HomePod stereo pair - one dropping out frequently

It is quite interesting to see that the Apple recommended solution to this problem points a finger at the wireless connection. My HomePods are both located very close to my router and network analysis shows that both are connected to the router with excellent signal strength when the problem manifests itself.

This is a widely reported problem but has yet to be formally acknowledged as a bug by Apple. Very disappointing.

I have been having the same issue since I bought a second HomePod and created a stereo pair. The first HomePod worked flawlessly. Since creating a stereo pair. Have repeatedly had dropouts from one channel, mainly the non “dominant” one that speaks when you activate Siri. I have reset, assigned a fixed IP, removed and added the devices but the problem persists. It is the same if I use Airplay with Apple Music or Spotify. When the speaker drops out it can still be ‘pinged’ from Home settings identifying the left and right speaker.

Not sure if this is a related issue but I sometimes notice that a track I haven’t played is shown when I open the Home app to control the speaker, and if I tap the top of the non dominant speaker it will play a random track that cannot be stopped using Hey Siri!

I have been using Apple products for many years but have recently started to question the benefit of paying a premium for products that have a many software related issues.

These thing just suck pond scum.

Sounds like a wifi problem. Can you move the troublesome Homepod nearer to your wifi router to test this possibility? Also there might be interference from another electrical device.

Some time ago I resolved a similar problem by assigning static IP addresses to my stereo Homepods via my router settings - this may be another thing to try. Also some "smart connect" routers seem to confuse Homepods. Try disabling this feature.

I had the same problem, I moved the homepod that kept dropping out and it's worked since then so I believe Michael Paine is correct, wifi interference is the problem.

The only way that I have been able to fix the dropping out is to disable the 5Ghz channel on my router, forcing everything to connect at 2.4Ghz. Since doing this I have not suffered a single dropout. When the HomePods were connected over the 5Ghz channel I suffered dropouts after 30 minutes at most (no dropouts at all when used as single speakers). It has now been 3 days without a dropout.

Not an ideal solution due to the reduction in connection speed but at least it is working. At some point I will create a separate SSID for the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz channels and connect the HomePods to the 2.4Ghz channel but everything else to the faster channel and see if that still works.