HomePod stereo pairing keeps dropping on BT Smarthub

Question

HomePod stereo pairing keeps dropping on BT Smarthub

I upgraded my router recently to a BT Smarthub 2 to benefit from the full Wi-fi package. It works fine with the one exception that my HomePods keep dropping their stereo pairing. They worked perfectly before I changed the router. I’ve tried restarting and resetting, plus re-pairing them, but nothing seems to work. When playing music they start fine then randomly drop, sometimes after a few hours but sometimes after a few minutes and often a few times in a day if I am using them for a few hours. It’s always the same one that drops (the other one which Siri speaks from just carries on playing) and to fix it I have to switch off/on at the plug and then wait for it to re-pair. And they are worse when used with my Apple TV to the point where I have had to go back to relying on my old soundbar. Any ideas would be very welcome. They are on the latest software so not sure what else I can do except go back to my old router which worked fine. Thanks.

Posted on Apr 4, 2021 5:14 AM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

272,887 points

Apr 4, 2021 6:05 AM in response to Admitsnowtnow

They will all be able to switch to the available frequency. 2.4 GHz is the older standard. A little slower but better range. My SWAG is that when both are available HomePod can sometimes get lost hopping between them trying to get a better service. Some routers might also be less efficient when routing data between the two bands.

tt2

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Answer 2

Apr 4, 2021 6:12 AM in response to turingtest2

Thanks a lot - I may try that. I do have a BT Wi-fi disc to boost the signal in one of my rooms - I read in a BT forum that the discs only work on 5GHZ so if I switch that band off I won’t be able to use the disc which seems a bit counter intuitive.

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Answer 3

Apr 4, 2021 6:25 AM in response to turingtest2

Unfortunately some of my smart plugs and bulbs only work on 2.4ghz. It’s frustrating as my old BT homehub was dual band too but the Pods never had a problem with it, and I didn’t have to set them to only work on 2.4, they just worked. Thanks for your help, I may have to try again with BT support (who were pretty useless last time) or I may just go back to my old router which was fine.

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