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HomePod HomePod stopped working

D1G1TALR0B0T

D1G1TALR0B0T

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
796
1,196
Hi,

My two year old HomePod will no longer start up. It is on software version 15.1.1 and yesterday it just stopped working. Tried to power cycle it and still nothing.

I’m probably going to have to replace it with a few HomePod Minis.

Just wondering if anyone else had an issue like this and was able to fix it?
 
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There has to be more to this issue of HomePods dying all of a sudden. There is nothing significant in it to break them other than:

1. People are playing them on 10 all the time and somehow managed to blow a speaker
2. People physically breaking them

Just playing music through them should not be causing them to die. Therefore, is the software update actually to blame ?. I am current on all 5 HomePods and to this moment (thankfully) all of mine are working normally. Mine are up-to-date on software also, so it just seems strange that they are dying so much all of a sudden.

If (as above) there is problems with electronics failing, that is a design flaw that Apple should be held accountable for. While I realize it technically is out of warranty, Apple is usually making things that far exceed the warranty specs.

It cannot just be that all of a sudden they all die (for no reason) and Apple just gets to say "oh well" and move on.
 
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cheekyjeremy said:
There has to be more to this issue of HomePods dying all of a sudden. There is nothing significant in it to break them other than:

1. People are playing them on 10 all the time and somehow managed to blow a speaker
2. People physically breaking them

Just playing music through them should not be causing them to die. Therefore, is the software update actually to blame ?. I am current on all 5 HomePods and to this moment (thankfully) all of mine are working normally. Mine are up-to-date on software also, so it just seems strange that they are dying so much all of a sudden.

If (as above) there is problems with electronics failing, that is a design flaw that Apple should be held accountable for. While I realize it technically is out of warranty, Apple is usually making things that far exceed the warranty specs.

It cannot just be that all of a sudden they all die (for no reason) and Apple just gets to say "oh well" and move on.
Click to expand...
I’m under the suspicion that Apple is killing them off as fast as possible with out making it look TOO obvious. It seems that every time there’s a software update, more of these instances pop up. Take a chunk of serial numbers at a time and inject them with a fatal blow. I’m curious how many HomePods are dying that the users don’t post in forums. It’s like they want to remove these from existence and wash their hands of it. (Conspiracy theory for sure)

Either that or they’ve no clue how to produce a speaker. Air Pods Pro also had the snap, crackle, pop flaw. My right APP has been affected for a while but I’m SOL with warranty as I’ve had them painted out the box. Big mistake but they look great in black. Shame on me for thinking they’d last more than a year.

I currently have nine HomePods and six Minis. One of my HomePods had the loud farting noise a couple times but reboot seemed the help. Another one had the blinking + - lights and rebooting that seemed to help as well. Every day is a new day of wondering if all nine will make it to see another day. Mine are mainly used for AppleTV default audio, phone calls and HomeKit control. Oddly enough, I only occasionally use them for music.

In any case, these premium audio products should now have a such a short lifespan and it’s frustrating that nothing can be done about it out of warranty.
 
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My HomePod just died today.
I have 2 HomePods stereo paired, and also paired with my Apple TV 4K (latest version, new remote).
They were working just fine until today morning. Then while watching TV (and listening through both homepods) I noticed that the Home App on my iPad said: Homepod not responding, (even though is was playing the sound).
So I unpaired from the Apple TV, and restarted the stereo pair.
BUT one the HomePods didn’t respond. I unplugged it and plugged it back, and nothing. It is dead.
I heard that something similar happened a while ago when 14.6 was just released.
Does anybody know how to fix this ?
Thank you.
Both HomePods and Apple TV are running 15.1.1
 
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My launch day HomePod died back in early January 2021, it was during the software version 14.3 era. It received power (as the base was warm to touch) but not showing up on the Home app nor any animation on the top. Even Apple lowered the HomePod pricing, the service fee stayed the same. Although I also had the HomePod mini at that time, the big HomePod just sound so much better. It was a 'suck it up' moment and took it to the Apple Store for a replacement.

