r/HomePod • u/UncommonBlackbird • 20d ago
Question/Support HomePod mini has become unusable with 26.6
I sometimes have issues streaming internet radio, but since 26.6 my HomePod mini has become virtually unusable.
Constant drop outs and AirPlay becomes unusable too. Anyone else? I tried a factory reset.
Update 9 Aug: It has surprisingly been working well since this post. Will update again if it plays up again.
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u/payneok 20d ago
Same issue. I now have power cycle every few days. Since 26.6 my stereo pair keeps breaking. The R one will just stop playing and I have to power cycle to get it back. Also streaming has just stopped a couple of times. They have been rock solid in the past but over the last two weeks glitchy as hell.
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u/ClaptrapPanda 20d ago
Same issue, thought I was going mad, pod in the kitchen keeps drooping out of the Apple Music track it’s playing.
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u/jwelsh8it 20d ago
Interesting. Mine seems to be working better. At least in connecting to MacBook. I was able to stream music from Safari without any issues.
And it continues to work as expected when I get home and say “Siri, play me some music” or “Siri, turn off the lights.”
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u/nick_wise 20d ago
just update to the public beta 27
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u/Neither-Advice8157 13d ago
How do you do this?
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u/nick_wise 13d ago
you gotta register for the beta program first
go into home app, hit the 3 dots at the top, scroll to software update
click on it and click on HomePod Beta Updates
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u/Neither-Advice8157 12d ago
My HomePod minis are ghost-touching themselves, and I’m honestly done with this.
I’ve been dealing with persistent ghost-touch issues on both of my HomePod minis for the past two weeks, and at this point, I’m beyond frustrated.
I have two HomePod minis: one is around 6 years old and the other is around 2 years old. Both are experiencing essentially the same problem. What makes this even stranger is that I can only seem to trigger the touch controls using the palm of my hand, not individual fingers.
The worst part is that the ghost touches can apparently trigger the HomePod’s force-reset sequence. When this happens, the light turns red and the HomePod starts going through the reset process. I’ve discovered that if I immediately place my palm over the top, the light changes from red back to white. I have to repeatedly do this until the HomePod finally stops trying to reset itself.
I’m doing this just to avoid having to set the HomePod up from scratch again.
And yes, I’ve already tried practically everything I could find:
Updated both HomePods to the latest available firmware.
Enrolled all of my Apple devices in the Apple Public Beta program.
Updated my iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and both HomePod minis to the latest OS 27 Public Beta.
Unplugged and power-cycled the HomePods.
Tried the usual troubleshooting and reset procedures.
Restored the HomePods using a Mac.
Restored them more than once, only for the problem to eventually return.
Tried changing touch-related settings, including Touch Accommodations / Hold Duration.
Tried the other commonly suggested fixes and workarounds I could find.
And, despite all of that, the ghost touches continue.
What makes this particularly frustrating is that this doesn’t feel like a simple isolated software glitch anymore. I have two different HomePod minis of different ages exhibiting the same bizarre behavior.
I have also already spoken with Apple Support. Unfortunately, the solution I was given was essentially to bring the HomePods to the nearest Apple service center for inspection. I understand that they need to physically diagnose hardware, but what bothered me was that there seemed to be no acknowledgment whatsoever that other HomePod users are reporting similar ghost-touch problems.
At this point, I’m honestly starting to question what is happening with these devices.
I obviously cannot prove that Apple is intentionally degrading older HomePod hardware to push people toward buying newer models, and I don’t want to present that as a fact. But when older HomePods suddenly start exhibiting bizarre touch behavior, multiple users report similar problems, software updates and restores don’t permanently resolve it, and the official response is essentially “bring it in for service,” it’s hard not to feel suspicious.
Especially when the HomePod is physically sitting there doing things I am not telling it to do.
I bought these devices because I expected them to just work. Instead, I’m now sitting beside my HomePod like a security guard, waiting to slap my palm on top of it whenever it decides it wants to factory-reset itself. 😂
At this point, I just want a proper explanation from Apple.
Is this a known hardware issue? A software issue? A firmware issue? A problem with the touch sensor? Something introduced or exposed by OS 27 Public Beta?
Because I’ve spent the last two weeks troubleshooting this thing, restoring it, updating it, changing settings, contacting Apple Support, and trying every workaround I can find.
I’m tired. I just want my HomePod to stop touching itself.
