HomePod homepod default wifi

[tywebb13]

My main wifi went down and had to connect through another backup wifi for my iphone.

So I got the homepods to connect to the same new wifi. It is supposed to connect to the same wifi as the iphone.

But after that when the main wifi was fixed I connected the iphone back to that but the homepods stubbornly kept reconnecting to the backup wifi which I did not want it to do any more.

There were 2 extreme fixes.

1. Shut down the backup wifi.

2. Reset the homepods.

First I tried the first one (which is undesirable because other people use that wifi). It worked though, so I thought that might be the end of it.

Alas it wasn't. When I restarted the backup wifi the homepods reconnected to it again.

So I went against apple's advice that the only time to reset homepods is if you want to resell them or send it in for service: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208244 and went ahead and reset the homepods.

That worked.

But there should be a better way to assign a default wifi for the homepods.

I don't want to reset them every time I want to assign a new default wifi.

But if that is the only way to do it then I will.

Thankfully this doesn't happen very often.

But if it did it would drive me nuts!

 

[cynics]

Was the back up a captive network such as Xfinity?

 

[chino-rican]

My main wifi went down and had to connect through another backup wifi for my iphone.

So I got the homepods to connect to the same new wifi. It is supposed to connect to the same wifi as the iphone.

But after that when the main wifi was fixed I connected the iphone back to that but the homepods stubbornly kept reconnecting to the backup wifi which I did not want it to do any more.

There were 2 extreme fixes.

1. Shut down the backup wifi.

2. Reset the homepods.

First I tried the first one (which is undesirable because other people use that wifi). It worked though, so I thought that might be the end of it.

Alas it wasn't. When I restarted the backup wifi the homepods reconnected to it again.

So I went against apple's advice that the only time to reset homepods is if you want to resell them or send it in for service: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208244 and went ahead and reset the homepods.

That worked.

But there should be a better way to assign a default wifi for the homepods.

I don't want to reset them every time I want to assign a new default wifi.

But if that is the only way to do it then I will.

Thankfully this doesn't happen very often.

But if it did it would drive me nuts!

Did you try doing this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208341
HomePod Settings in the Home app:
Tap Wi-Fi Address to see the Wi-Fi Network that HomePod is connected to. If it's on a different Wi-Fi network than your iOS device, tap "Move HomePod to [Wi-Fi network]" to connect HomePod to the same Wi-Fi network as your iOS device.

 

[HDFan]

I don't see the Wifi setting?

 

[tywebb13]

Did you try doing this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208341
HomePod Settings in the Home app:
Tap Wi-Fi Address to see the Wi-Fi Network that HomePod is connected to. If it's on a different Wi-Fi network than your iOS device, tap "Move HomePod to [Wi-Fi network]" to connect HomePod to the same Wi-Fi network as your iOS device.

Tried that a few times. Didn’t work - hence I had take more extreme measures to get it to connect to the correct wifi.

 

[chino-rican]

I don't see the Wifi setting?

Scroll all the way to the bottom and tap WiFi address

 

[HDFan]

Not at the top or bottom?

 

[chino-rican]

Your second screenshot shows Wi-Fi Address, right after Model and before Version. You need to click on it so it shows the network it's connected to. If it's different than your iPhone, it should ask if you want to move to that network instead.

 

[HDFan]

Sorry, wasn't clear since I wiped it out. The WiFi address shown (and I wiped) was the mac address, not the IP address. It is not clickable or changeable. So I don't see a way to change the routers to which it connects.

 

[chino-rican]

Sorry, wasn't clear since I wiped it out. The WiFi address shown (and I wiped) was the mac address, not the IP address. It is not clickable or changeable. So I don't see a way to change the routers to which it connects.

I know it doesn't seem clickable. Just tap it and the mac address will turn into the network name. Trust me.

 

[HDFan]

I know it doesn't seem clickable. Just tap it and the mac address will turn into the network name. Trust me.

It was greyed out so I didn't click it. But you are right, a click shows the WiFi network. For a HomePod pair you have to click on Speakers, and then the individual HomePods to see them.

However in neither case do I see an option to change to the different network which my iPhone is using.

 

[chino-rican]

It was greyed out so I didn't click it. But you are right, a click shows the WiFi network. For a HomePod pair you have to click on Speakers, and then the individual HomePods to see them.

However in neither case do I see an option to change to the different network which my iPhone is using.