After the discontinued in March, I bought another one with AppleCare+ this time to make it as a set.
 
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My original HomePod also just died. No lights or response of any kind. Just dead...

It hadn't been used in about 2 weeks when it died.
 
Glad I got rid of mine on EBay and bought a Sonos Arc instead which is light years ahead in Atmos Sound and functionality.
 
francoc02o said:
My HomePod just died today.
I have 2 HomePods stereo paired, and also paired with my Apple TV 4K (latest version, new remote).
They were working just fine until today morning. Then while watching TV (and listening through both homepods) I noticed that the Home App on my iPad said: Homepod not responding, (even though is was playing the sound).
So I unpaired from the Apple TV, and restarted the stereo pair.
BUT one the HomePods didn’t respond. I unplugged it and plugged it back, and nothing. It is dead.
I heard that something similar happened a while ago when 14.6 was just released.
Does anybody know how to fix this ?
Thank you.
Both HomePods and Apple TV are running 15.1.1
Click to expand...
Same. One of my paired stopped working after software update. Unpaired and removed them from the Home app. I was able to reset one of them by unplugging/replugging while touching top which should turn red then old until Siri tells you the HomePod will reset. This only worked for one. Tried multiple times and second HP would not reset, though it still had power. Left it unplugged for a day and tried again and it set! Lasted until 2 days ago. Seems like there was another update that screwed it up. I'm going to keep trying. Make sure your all your devices are on the same WiFi network. My iPhone switched while setting up and screwed up a couple attempts for me.
 
D1G1TALR0B0T said:
Hi,

My two year old HomePod will no longer start up. It is on software version 15.1.1 and yesterday it just stopped working. Tried to power cycle it and still nothing.

I’m probably going to have to replace it with a few HomePod Minis.

Just wondering if anyone else had an issue like this and was able to fix it?
Click to expand...
Yep 15.1.1 broke one of my paired HomePods. Tried to reset multiple times, but red restart light kept timing out. Let it sit for a full day unplugged and was able to get it to reset and worked for a few days, then stopped working again. Extremely frustrating. I have a pair of HomePod minis in my office but they're no where near as good. Going to keep trying I guess.
 
cheekyjeremy said:
There has to be more to this issue of HomePods dying all of a sudden. There is nothing significant in it to break them other than:

1. People are playing them on 10 all the time and somehow managed to blow a speaker
2. People physically breaking them

Just playing music through them should not be causing them to die. Therefore, is the software update actually to blame ?. I am current on all 5 HomePods and to this moment (thankfully) all of mine are working normally. Mine are up-to-date on software also, so it just seems strange that they are dying so much all of a sudden.

If (as above) there is problems with electronics failing, that is a design flaw that Apple should be held accountable for. While I realize it technically is out of warranty, Apple is usually making things that far exceed the warranty specs.

It cannot just be that all of a sudden they all die (for no reason) and Apple just gets to say "oh well" and move on.
Click to expand...
Software update is absolutely the problem. I have mine set up in a stereo pair connected to my AppleTV. Always keep the volume at 30-40% in consideration of my neighbors. Never had a problem with any of my HomePods until 15.1.1. Got the HomePod to finally reset after about a dozen attempts only to drop connection after a few days. I don't care if it's out of warranty of end-of-life, it's pretty clear that it's a software flaw and therefore Apple's fault. Way too expensive and relatively new to be bricked.
 
One of my two OG HomePod's acts wierd when trying to use the volume buttons and tap to start/stop music. Siri still works however but I am concerned this will fail sooner than later. Really short life span all in all. Maybe I should have splurged for applecare on it :)
 
unsui_grep said:
Same. One of my paired stopped working after software update. Unpaired and removed them from the Home app. I was able to reset one of them by unplugging/replugging while touching top which should turn red then old until Siri tells you the HomePod will reset. This only worked for one. Tried multiple times and second HP would not reset, though it still had power. Left it unplugged for a day and tried again and it set! Lasted until 2 days ago. Seems like there was another update that screwed it up. I'm going to keep trying. Make sure your all your devices are on the same WiFi network. My iPhone switched while setting up and screwed up a couple attempts for me.
Click to expand...
I had to restart the wifi a couple of times and that fixed it.
 
