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HomePod Siri without Music?? just play my playlists

K

kkclstuff

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 18, 2015
388
242
NYC
HI Im have a new HomePod Mini and was really looking forward to using it, ...until I did.

It seems all the Siri 'magic' is locked into 'subscription-ware' (you can't use all the feature unless you pay out a monthly fee)

here what I'd like to do: Have Siri play songs from my iTunes(Music app) on the HomePod mini.
Seems the only way to do that is use Apple Music Sub. But wait! Apple's own docs say...

Screen Shot 2021-07-18 at 3.38.21 PM.png



So what am I doing wrong that Siri can't play my iTunes(Music app) playlists? Siri always responds "I couldn't find "X" in your Music library."

Everything on my LAN works fine, my iPhone 12 works as it should etc etc. Ive reset the HPM as well as the router, logged in/out of iCloud etc etc



Im a long time apple user, really want this all to 'just work' and ultimately just frustrated by this. It feels like we have less and less control over our devices/files/etc and the only way to 'play nice' in the ecosystem is to pay for it or offload files to the cloud.

Someone commented on the Knowledgebase, "Apple does not explicitly state that you must have an Apple Music subscription." but They SHOULD. It all just stinks of a used car salesmen's 'bait and switch'

Add to this all the sub-features that are shackled to AppleMusic like creating a simple alarm. UGH

Sorry for the rant, just really disappointed.



I'll be investigating ways to accomplish the alarms via Shortcuts (but so far that has its own built-in hurdles/limitations that are equally infuriating)
 
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I tend to use more streaming than my 50GB of iTunes playlists, but I bought a HPmini for a similar reason a while back and it lasted exactly 24 hours before I swapped it out for an Amazon Echo. All I wanted to do is stream SiriusXM in my living room, but the Apple device only lets me do it from my iPhone, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a smart speaker, and killed my phone battery. By contrast, I downloaded the task to my Echo and now I can ask it to play the SXM channel [name] from across (or even another) room and it will do so.

IMO Apple is going too far into the lock-you-into-their-services-ecosystem to make their stuff widely appealing.
 
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iCloud music = subscription service 👎 —I have TBs of music

maybe we'll get more functionality in iOS XX. It'll be "the best personal assistant ever"...but probably not, as Apple would rather see it wither on the vine if they can't extort you into a subscription.

(LOL im having an angry weekend with apple devices!)
 
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iTunes Match is 25$ a year. Not free but far better than 9.99 a month. If you have a Big Sur Mac you can use HomePods as a source speaker finally and play your TB's of music from there I guess.
 
"death by a thousand cuts"

so back to the issue at hand: What about the Apple doc stating, "Ask Siri to play music from your music library"
 
yeah I hear you.

my frustration is loving the ecosystem and seeing it evolve over the past 30+yrs only to see the products be systematically shuttered over the past 5-6yrs with the advent of digital markets leveraging 'subscription to play'.

we spend a premium for products, sold the promise of "it just works", "the best ever", etc etc only to get it home to find out 'ya can't get there from here'.
 
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I share your frustration. Apple execs must not be familiar with ISP data caps and overage costs.

Why would I want to stream my iTunes library from the Cloud when my always-on Mac with my 5000+ track iTunes library is literally idling on my local network?

It's a middle finger to those who have spent thousands on iTunes songs that we have to jump through so many hoops to hear them on the devices we also spent thousands on.

I have HomePods in almost all living spaces. None of them are capable of seeing my local iTunes library. Yes, there are workarounds... but the point is, workarounds shouldn't be necessary. Songs purchased from an Apple service and stored on an Apple device should be able to be requested from another Apple device on the same network with the same Apple ID.
 
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Interesting issue, one I've never thought of as I have an Apple Music subscription which I personally think is well worth the price. How do you normally listen to your iTunes library? Before I got my HomePods and AM I used to use AirPlay from my Mac to AirPort Expresses connected to a couple of stereo systems. This would work with HomePods as well but just not as convenient as using Siri with the Pods. I understand the point you are making but it is what it is and I really think a couple of bucks a month for iTunes Match might be money well spent in your case.
 
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I also recently bought a HomePod Mini. I've found that Siri on the HomePod cannot play local playlists on my iPhone. Playlists via Siri are apparently a feature with Apple Music.

