HomePod Podcasts from iPhone to HomePod mini

[Totalshock]

Hi all,


New to HomePod with the mini launch, and I'm having some problems understanding how to make it work exactly how I want.

I listen to a lot of podcasts and use the stock iPhone Podcasts app to manage them. I've noticed that when I hand off audio for my podcasts from my iPhone to the HomePod mini, one of two things happens.

1) The audio output field in the podcast app shows up as "iPhone -> Office" (where office is the name of my HomePod mini), and it plays through my playlist of queued up podcasts, podcasts as marked as played when they're done playing, and everything pretty much works the way I'd like them to. Pretty much just like if I switch from playing on the iPhone to playing on my AirPods, but with the HomePod.

2) The audio output field in the podcast app shows up as "Office", and it seems to form its own up next queue specific to the HomePod, which seems to have a mind of its own -- I can (usually) add items, but some items are pre-populated, and when I move items around on the list, it seems to re-order them however it sees fit. Podcasts are not marked as played on the "master" list for my account when they're done playing, so if I go back to my iPhone, a bunch of podcasts I've already listened to are still showing as yet to be listened to.

In other words, when I get situation 1, everything is great, and I'm very happy with the experience.. And when I get situation 2, I end up wanting to take my HomePod out to be used as a target in skeet shooting.

The problem is I can't figure out reliably get situation 1, and not situation 2. Both happen at seemingly random, whether I choose the audio source from the audio output field in the Podcasts app on the phone, or "tap off" the audio from my phone to my HomePod.

Any help or guidance -- or anything I'm missing -- on how to get to situation 1 and avoid situation 2, would be greatly appreciated.

Otherwise, I'll go back to slumming it on my Jawbone dumb Bluetooth Speaker, which at least does not mess up a queue that is often 10-20 items long and is set up the way I'd like it to be before the HomePod decides to change things up.

Thanks!

 

[DeftwillP]

That's the 14.2 airplay 2 interface. The controls suck. I started a thread about it last night too.

In your second scenario, the mini is taking over as a source to play the podcast. If you wnt to control it, you have to control center your phone and go to airplay settings up in the corner and then find (i'm at work so I'm trying to remember it exactly) a button down below that says control other tvs and sources? Once you click there, it shows a list of all of your apple tv's, homepods of both variety, phone, and any other airplay capable source.

 

[Totalshock]

That's the 14.2 airplay 2 interface. The controls suck. I started a thread about it last night too.

In your second scenario, the mini is taking over as a source to play the podcast. If you wnt to control it, you have to control center your phone and go to airplay settings up in the corner and then find (i'm at work so I'm trying to remember it exactly) a button down below that says control other tvs and sources? Once you click there, it shows a list of all of your apple tv's, homepods of both variety, phone, and any other airplay capable source.

Thanks for this -- I found the "Control other Speakers and TVs" Control Centre and how to switch back and forth between the HomePod and the iPhone being the "source". And that usually works, unless I've somehow handed control back and forth in the wrong way, and then the HomePod queue list (from which I often can't delete or move items) "takes over" as the playlist of record on the phone.

So I guess my question boils down to this: How do I reliably and consistently keep the iPhone as the audio source, and get it to play to the HomePod, and not let the HomePod take over as the audio source?

For about an hour this morning, I tried every method I could, and everything resulted in the HomePod taking over as audio source.

And just now I tapped the HomePod with my phone, and it transferred audio perfectly, but the phone retains control.

I just can't figure out how to reliably have that happen, or what I'm doing differently when the HomePod "takes control."

 

[DeftwillP]

Yeah I don't know of a way to stop the homepod from taking over.