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If software is the likely culprit, any chance we can downgrade back to an earlier version. My HomePods are all currently and all still working, so whatever is happening is not happening to all of them. I just don't care to join you in sufferance
 
cheekyjeremy said:
If software is the likely culprit, any chance we can downgrade back to an earlier version. My HomePods are all currently and all still working, so whatever is happening is not happening to all of them. I just don't care to join you in sufferance
Click to expand...
lol, likewise. I wonder how many fail that were used as tv speakers?
 
One of mine just died as well. Both HomePods were working fine until ios15, since then I’ve had intermittent issues and dropouts. Scariest is when they make a loud “farting” noise and suddenly turn off. A few days ago, one of em totally died and refuses to turn back on. Am bringing it to Apple today, let’s see what they can do.

Another thing I noticed is that they now seem to get warm to the touch even when not playing. They never did that before (sure they got warm when playing but that’s to be expected) but since 15.1.1, even when not playing, they’re warm to the touch. So warm that even my wife noticed and got worried, turning them off when not in use.
Something is definitely up with the software.
 
Well, I’m glad to say that after insisting on the problem with Apple, they agreed on replacing it for free, even though it was out of warranty.
It depends on the senior adviser that is helping you.

When I called Apple the first time, the Adviser told me to follow some trouble shooting steps. Nothing worked. He set me an appointment to an apple store.
At the Apple Store, even though they tried to help me, they told me that this is an unfixable device, and since it is out of warranty, the replacement costs 279 (almost the full price).
I called them back and asked to be transferred with a senior adviser. This senior adviser was arrogant. He didn’t want to help.
He said: “I’m sorry but it is out of warranty, no matter what is the cause of the problem. There’s nothing you can do but paying the 279 USD if you want one. If it was a spread problem I would have heard from it. But I haven’t”.
I found that unacceptable.
Next day I called and asked to be transferred with another senior advicer, and after having him listen the whole story, he claimed that he’s seen a few cases like this with the HomePod, and for customer satisfaction, they would make an exception to replace it at no cost. That I should go to an apple store and give my case number and they would replace it there.
This time I went to another apple store and the genius that helped me told me that this was the 3rd OG HomePod that came with the same problem.

So if you have the same problem, I recommend you to call apple and notify them about this. Sooner or later they would have enough registries of this problem and probably would launch a recall program as they did with the Best XL speaker.
I have 4 OG HomePods and only 1 died after the last update (15.1.1), which caused the problem.
 
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unsui_grep said:
Software update is absolutely the problem. I have mine set up in a stereo pair connected to my AppleTV. Always keep the volume at 30-40% in consideration of my neighbors. Never had a problem with any of my HomePods until 15.1.1. Got the HomePod to finally reset after about a dozen attempts only to drop connection after a few days. I don't care if it's out of warranty of end-of-life, it's pretty clear that it's a software flaw and therefore Apple's fault. Way too expensive and relatively new to be bricked.
Click to expand...
So I turned off software update on my Homepods a few months ago when people here started reporting these problems. I then disabled all of the ‘higher functionality’ of Siri on the HomePod. Obviously, ’higher functionality’ with Siri means it is just barely functional under normal circumstances (Siri being such a dumb ‘smart’ assistant).

Anyway, I did watch and check up on temperature since that was something people noticed before their HomePods broke. Ultimately, after not using them for around a month, I turned them on again…and things have been fine. Though I have not installed the most recent 2 updates (after 15).

Strangely…even with no new updates installed, Siri has begun working even more poorly than previously. Basic commands which have always worked in the past, like “Hey Siri, turn the alarm off” no longer just work. Instead, after Siri stops the alarm, it goes on to ask me questions about additional alarms. Really stupid and frustrating.

