Hey Siri defaults to iPhone instead of HomePod

Since upgrading my HomePod to iOS 13.2.1, “Hey Siri” requests are being answered by my iPhone instead of my HomePod. Both devices are signed into the same Apple ID, and Bluetooth is enabled on my iPhone.

I have read the Apple support article that explains how “Hey Siri” works with multiple devices. (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208472)

According to that article, “HomePod responds to most Siri requests, even when other devices that support ‘Hey Siri’ are nearby.”

Indeed, this was how it worked up until the recent iOS upgrade. HomePod would intercept most “Hey Siri” requests, even to a fault (e.g., responding to requests to search the internet which is something HomePod cannot do).

Since the last HomePod iOS upgrade, it seems exactly the opposite is true. My iPhone is intercepting all “Hey Siri” requests. This happens even when my iPhone is locked with the screen off, and even if I’m physically closer to the HomePod. The HomePod lights up to indicate that it recognized “Hey Siri” but then the iPhone takes over the request.

This is frustrating when I want to listen to music which I prefer to hear on my HomePod, not my iPhone. It’s also problematic late at night when I want to use “Hey Siri” to turn off the lights before I go to sleep. The HomePod was great at just turning off the lights without any audible response. My iPhone, on the other hand, makes the Siri noise and loudly announces that it is turning out the lights.

I know I can lay the iPhone face down to keep it from responding to “Hey Siri”, but what caused this change in behavior? Apple hasn’t updated that support article, and I see no mention of this change in the iOS 13.2.1 for HomePod release notes. I’d love to know if this is a bug or if this is the new expected behavior for “Hey Siri” with multiple devices.