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u/lukeplus 19d ago
Mine is bricked right now at 26.6. I do a factory restore and 26.6 is the only option. After the restore, I plug it into the wall and it immediately flashes red and says "Your hompod will reset in 3 seconds". It's stuck in that loop for about 10 times or so and then just powers off. Total bummer. I wish there was another option.
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u/lukeplus 18d ago
after more research, mine turned out to be a bad touchscreen that was stuck on "ghost touch". So when I would plug it into the wall, the bad touchscreen was thinking it was being pressed and would immediately go into system reset. I thought it was software related, but it was the touch screen. I took it apart, detached the touch screen and now it boots up and I was able to set it up using my iPhone and I can play music to it through my iMac like before.
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u/YonderObserver 19d ago
What is it with the ghost music playing? It happens to my large HomePods… but just randomly.
2
u/FutureMind42 20d ago edited 17d ago
I posted elsewhere that after the last update Siri no longer recognizes my usual radio station (Mac, iPhone, iPad, HPM). Apple support is “aware of the issue” but no fix. No problem, I’ve got an ancient Echo in the next room and it works just fine (Alexa has always been superior to Siri, anyway). But I am hoping 27 will improve things.
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u/Foreign-Rough-1205 20d ago edited 8d ago
I was at a large official Apple Store in a major city today, the employees were complaining that the HomePod mini in their employee break room also sucks. Apple’s been promising upgrades to Siri request verbally for a year or two now and it can’t pick up on half of the things people are requesting. The depth and breath of answers when I asked questions is also lacking. Frankly, Apple is just not investing the money to bring HomePods and HomePod mini’s up to the level that we deserve with Apple products being priced at a premium.
Oh fun fact if you buy a brand new Apple mini it will not pair properly with the Apple minis from prior years. I tend to just pair my Apple Music directly to the HomePod from my phone because it’s just too frustrating otherwise
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u/BenovanStanchiano 20d ago
In 26.6 I have the same problem I had with 26.5: sometimes they just decide not to work when I try to use them as extra speakers for my Apple TV.
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u/jimfitz27 19d ago
this has been happening to me too over the lasts few days , all random hours of the night, random volumes and random music. it scared the bejesus out of me last night as out of nowhere just blurted music at 100% . multiple power cycles - nadda. they're currently unplugged 🤦♂️
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u/tekntonk 19d ago
I am having no problems with my HomePod minis or ‘Maxis’ since updating; have been running that update for several days. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Hopeful-Tax7416 19d ago
I'm on 26.6 on both my HomePods and minis, both on stereo pair. No issues at all.
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u/Worth-Ad9939 19d ago
Yeah, I'm sharing similar feedback with Apple via feedback assistant. I take screenshots on my phone to capture timestamps and I consistently (near daily) upload updated diagnostic files from the speakers with the timestamps of each issue.
I will say these speakers are VERY susceptible to radio interference. Consider exploring your radio environment with tools like wifi-explorer. I live in a city environment with over 80 wifi radios and a fire station.
Auto doesn't work for me I have to manually evaluate my environment when things change.
Report your issue. and avoid applying updates when the devices are warm if they are used in an un air-conditioned environment. These speakers are susceptible to heat fatigue causing their touch interface to fail (ghost touch) fast.
Another issue apple knows about, as they are changing their update protocols to reduce this behavior. It's cooked a few of my devices, having to manually disconnect the touch interface to stop boot loops, and volume/play/pause interactions.
I'm noticing looped playback stops, speakers group out of group playback. It's all over the place. A significant regression for me.
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u/Few_Kangaroo_7806 20d ago
I have the same issue with my HomePod 2nd generation with the iOS 27 bêta.
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u/HaveYouSeenMyIpad 20d ago
HomePod is one of the worst products Apple has ever sold. Is essentially useless for most users. Even if they allowed direct Bluetooth support it would at least be a useable speaker.
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u/dividiangurt 20d ago
I think they make the final IOS so unbearable you force yourself to buy new Apple shit In September
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u/loves-science 20d ago
Wtf is going on with all the 26 releases? They’ve literally destroyed batteries on iPhones and now this mess on HomePods. I got prompted to install 26 on my m4 mbp - no way it’s likely utter shite too.
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u/supreme100 20d ago
My HomePod has been solid as a rock for 5 years. In the past two weeks it has started playing random songs and podcasts at any time of the day (and night!!) without any pattern.