HomePod Mini circling the drain?

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Level 6

16,665 points

HomePod Mini circling the drain?

Been using my HomePod Mini for several years now with the same router in the same location (HomePod and router are about 1.5ft apart. All has been well until yesterday. The Mini started balking at requests sayin it had troubled connecting to the internet. Tried the following

Removed power, plugged back. Everything started working for a few minutes then the same connectivity message.
Did factory reset and set up Mini from scratch. Same thing, worked for a while then no internet.
Plugged Mini into my Mac Studio Max and performed software restore. Set up Mini from scratch again. Worked for a while then back to square one.
The rest of my home network is performing normally but I went ahead and power cycled the WiFi router just to make sure. Same results.
The mini was updated to HomePod 18.0 and shortly after it was released with iOS 18 (now 18.0.1). The Mini was restored to 18.0 (there apparently is no HomePod 18.0.1)?

The Mini’s settings info continues to say it is connected to my WiFi network... but says it can’t connect.

So, possible hardware issue? Is it dead, Jim? Or is HomePod 18.0 screwed up?

Posted on Oct 11, 2024 12:23 PM

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Answer 1

Vancouver22

Level 8

36,745 points

Oct 15, 2024 5:37 PM in response to lkrupp

Well it could have been your ISP acting up. This is why I reboot my wifi. You can restart your modem via the ISP. App or by physically unplugging it. The latter is often the best way and I might do it more than once. After a software update devices might work better if you restart them. I had to restart my Apple Watch as since its latest update it won’t stop listening to hey siri when I’m trying to ask a HomePod, no matter how much I cover it. It had done this before and was fixed but this update messed that up again. The restart appears to have cleared that glitch.

Also note: HomePods don’t work well with Dual Bands wifi

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Answer 2

Vancouver22

Level 8

36,745 points

Oct 11, 2024 1:35 PM in response to lkrupp

It’s not dead but you might need to reboot the wifi again (by unplugging about 30 seconds) and once it’s back online (could take up to 10 mins). Then reset network settings on iPhone (assuming this the device you used to set HomePod up)

tap Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Once it restarts you will need to join your wifi again. Wait a few minutes for HomePod to reconnect to the same wifi on your iPhone. If it doesn’t, unplug HomePod for 10 seconds. Then test again.

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Answer 3

lkrupp Author

Level 6

16,665 points

Oct 14, 2024 2:36 PM in response to lkrupp

Update 10/14/2024

Everything back to normal. I was also having a problem with the Apple Music app on my ATV 4K. It was essentially dead as my HomePod Mini. I found some other users with the same issues. I am in the midwest as was another user. That user reported this morning that suddenly, as if by magic, all the issues cleared. I immediately tested and found that both my HomePod Mini and my ATV Music App were back online. Trouble cleared. This had been going on since the 10th for me.

So I conclude that there was some kind of network problem or configuration issue with Apple’s servers, possibly constrained to the midwest. Or perhaps my provider, Spectrum, had some kind of glitch. However, everything else worked accept for my HomePod Mini and my ATV Music app so I’m pacing my wager on Apple’s end.

The joys of the internet. 👿

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Answer 4

Oct 15, 2024 7:40 PM in response to lkrupp

This started happening a few months back to my HomePod Mini; as I write this, the software update finished for the nth time, and I hope it's the charm that solves it. When it restarts, the screen consistently flashes white, but no card appears on my iPhone to configure it, nor does anything appear on the Home app. It seems yours is not quite dead, but mine seems to have bitten the dust. Does anyone know if these are repairable by Apple?

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