to have died
- Thread starter iamasmith
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They just died overnight.
Apart from drawing 5 Watt while plugged in, they did absolutely nothing, as the A8 did not get any power.
To feel the heat on the outside takes quite some time.
The Buck IC+Diode heating up to around 100C, spreading through the copper in the PCB and crawling up the big electrolytic capacitor which are big enough and close enough to the case.
Apart from drawing 5 Watt while plugged in, they did absolutely nothing, as the A8 did not get any power.
To feel the heat on the outside takes quite some time.
The Buck IC+Diode heating up to around 100C, spreading through the copper in the PCB and crawling up the big electrolytic capacitor which are big enough and close enough to the case.
Yes, it's a bit warm on the left side of the HP. (To the right of the power cord when facing it.)
Got a link to the fix you're talking about?
Good chance it's the same problem. Mine also got warm on the right side of the power connector, left side on the picture above.
There is no link for the fix, I did it myself.
Looked up some youtube videos how to open it without destruction(ifixit teardown) and then used a thermal cam and multimeter to search for the short.
Trickiest part is to get through the adhesive on the top of the case, where ifixit used the saw.
This is the diode, marked green on the picture above:
example Video how to open it:
Edit:
Just found this thread here on the forum. Pretty much on point how to get the homepod open.
Nondestructive Look Inside HomePod
I used iFixit's teardown and teardown video as a reference to non destructively remove the outer mesh sock (3D mesh as Apple calls it) and tear the unit down to a point. This isn't a guide, but I plan on getting around to making one with better photos in the future. (I didn't take photos of the...
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OG Homepod Bricked. Issues with interference, updates and finally woke up to blinking volume + -. Hardware issue I must presume Apple is aware of, guess their internal knowedge and analytics was not enough for them to do the right thing rather than pass the fault down to the customers. This is widespread and seems to have effected the near entireity of their first run. Not the first time an product has had a know point of failure requiring a repair extension program. At this point in the game those effected deserve replacements. I'm quite suprised they have been so reluctant to admit their product failure at risk of offending loyal customers paying a premium for their product. Seems they may have painted themselves into a corner with the design seeming to be unservacable even to Apple. The burden and cost weather a design issue and effort to prevent anyone from glancing inside. Lessons learned. I am reserving future purchases depending on how they resolve this issue as a mater of principle. One person no big deal but, how many? Do we know the replacement has resolved any heat / power issues related to failure? I would not pay the to learn the same lesson twice, however, should they do right by the customer and replace defective units with working ones without the same issue a few months down the road. Guess well have to wait and see and in the meantime, raise your voice for consumer protections. We deserve nothing less. What is Apple without their customers? 2 guys doing acid in their garage...?
did you repaired your HomePod from overheating or you got the blinking volume +- issue and fixed it?... I'm interested on this one my HP died and I can't get it to repair since I'm not in the USGood chance it's the same problem. Mine also got warm on the right side of the power connector, left side on the picture above.
There is no link for the fix, I did it myself.
Looked up some youtube videos how to open it without destruction(ifixit teardown) and then used a thermal cam and multimeter to search for the short.
Trickiest part is to get through the adhesive on the top of the case, where ifixit used the saw.
This is the diode, marked green on the picture above:
example Video how to open it:
(I only used heat to loosen the adhesive, and never removed the bottom cover of the case)
Edit:
Just found this thread here on the forum. Pretty much on point how to get the homepod open.
Nondestructive Look Inside HomePod
I used iFixit's teardown and teardown video as a reference to non destructively remove the outer mesh sock (3D mesh as Apple calls it) and tear the unit down to a point. This isn't a guide, but I plan on getting around to making one with better photos in the future. (I didn't take photos of the...
Neither, both just completely stopped working overnight. No sound, blinking or WIFI connection, even after power cycling.
The side of the Homepod getting warm was a result of the malfunctioning diode and not the cause.
Sadly, I use mine so rarely that I would only know if it was dead if it was time to update it and it failed.
Every time I try to use it, my wife complains 'are you deaf?' Duh! Music is made to be loud!
Every time I try to use it, my wife complains 'are you deaf?' Duh! Music is made to be loud!
The really, really sad thing is when I use mine it's my teenage KIDS that complain that the music is too loud
The tagline of a local radio station was 'If it's too loud, you're too old.'The really, really sad thing is when I use mine it's my teenage KIDS that complain that the music is too loud
Now I'm old.
Also, my HP is making the random clicking sound.
I just came across this video looks like this guy replaced the same diode you are talking about.
Yes, exactly.
When your HomePod just completely stops working and then getting warm on the side, I bet in 99% of the cases this Diode died, which luckily, apart from opening the Homepod without destroying it like in the video, is a rather easy fix.
For all the other, less specific, problems like blinking buttons, random restart, no bluetooth/wifi I suppose the repair will be more difficult if not impossible. My guess would be in most of these cases either a IC/CPU is damaged, or a solder ball broke as result of thermal stress or vibration from the subwoofer.
When your HomePod just completely stops working and then getting warm on the side, I bet in 99% of the cases this Diode died, which luckily, apart from opening the Homepod without destroying it like in the video, is a rather easy fix.
For all the other, less specific, problems like blinking buttons, random restart, no bluetooth/wifi I suppose the repair will be more difficult if not impossible. My guess would be in most of these cases either a IC/CPU is damaged, or a solder ball broke as result of thermal stress or vibration from the subwoofer.
My HomePod failed as well and showed symptoms of one side being warm. I had the diode replaced but the HomePod is still not working.
I guess all it’s good for now is parts.
I guess all it’s good for now is parts.
When your unit failed, was it stuck in a boot loop? Flashing volume lights? Or was it fully dead like it wasn’t even plugged in? The first two (flashing volume lights and/or boot loop) were logic board issues in the units I repaired (swapped logic boards around)
You mentioned one side being warm.. you mean one side of the top touch surface being warmer that the other, or one side of the fabric mesh being warmer? That diode you talked about is on the amplifier board and is closer to the bottom of the HomePod.
Hello, I have repaired six homepods that stopped because of the Diode. Now people are trying to change the Diode without taking care of one thing !!
The fail is because this diode heats up a lot and is melting the thin layer of the pcb protection and grounding with the circuit copper underneath it.
Your board did the same, but when it heats up and grounds, more heat is produced and it gets really stuck on the board.
A couple of videos on the net shows repairs desoldering the diode with a heat gun, BIG MISTAKE in my opinion
If you look at the picture closely, between this diode and the IC above it in the picture, there is a tiny tiny capacitor.
90% of the people trying to desolder the diode with a heatgun, desolder this tiny capacitor and do not see it removed.
It is the size of the dot on your keyboard keys
without this capacitor, the homepod won't turn on, or when you plug it and tap rapidally on the touch pad, the circle lights for a fraction of a second, ONCE
If the homepod shows + and - lights flashing from time to time, and doesn't reset, means that the motherboard EPROM was not updated fully, and the startup program was interrupted when it was updating.
It is like when updating a BIOS , and you pulled the plug in the middle of the programing.
The motherboard program must be re-written, and I presume it could only be done at factory, or someone could pump it from a good motherboard with proper material, and re-write the program on the bad one
tiny capacitor at the tip of the red arrow in picture
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tiny bead of flux on it, soldering iron with an angled tip as large as the diode, and iron at hottest setting.
First the bakalite casing will split by heat. Then at a certain moment, the whole diode gives up
I have exactly the same problem, but as I am not solder-savvy enough for this project and am from Germany too, I was thinking if you would probably take a shot on my HomePod as well… Just having it bricked in my drawer sucks. :-/