Seems to me like the interface needs some work. Hopefully they will keep improving it.

 

[cynics]

Criteria needs to be met to easily switch wifi networks on the HomePod.

1. Need to be on an iCloud device that is the same iCloud the HomePod is signed into.

2. Keychain needs to be turned on on that device along with two factor authentication.

3. Bluetooth needs to be turned on and you need to be within a short range. I would say RSSI needs to be a minimum of -70 for reliability however closer the better.

Really Bluetooth is the critical aspect here. The iPhone and HomePod are pinging each other constantly to determine if its within range. If you are at work on wifi and open the home app the reason the HomePod doesn't ask you to switch Wifi is because the iPhone and HomePod know you aren't local via Bluetooth.

I'm not saying this is the case with the OP however if you have bluetooth turned off you'll have similar results as being on someones else's wifi network outside of the range of your home network.

Once I'm in bluetooth range intentionally using a different wifi network (hot spot)....



Clicking on Move HomePod to.. results in a brief update then its on the same network.



Switching back is just as easy.

I don't know if this helped anyone but if not I would consider removing the HomePods and resetting them up and signing out and back into iCloud. Test this with Wifi, cellular and bluetooth on and very close to the HomePods with the iOS device. You dont need to be touching it, line sight from the same room should suffice.

 

[chino-rican]

Really Bluetooth is the critical aspect here. The iPhone and HomePod are pinging each other constantly to determine if its within range. If you are at work on wifi and open the home app the reason the HomePod doesn't ask you to switch Wifi is because the iPhone and HomePod know you aren't local via Bluetooth.

I believe it uses your current location as well to determine if you're home.

 

[cynics]

I believe it uses your current location as well to determine if you're home.

I can't say that doesn't play a factor but with devices without GPS (iPad Air 2) and location services turn off the HomePod still ask me to change wifi networks to the HotSpot the iPad is on.

 

[chino-rican]

I can't say that doesn't play a factor but with devices without GPS (iPad Air 2) and location services turn off the HomePod still ask me to change wifi networks to the HotSpot the iPad is on.

That's interesting. Bluetooth it is, then.

 

[cynics]

That's interesting. Bluetooth it is, then.

Bluetooth is a key component to the entire ecosystem. Apple started using BT for functions outside the norm use case and to give it a transparent appears due to what they've learned from iBeacon (accurate range detection). Things like Instant Hotspot, Unlock Mac with Watch, AirDrop, Handoff...

Good example is the NFC like operation with iPhone handing off music to the HomePod. The HomePod doesn't have NFC, the HomePod is measuring RSSI of the iPhones bluetooth and around -20 to -25 it knows that the iPhone is practically touching the HomePod and it initiates hand off via network connections.

 

[gwhizkids]

Sorry for resurfacing this old thread, but I have this same issue.

I recently took an apartment at work during the week and got Xfinity cable. Before the cable modem was delivered, I was able to connect via one of Xfinity’s backup routers [Q; are these other people’s routers or are they pole mounted somewhere?]. In any event, I now have my own router. However, my HomePod wants to keep connecting to one of the Xfinity backup routers. As a result, I have to go into the Home App on a daily basis and reassign the HomePod to my own router. Very annoying when you want to have the HomePod do something simple and quick, like create a reminder or read messages, etc..

Was the back up a captive network such as Xfinity?

As noted above, yes. Since you asked this question, do you have a fix for this particular issue?

Did you try doing this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208341
HomePod Settings in the Home app:
Tap Wi-Fi Address to see the Wi-Fi Network that HomePod is connected to. If it's on a different Wi-Fi network than your iOS device, tap "Move HomePod to [Wi-Fi network]" to connect HomePod to the same Wi-Fi network as your iOS device.

Yes, this works. But you should not have to do that. My HomePod is 10 feet from my own router and my router is always broadcasting. So I don’t know why it would try to flip to the Xfinity router (which has a much weaker signal).

Appreciate the help!

 

[waw74]

You need to reset the HomePod and then re-configure it, it's pretty quick. But I believe it does reset Siri's voice recognition, so for "personal" requests, she'll ask "who's speaking" a few times after the reset.

Reset HomePod - Apple Support

Learn how to reset your HomePod or HomePod mini to its factory settings.

support.apple.com

it wouldn't hurt to remove the undesired networks from your phone if they're still there.