HomePod Tired of Alexa randomly stop playing. Thoughts on HomePod? Update--Alexa listening pushed me away!

[mikelets456]

Please, I don’t want this to be a “Alexa vs Siri” post but want to know the following:

As the title states, whenever I play Apple Music playlists through Alexa (echo dot) it stops playing—usually after 5-6 songs. I have reset all my echo dots, set to 5 ghz on wifi, rebooted numerous times and it still happens. I’m not sure if it’s an Apple problem or “Apple Alexa problem”.
Now I’m thinking of getting an HomePod mini but want to make sure I’m not creating another problem instead. I mainly use our echo for listening to music and some talk stations. I simply want something that plays my playlists uninterrupted, works with other Apple devices and sounds good. Is the HomePod mini a solid player? I don’t know a single person that has one so I can’t compare.

 

[MBAir2010]

I dont know if I can help that much, since I listen to albums rather than a song or vocal,
so far, the HomePods mini never skipped, missed or stopped playing music.
and the sound quality is amazing, even as a single speaker.
my neighbor complimented....well noted on the jazz I was playing "Dave Brubeck take five"
as they heard the instruments from outside about 10 feet from the speaker.

as of now, I have 2 HomePod mini speakers listening to The Rippiington's "Provence"
and can hear the drummer's bell clearly with nice rich bas and tap of the snare drum even on a lower volume setting.
these speakers are that great!

the controls are incredible and sync with all my devices even the watch.

these are so great, I gifted that Bose® sound touch™ speaker system last year.

 

[erihp]

definately get a homepod. it will also allow you to better integrate homekit products. i use them for music but moreso for just being able to control my homekit accessories and scenes from any room without my phone by just yelling at siri

 

[japanime]

If you can afford it, buy a HomePod rather than a HomePod Mini. I own both a HomePod 2 stereo pair and a HomePod mini stereo pair. When it comes to music, the mini sounds like a pocket transistor radio compared to the deep, rich sound of the full-sized HomePod.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I have both echos and HomePods. Echos for smart home control and general questions and HomePods for music and as speakers for my Apple TV. I have tried the echos briefly for music play back but they don't sound as good and they cut out as you said. I have been using HomePods since 2018 and the music experience has been rock solid.

 

[Shanghaichica]

If you can afford it, buy a HomePod rather than a HomePod Mini. I own both a HomePod 2 stereo pair and a HomePod mini stereo pair. When it comes to music, the mini sounds like a pocket transistor radio compared to the deep, rich sound of the full-sized HomePod.

I also have an OG stereo pair and several HomePod mini stereo pairs alongside several different echos. Whilst I do agree that the HomePod sounds better than the HomePod mini. A single HomePod mini sounds better than any of the echos (excluding the studio). So even a HomePod mini would be an upgrade for the OP.

 

[throAU]

The full size homepods are expensive, but they're great.

I have two OG full size homepods and 2 minis.

One of my originals (purchased basically the month they were released) is starting to pop and crackle randomly (no doubt capacitors inside are dead - capacitors have a limited life in any electronics and they're powered up all day every day essentially due to the nature of the device) but its... several years old now. Looking to get a pair of new larger ones sooner or later.

If you're curious to try the homepod experience, the minis are cheap for what you get.

They're good for the price/size but just nowhere near as good sounding as the full size. But great for things like the kitchen, setting timers while your hands are full/covered in food, etc.

As above, @Shanghaichica says - the minis are much better than most of the cheaper non-apple smart speakers still.

 

[japanime]

I also have an OG stereo pair and several HomePod mini stereo pairs alongside several different echos. Whilst I do agree that the HomePod sounds better than the HomePod mini. A single HomePod mini sounds better than any of the echos (excluding the studio). So even a HomePod mini would be an upgrade for the OP.

I haven't tried any of Amazon's smart spies speakers, so I can't speak as to how they sound. But my HomePod mini stereo pair sounds like garbage compared to my HomePod 2 stereo pair. (And I've been told by many owners of the OG HomePods that they sound even better than the HP2s.)

 

[mikelets456]

So on your advice I went out and got a HomePod. I thought having everything Apple and Echo it would be easy to set up and it was…however, one glaring problem maybe you all can help with…when I ask Siri (HomePod) to play any of my playlists it states “that is not recognized now playing xxxxx from Apple Music”.

Yikes!!! I researched online and some people got it to work and some didn’t. My guess is it takes sometime to download the proper account info? Any suggestions?

Other than that it sounds great, voice commands are good (different than Alexa) but still good.

 

[waw74]

when I ask Siri (HomePod) to play any of my playlists

you can also ask siri on the phone to "play _______ in the living room" use whatever room you assigned the hompod to in the home app.

Or of something is playing on your phone, just tap the phone to the top of the HomePod, and the music will transfer.

 

[mikelets456]

you can also ask siri on the phone to "play _______ in the living room" use whatever room you assigned the hompod to in the home app.

Or of something is playing on your phone, just tap the phone to the top of the HomePod, and the music will transfer.

I updated to 17.3 Beta and now everything works as expected. I can shuffle or play my playlists and also, tap the top to stop then later come back and tap the top again to resume playlist. Timer works and all sounds great!!!

One quick question, is there a way to set up a “group” to play music? On Alexa I can set up all Alexa devices to play the same music simultaneously….could that be done with Apple? It’s nice when entertaining or cleaning that the same playlist is playing throughout the house.

