Sgmerley:
Like many, I have connection problems! The paperweight doesn't stay connected to my iCloud account for longer than a few hours. I reinstall the paperweight—it works! Then, for no apparent reason, it doesn't work—even though Siri says it's still connected to WIFI! It does not maintain a connection. Therefore, it's not working as advertised. Period! If an Apple 'Technical Support' adviser cannot resolve the issue after 2-hours of phone support, I don't know what to say. Troubleshooting via telephone with an Apple technician covers many possibilities in far more depth than a support thread. A two-way verbal conversation of question and answer, eliminating potential problems by moving the Homepod Mini, making adjustments to settings, rebooting the router, changing frequencies, reinstalling DNS servers—and finally, resetting the Mini back to factory settings, is, in my mind, an in-depth diagnosis with no results. It appears they don't know what's going on.
I have been a Mac user from back in the day! In fact, I purchased my first Mac computer when Steve Jobs was still knocking out motherboards from his parents’ garage. I bought the very first iPhone, iPad, Apple TV. I have watched MacOS development from Cheetah, through Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Lion—all the way through to Big Sur. I have been a loyal Apple user throughout. To say that my house doesn't have Steve Jobs fingerprints all over it would be an understatement. So, for me, in my home setup (after a painstaking 2-hour session with an Apple technician to no resolve), this item doesn't work as advertised. It won't stay connected to a network that has worked flawlessly for many years—managing eight other Apple products—all connected to iCloud. It is the latest addition to my Apple equipment; therefore, it is the culprit.
Like many, I appreciate people like yourself stepping forward to help others resolve issues—In most cases, the information I have found on threads like this has helped. Therefore, I thank you! This is no dig at you or the many others who have put suggestions on this thread. That was not my intention. To clarify a point, I'm far from angry! It's just a $100 Apple speaker—not a Bose surround sound system. You get what you pay for. It still streams music from my phone, which is what I bought it for in the first place.
So, in my case, I will keep it. I can still listen to 'Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon,' while it doubles up as a useful paperweight to holds down my monthly bills.
