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'Sorry there was a problem with apple music'

When I ask my HomePod to "hey siri, play some music." it replies "here is some music just for you" then there is a silence before it times out and replies 'Sorry there was a problem with apple music'.


The problem is intermittent and is temporarily fixed by removing the device from Home App and then re-installing it, but then the problem comes back randomly minutes, hours or days later.


Sometimes the problem goes away by itself for a little while.


The device is connected to the Internet because queries for "What's the weather like?" always succeed.

My HomePod Mini's don't seem to be affected.


Any ideas?

Posted on Sep 29, 2021 2:57 AM

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Posted on Oct 2, 2021 7:39 PM

Do you have an AppleTV? I also have the “problem with Apple Music…” I have HomePods as default for the ATV. After watching something, my HomePods won’t play music unless I turn on the tv and AppleTV and go to music there. Start to play something, then I power everything down. Now the HomePods work as the did before. Siri works, control music from my iPad, etc.

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Oct 2, 2021 7:39 PM in response to Alex_From_UK

Do you have an AppleTV? I also have the “problem with Apple Music…” I have HomePods as default for the ATV. After watching something, my HomePods won’t play music unless I turn on the tv and AppleTV and go to music there. Start to play something, then I power everything down. Now the HomePods work as the did before. Siri works, control music from my iPad, etc.

Sep 30, 2021 6:07 AM in response to Alex_From_UK

Hello Alex, 


Apple Support Communities is a great place for help with Apple Music and your HomePod. Apple does have a great troubleshooting article that can help with resolving this issue. Those steps can be found in the section titled If “Hey Siri” isn’t responding of the following article. 


If HomePod isn’t responding


Although the title of the article references the HomePod not responding, the steps are helpful for the issue you’re facing. You can also find great troubleshooting steps in the following article. 


Change HomePod settings


Have a great week!

Oct 14, 2021 3:15 PM in response to jramirez1918

I think the problem is with AppleTV and not releasing the HomePods. I turn on my tv and AppleTV everyday, open music there, there is a glitch there too. It takes a couple of attempts, or maybe a certain amount of time before music works. It kind of freezes up. Then I turn off the tv. Then Siri will play music, or I can control on iPhone/iPad. Everything as it should be.

Oct 14, 2021 11:39 PM in response to Alex_From_UK

OK, so this is my original thread and hopefully it'll get fixed by Apple now that a few users reporting the same problem.


As a few people have noted, the problem is to do with using your HomePod as the default audio output for an Apple TV. I believe the Apple TV goes into a deep sleep mode after a few hours of not being used, and doesn't get awoken properly by the HomePod that wants to coordinate the music that's playing with the onscreen graphics of the Apple TV.


The workaround solution to my case is to manually restart the Apple TV via the settings.


Yesterday I gave a really nice Apple helpline man all my logs for both my Apple TV 4K and my Apple HomePod, plus I wrote out a few timeline logs to help with reproducing the problem and also implementing the workaround solution. Here's one of them:


Case #01 - Friday, 8th October.


Apple TV hasn't been used overnight.


07:38:30 User ➡ HomePod: "Hey siri, play chill house."

07:38:35 HomePod ➡ User: "Chill house now playing"

07:39:05 HomePod ➡ User: "Sorry, there was a problem with Apple Music"

07:40:40 User ➡ HomePod: "Hey siri, play chill house."

07:41:15 HomePod ➡ User: "Sorry, there was a problem with Apple Music"

07:42:?? User turns on Apple TV 4K via the remote

07:42:40 User ➡ HomePod: "Hey siri, play chill house."

07:43:08 HomePod ➡ User: "Sorry, there was a problem with Apple Music"

07:43:30 User restarts Apple TV 4K (Settings ➡ System ➡ Restart)

07:44:50 User ➡ HomePod: "Hey siri, play chill house."

07:44:55 HomePod begins to play music

Oct 31, 2021 12:23 PM in response to carey126

I have all the latest updates. I've gotten this issue since yesterday 10/30 and again today 10/31/21. Yesterday I was able to get the HomePod to play Apple Music radio station after turning on my Apple TV, but today that solution is not working. Just spent an hour on the phone with Apple Support and we were not able to resolve the issue. HomePod appears to work fine as AppleTV sound, but it's not connecting with Apple Music. Ticket with Apple is escalated and I will monitor for updates.

Dec 12, 2021 1:06 PM in response to kemfromhouston

I see no activity on this thread since 10/31. I am experiencing the same issue with the latest updates. With TV off, I ask Siri to “Play Music” and I received the dreaded “there is a problem with Apple Music”a. A fresh restart and reset of the HomePod Mini results in same issue. If I turn on my AppleTV that is set to use the Mini Pod as the default output, it plays fine. The HomePod is connected to the internet just fine as evidenced by the other commands it’s executes just fine. I am running latest software updates on AppleTV, Phone and iPad.


Any suggestions?

'Sorry there was a problem with apple music'

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