 

[MBAir2010]

If you can afford it, buy a HomePod rather than a HomePod Mini. I own both a HomePod 2 stereo pair and a HomePod mini stereo pair. When it comes to music, the mini sounds like a pocket transistor radio compared to the deep, rich sound of the full-sized HomePod.

ouch, I have two mini's in the room, and one downstairs that I think are all I need.

and you just have one (1) HomePod?

 

[mikelets456]

ouch, I have two mini's in the room, and one downstairs that I think are all I need.

and you just have one (1) HomePod?

Yes as I eventually will add to the system. I wanted to make sure I was satisfied before going out and spending $300.
In the meantime I have a iMac, 2-Apple tvs and a MacBook Pro and wondered if I could set up as a group and music would play through them all.

Also, could that be done with your 3 Home pods?

 

[MBAir2010]

Also, could that be done with your 3 Home pods?

yes, the only device that won't play MY music is the watch.
the hand-off and speaker switching interaction with a MBA-MacMINI-iPad-iPhone is flawless.

wow these mini sound great tho, imagine a HomePod?

 

[mikelets456]

yes, the only device that won't play MY music is the watch.
the hand-off and speaker switching interaction with a MBA-MacMINI-iPad-iPhone is flawless.

wow these mini sound great tho, imagine a HomePod?

Thanks for your replies. How do I set up a group with the devices I mentioned? Thanks again in advance

 

[MBAir2010]

Thanks for your replies. How do I set up a group with the devices I mentioned? Thanks again in advance

HOME app
one can pair both speakers and airplay anything.
im headed out but can leave a link here:how to use hompod
which helped me then.

 

[transmaster]

I have paired HomePod 2's. I rarely use them. I have them setup to play whenever I use Apple Music on the Mac Studio. The thing is I rarely use Apple Music on the Mac Studio. As for asking them directly to play something because of the eclectic tastes I have in music it usually doesn't get it right. Asking for a 14th century composer, and getting a profanity laced, Gangsta rap hoe music is a real PIA. The best way to use them is with an iPhone or an iPad. However there I listen via either a FiiO BTR15, or a BTR7 using Shure SE425's on the '15, and SE535's on the '7. Either of these earphones totally out classes the sound of the HomePods. For information questions I have Google home assistants, and several Alexa's. Apple Music on an Alexa is a functional disaster. So use your Homepod with your iPhone of iPad it works much better than from a Mac.

 

[Shanghaichica]

ouch, I have two mini's in the room, and one downstairs that I think are all I need.

and you just have one (1) HomePod?

I have 8 probably need one more. I have a stereo OG HomePod pair in my living room, Stereo HomePod mini pair in my dining room, stereo HomePod mini pair in my kitchen, single HomePod mini in my bedroom and a single HomePod mini in my Kid's room. I will probably get one more mini for my bedroom to make a stereo pair.

 

[MBAir2010]

I have 8 probably need one more. I have a stereo OG HomePod pair in my living room, Stereo HomePod mini pair in my dining room, stereo HomePod mini pair in my kitchen, single HomePod mini in my bedroom and a single HomePod mini in my Kid's room. I will probably get one more mini for my bedroom to make a stereo pair.

all playing the same song?
cool!

im listen to Peter Gabriel's new release on the 2 HomePod mins
and the other mini is playing downstairs as I type going back and forth.
the experience is incredible even on these small speakers.

 

[erihp]

dont forget you can get airport express airplay 2 targets in on the multi-room audio fun!

 

[mikelets456]

I have 8 probably need one more. I have a stereo OG HomePod pair in my living room, Stereo HomePod mini pair in my dining room, stereo HomePod mini pair in my kitchen, single HomePod mini in my bedroom and a single HomePod mini in my Kid's room. I will probably get one more mini for my bedroom to make a stereo pair.

As a musician I love music and would have one in every room… but I need to buy more instruments instead ..😉

 

[japanime]

ouch, I have two mini's in the room, and one downstairs that I think are all I need.

and you just have one (1) HomePod?

I have two of each (two minis, two full-size).

 

[waw74]

One quick question, is there a way to set up a “group” to play music? On Alexa I can set up all Alexa devices to play the same music simultaneously….could that be done with Apple? It’s nice when entertaining or cleaning that the same playlist is playing throughout the house.

Not really, but you can ask siri to "play this everywhere"
also...

• Hey Siri, stop playing music everywhere."
• "Hey Siri, set the volume in the living room to 20 percent."
• "Hey Siri, move this music to the bedroom."
• "Hey Siri, stop playing music in the bedroom."

Use Siri to play music and podcasts - Apple Support

Discover all the ways to use Siri to play the music and podcasts that you love to listen to. Learn tips for using Siri, and how to control whatʼs playing throughout your home with just your voice.

support.apple.com

You may be able to get a bit more control using shortcuts,

 

[mikelets456]

Does anyone have their Blink doorbell chime set up through HomePod? It appears you have to buy a hub for it to work…but these hubs are $200.

 

[transmaster]

Does anyone have their Blink doorbell chime set up through HomePod? It appears you have to buy a hub for it to work…but these hubs are $200.

This sort of thing is were an Alexa rules. Lots of choices and doesn't have the high cost of everything Apple.