HomePod RIP to my first ever OG HomePod

[Abdichoudxyz]

Oh I forgot to add; if you go with a classic amp and speaker set up, then you'll need a streamer. The OG Airport Express was a good option, but things have moved on. I use a Bluesound Node Airplay streamer into my hi-fi, and it is a big step up. AIFF files streamed are indistinguishable from the CDs they're ripped from. The Node works with my Apple TV too, for a 'bigger' TV sound. So for content with a good music soundtrack, I can stream to the Node and have top quality sound coming out. Bliss.

 

[johnnylarue]

Was this paired to an appletv by any chance? I had mine bricked the same way when it updated to os17.

Add me to your sad club. Left channel OG HomePod bricked after os17 update.

 

[abatabia]

Add me to your sad club. Left channel OG HomePod bricked after os17 update.

Def happened after the iOS 17 update. I’m in touch with Nic’s fix and he’s offered to repair it for $100, but tbh I am reluctant to go through the trouble of shipping it out when, with my luck as soon as I get it back the surviving first gen will die. I am going to wait until Black Friday and make my decision then. Maybe I’ll upgrade them to the second gen.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

So, one of my two OG HomePods will not finish updating to 17. It seemed fine…but is stuck in the update. When I went to update my second HomePod (which had updated to 17 a while back) to 17.1, I noticed the 1st one is still not finishing/starting the update, just an endlessly turning circle. Super annoying. I previously rebooted, disconnected the stereo pair, had the network ‘forget’ it, and then reinstalled/paired, re-joined in stereo. But won’t update. I’m afraid to touch it!

 

[skottles]

For those that have come across the HomePod being bricked during OS update, there is a path forward but it takes talking to the right person.

My first gen HomePod got the blinking light brick up death back in September when OS17 updates were pushed out. Its seems like all the people that have reported this issue in the past had their device pair to an AppleTv, as mine was.

After coming to roadblocks with apple support via chat, retail store, and retail store management, I was told to reach out to phone support and ask for tier 2 support. I did that, but it wasn’t necessary to speak to a higher priority support staff. I explained the situation and I was told that apple can do software restores for out of warranty devices, but if it was hardware issue I would be on my own. I was sent a box overnighted and I shipped it back overnight. Within 3 hours of them receiving my bricked HomePod I got a notification that a replacement was being sent. I got it the next day. The device I received was a refurb and was running OS14 still. After a long update process, it is now running 17.

So if you are having the flashing volume light bricking issue after an attempt to update firmware, go down this path. If you get push back, try calling again until you find someone that can help you.

 

[sshambles]

That's awesome Skottles. Excellent news. I'm no longer updating any of my OG HomePods (3) and 3 mini's. Call me old-fashioned but having software brick hardware devices doesn't sit right with me. I don't really care if I'm missing out on new 'features'. The first software updates for the OG HomePod where the sound and bass was reduced turned me off it completely. I'd previously had a software issue with my 2014 iMac turning off randomly after a minor Sunday afternoon update - that got me skeptical of doing them tbh. Long as they tell me the weather, play Music and adjust the volume, I'm good.