Wesley Hilliard
The release version 14.6 of HomePod's operating system is reportedly "bricking" some devices in certain configurations — especially when paired with an Apple TV.
The user reports follow similar issues being caused by the beta version 15.0 software. Only the original large HomePod is being affected, and usually when connected as an Apple TV stereo pair.
One Reddit user has more than 19 HomePods in their home, and seven of them have been bricked. The user says three are on the release version, and four are beta, but they all failed.
One 9to5Mac reader shared that their oldest speaker in a stereo pair failed after updating to 14.6. The HomePod was connected in stereo with another to an Apple TV for audio.
Another Reddit post said they experienced the same problem as the 9to5Mac reader. One of the speakers in the pair suddenly stopped working after updating to 14.6.
While these are only a few reports, there is a pattern falling out. Stereo pair HomePods, especially ones connected to the Apple TV, have at least one of the speakers brick after the update.
AppleInsider staff all report normal operations of their HomePods in various configurations. We haven't seen any problems with the HomePods themselves or bricking, though some report issues with tvOS 14.6 related to AirPlay.
The issue doesn't appear to be widespread and could be affecting older models in particular. AppleInsider will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates as soon as any new information is discovered.
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Stephen Silver
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
32 Comments
HomePod purchased last year is now bricked iOS 15 beta, paired w/ AppleTV.
HomePod is the most vexing product I've ever obtained from Apple. Almost nothing about it works well. I've got 10 HomePods and 5 Minis and there isn't a day in which I don't encounter an error of some kind. Setting timers is a crap shoot because the alarm often goes off on a HomePod that's all the way across the house from the one I set it on. Apple TV pairing often fails, leaving me with no ability to control the audio volume. The only solution is factory reset.
Integration with HomeKit is a mess, with Siri saying she can't do things that I'm easily able to do via buttons on the HomeKit App. Siri often contradicts herself by executing commands while simultaneously saying she can't.
A recent update seems to have improved the widely reported problem of HomePods ignoring Siri volume change requests, but that's still not working 100%.
First, this is the reason I do not enable automatic updates. Generally Apple does a good job of getting it right but they too fall down and miss things especially as the complexity grows. I generally wait to see what happens to those who can not help themselves and updated immediately and find all the problems for the rest of us.
Next for those of you who have more than a few homepod, I'm not sure why you may need so many unless you home is that big. I got 3 and think that may be over kill, having two one on first floor and other on the second is enough to fill the house with music. Grant it I have two surround sound setup for watching movies and found they too were over kill when playing background music in the house. Having Siri on the watch and phone is enough to do most everything without the need for homepod in each room.