However, you can use Siri to play songs and albums that you've purchased on iTunes. "Hey Siri, play X by Y" works fine for me. It's that local playlists do not work.
 
dotme said:
I share your frustration. Apple execs must not be familiar with ISP data caps and overage costs.

Why would I want to stream my iTunes library from the Cloud when my always-on Mac with my 5000+ track iTunes library is literally idling on my local network?

It's a middle finger to those who have spent thousands on iTunes songs that we have to jump through so many hoops to hear them on the devices we also spent thousands on.

I have HomePods in almost all living spaces. None of them are capable of seeing my local iTunes library. Yes, there are workarounds... but the point is, workarounds shouldn't be necessary. Songs purchased from an Apple service and stored on an Apple device should be able to be requested from another Apple device on the same network with the same Apple ID.
Click to expand...
You can play music from your Mac. You need to direct the sound output of your Mac to your HomePod using AirPlay.
 
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yes. Thats not the issue, the issue is using Siri with the HomePod to access your music (as advertised).

You CAN'T be in a room with only a HomePod Mini and ask Siri to play a song from your iTunes playlist (without Music)—a caveat they don't mention before purchasing a HomePod, yet use as a selling point.


BIG difference.
 
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kkclstuff said:
yes.
... BUT you CAN'T be in a room with only a HomePod and ask Siri to play a song from your iTunes playlist (without a subscription).

 is forcing you to pay for Siri (a key restricted feature they don't mention before purchasing a HomePod)


BIG difference.
Click to expand...
You are not required to pay for Siri.

If you want to play music from Apple Music you might need a subscription to that. Apple does offer content match where they will upload songs from your computer and let you play those. Not sure if that requires a Music subscription or not. if you buy music in the iTunes Store, it will show up in your Music library and you can play that.

If you have music in a different source like Spotify or some other service, you can ask Siri "play x-song in Spotify".

If you have another music source that is free, you might be able to use it this way.

You might need to enable Personal Requests on Siri to get it to recognize your library.

Make Personal Requests on HomePod

Use Siri on HomePod to send messages, set reminders, and more, via your iPhone or iPad.
support.apple.com
 
I meant as far as to use the Siri functions to access your music playlists on the HomePod you need to pay for a music subscription. Hence using Siri to access your Playlists becomes 'pay for play'.


The only way to get Siri/Homepod to have access your iTunes library playlists is to get Music.
I don't use any other service or app. I've had iTunes since 'day one' and have TBs of curated music both purchased and created. I just want access to MY music on MY network thru MY devices without the need for cloud or offsite services and it appears Apple doesn't allow it... unless you pay for a subscription.
 
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kkclstuff said:
I just want access to MY music on MY network thru MY devices without the need for cloud or offsite services and it appears Apple doesn't allow it... unless you pay for a subscription.
Click to expand...
This. Those above proposing that you use metered ISP bandwidth and pay an Apple subscription fee to play music you already purchased and store on your local network are missing the point.

Consuming a portion of your ISP monthly data cap to stream music from the cloud that's already on your LAN, and paying a fee to Apple for the privilege, is the issue here.

Like I said above, there are workarounds. Yes, you can AirPlay from Mac, iOS device etc. But Siri on a HomePod won't play a Shared Library. That's the point.

Personally, I own a few AppleTVs and I usually set one of those up as my AirPlay source. It can see my iTunes Shared Library just fine (I have a shortcut that turns the TV on and opens my music). I select a playlist and it pushes whole house audio to all my HomePods. That way I don't have to walk to my office (Mac) or tie up my iPhone. It's the best workaround I've come up with, especially since Apple kinda broke their old "Remote" app that used to let you control iTunes on your Mac from your iPhone.
 
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Well, over a year and still no possibility from Apple to play local music with Siri on the homepod.
Shame on you, Apple.
This should be no problem using home sharing...
 
rforno said:
IMO Apple is going too far into the lock-you-into-their-services-ecosystem to make their stuff widely appealing.
Click to expand...
I know this was posted in 21 but a buddy of mine lets his Apple TV collect dust and got a Shield because of Apple's much to tight ecosystem. Seems like Apple's response would be something like, WTF people, we are a trillion dollar company!!! Lol, a trillion in monopoly money.
 
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