I just don’t understand how Apple has managed to so thoroughly screw up this device!

They are a freaking Trillion Dollar company! How is it that they cannot devote proper resources to keeping the basic functionality of a product intact? I really don’t get it at all. If my work output was of such low quality, I would be unemployed.

All I want is for my two Homepods to last a few more years before they burn out! I do love the sound (in stereo). I really wish that Apple had not been so stubborn about these — they could have afforded to drop the price to make them competitive with Sonos and the others while acquiring the market penetration that would have fostered a device community of enthusiasts.

Anyway…rant over. Just wanted to put my data point out there for my two HomePods.
 
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FriendlyMackle said:
So I turned off software update on my Homepods a few months ago when people here started reporting these problems. I then disabled all of the ‘higher functionality’ of Siri on the HomePod. Obviously, ’higher functionality’ with Siri means it is just barely functional under normal circumstances (Siri being such a dumb ‘smart’ assistant).

Anyway, I did watch and check up on temperature since that was something people noticed before their HomePods broke. Ultimately, after not using them for around a month, I turned them on again…and things have been fine. Though I have not installed the most recent 2 updates (after 15).

Strangely…even with no new updates installed, Siri has begun working even more poorly than previously. Basic commands which have always worked in the past, like “Hey Siri, turn the alarm off” no longer just work. Instead, after Siri stops the alarm, it goes on to ask me questions about additional alarms. Really stupid and frustrating.

I just don’t understand how Apple has managed to so thoroughly screw up this device!

They are a freaking Trillion Dollar company! How is it that they cannot devote proper resources to keeping the basic functionality of a product intact? I really don’t get it at all. If my work output was of such low quality, I would be unemployed.

All I want is for my two Homepods to last a few more years before they burn out! I do love the sound (in stereo). I really wish that Apple had not been so stubborn about these — they could have afforded to drop the price to make them competitive with Sonos and the others while acquiring the market penetration that would have fostered a device community of enthusiasts.

Anyway…rant over. Just wanted to put my data point out there for my two HomePods.
Click to expand...
FWIW, HomePodOS isn’t the only software that’s screwed up. All of them across the board are in some fashion and we’re already on a .2

Very frustrating to say the least.
 
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My original HomePod stopped working a couple of days before this past Christmas. Had it updated to iOS 15 latest and now there is no response. Tried a hard reset, nothing. Left it unplugged for a few days, still doesn’t work. Will call apple support see if they’ll do something to help me out with it. Their products aren’t quality made like they used to be sadly. Barely hit the 2 year mark when my HomePod died and had purchased it from Best Buy.
 
intoxicated662 said:
My original HomePod stopped working a couple of days before this past Christmas. Had it updated to iOS 15 latest and now there is no response. Tried a hard reset, nothing. Left it unplugged for a few days, still doesn’t work. Will call apple support see if they’ll do something to help me out with it. Their products aren’t quality made like they used to be sadly. Barely hit the 2 year mark when my HomePod died and had purchased it from Best Buy.
Click to expand...
One thing I can say I’m happy about is that I bought my HomePods used (but like new), so I only paid around $200-$225 each (I don’t remember the exact final price). Still, that’s $400-450 which would really bother me if they don’t last at least a few more years.

Overall, a disappointing product—mostly because Apple abandoned the HomePod after just 2-3 years, after their half-hearted and overpriced launch. Forget Siri, which sucks, the sound is great (for what it is, which is convenient and ‘decent’ in terms of sound), and these could have been a success with better, less audacious pricing. It’s not like Apple couldn’t afford to make a little less to recoup their investment on this product in order to build a market!

Now, with this ongoing failure of the software and/or hardware meltdown, not only have they abandoned the product, they have thoroughly screwed the most basic functionality.

Sorry to hear that your Homepod has died. :( Maybe some other folks will have useful information regarding getting it replaced or revived.
 
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