HomePod Popping Noise

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Level 1

15 points

HomePod Popping Noise

Not really a question but an observation. I have two HomePods setup in stereo mode and have occasionally experienced the loud popping sound. It has occurred in both of the HomePods, although not at the same time. To me, this rules out a hardware issue because the likelihood of both units being bad is small. It does not matter if I stream from a music service like Pandora or use music files stored on my laptop. The sound, sometimes very loud...kind of like door slamming occurs and the the HomePod in question comes back on in about 20 seconds and picks up playing in its usual mode. It seems to occur more in the stereo pairing than in the stand alone format. My condo has a very high level broadband bandwidth through out the building, so it is not a capacity issue but could be related to the way the router is sequencing the information. I am going to try a mesh router setup so that I can isolate network connection to these devices. This is definitely an issue, you can check beyond the Apple Community, several people are having similar problems that hopefully will be addressed in some future software-firmware update. These are really great sounding units, so its a shame that issues persists.

HomePod, 15

Posted on Oct 30, 2021 7:19 AM

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Answer 1

tonyclerico Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 9, 2021 3:45 PM in response to the_Operator

Thanks for your feedback; I share your frustration. The speakers sound soooooo...good. I assume that you tried the standard procedures, hard and soft reset of HomePods and physically unplugging from the wall and reconnecting. If that's the case, it's trial and error. time. A new router solved my issue, but my HomePods never made sounds while not streaming. Try disconnecting the microphone, if it is on, then maybe it's "listening" for a command and this could be caused by the router not efficiently distributing bandwidth. If the popping stops, it could be related to the microphone.

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Answer 2

Bgnmarty

Level 1

38 points

Jan 27, 2022 11:02 AM in response to greg06611

Tell us your configuration:

How many do you have that are now on 15.3?
Are any connected in a stereo pair?
Do you have Reduce Bass turned on?
Do you have Siri turned on?
Etc

I ask these because some said they only had the popping under certain config/conditions if you read all the posts in this thread. Of the 24 hrs since the update, how many hours of actual run time under 15.3 do you have?

Thanks!

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Answer 3

Bgnmarty

Level 1

38 points

Jan 24, 2022 8:09 AM in response to Bgnmarty

Continued from my previous post

- The OTAUpdates are listed as follows for the left HomePod:

- Oct 29, 2021

- Nov 6

- Dec 12

- Then twice on Dec 30 (yeah twice???)

The "panic-full" started on Dec 30 and then.. ..

- 3 times on Jan 4

- 13 times on Jan 5

- 6 times on Jan 7

- 2 times on Jan 8

- 14 times on Jan 9

- Once on Jan 10

- 3 times on Jan 11

- Once on Jan 12

- Once on Jan 13

- Once on Jan 14

- Twice on Jan 15

- Once on Jan 16

- Four times on Jan 17

- Once on Jan 18

- Five times on Jan 20

- Twice on Jan 21

- Once on Jan 22

- Twice on Jan 23 (today) for a total of 66 to date! Something is certainly wrong here

Since HomePod's never turn off, they just sleep, I believe the issue occurs in their sleep as well. Mine are located in a room at the far end of our house, we don't go in that room till later in the evening and until then the door is closed so we would not hear anything until we open the door and go in. I believe the panics happen whether the HomePod is actively being listened to or not but don't know if they make the loud pop if they are sleeping when it happens.

So then I took a look at the right HomePod because that too has produced the loud pops, though not as often as the left one. I bought both HomePods at the Apple Store on the same day and they are both the same Product Number yet for some reason it only listed three OTAUpdates whereas the left HomePod listed five which includes the two that were on the same day:

- Oct 29, 2021

- Nov 5

- Dec 12

The first panic-full on the Right HomePod was listed on Dec 27 and there are a total of 13 listed as opposed to 66 on the left HomePod.

- Both HomePods are at OS 15.2

- My Apple TV was not on so I turned it on and checked its OS and it is at 15.2 (19K53)

- My iPhone 13 Mini is running iOS 15.2.1

To me it sure looks like the last HomePod OS update started these random loud pops followed by the HomePod going silent for 20 or so seconds. I hope this info helps Apple solve this issue because these large HomePods are so very nice to listen to and I'd like it solved before the speakers blow in mine.

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Answer 4

tonyclerico Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 3, 2021 6:00 AM in response to markfromstaten island

Thanks for the feedback. I cannot say if it is more frequent, but if I stream for four hours, it will occur at least once in each of my two speakers. Pop…then full return of music in 20-30 seconds. Apple should at least do a workaround so that when a buffering issue occurs, the unit goes silent until the buffering catches up instead of activating the amps, that is what I believe is contributing to the noise. My other airplay compatible speakers behave like this. Did all the usual, soft reset, hard reset, removed from Home app and reinstalled, rebooted the router etc.

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Answer 5

tonyclerico Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 11, 2021 9:21 AM in response to oleksii168

Thanks for the post. Well, you can never rule out hardware issues. I have owned other powered speakers that will make a noise when they are plugged into an electrical socket. The HomePod also incorporates a microphone and self adjusts to the room space which kind of complicates the issue...did it "hear" a sound or adjust for room acoustics...this could be software. In my particular case, the problem is intermittent, and the speaker returns to normal function in about 20 seconds after the initial "pop" the loudness of which corresponds to the volume setting that I am using. It also seems to occur more frequently in stereo mode. I updated to 15.1.1, the latest update that supports spatial audio and adjustable bass, and the issue has occurred only once in the past few days. These speakers routinely stream for about 4-6 hours each day. Others have reported the noise even while the units are on standby or not streaming. This has not happened to me as of yet.

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Answer 6

DrNicT61

Level 1

22 points

Nov 11, 2021 11:02 AM in response to tonyclerico

One of my HomePods for the first time was being unresponsive and made a very loud pop that shook my desk while trying to play music before restarting itself. Very startling and makes me concerned it will self-destruct.

I've got 7 original HomePods and all of them also make a quieter popping sound anytime I trigger siri or connect airplay with my ipad, if they've not been playing anything for a while. If I listen carefully I can also hear what sounds like having your stereo turned way up with nothing playing after triggering siri or connecting airplay.

Aside from this they all seem to work fine for now, but I'm worried if this isn't fixed soon I won't have much time left to enjoy what has been my favorite listening experience ever. I may just unplug them and wait.

I feel like all of this only started happening after updating them to OS 15 but I don't have anything to prove it.

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Answer 7

tonyclerico Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 11, 2021 1:15 PM in response to DrNicT61

Hi again, thanks for your feedback, I switched the left/right channels in the two HomePods that I have in a sitting room and the "other" HomePod made the noise. This really sounds like software or a possible a network glitch that should default the speaker to silent instead of "pop". While the "pop" is noticeably loud, I do not believe that it is in a range that will blow the drivers in the HomePod. I really do love these speakers, they way outperform anything in their weight class.

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 8

tonyclerico Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 7, 2021 8:10 AM in response to JRSchwarzinger

I switched my router about 10 days ago. My condo association provides TV, VoIP, and Internet through Hotwire Communications. I emailed them and indicated that I believed my existing router was not handling music streaming efficiently. They came and installed a new mesh router and this issue has all but totally disappeared. 🤞The tech informed me that other customers had reported similar issues, not specific to HomePod, but drop offs, buffering problems, and issues of that nature.

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Answer 9

Sarg93

Level 1

8 points

Dec 16, 2021 6:42 PM in response to JRSchwarzinger

Same. I had issues with the stereo pair only outputting through one HomePod with no discrimination to which one it would choose. As of today the volume started going up and down on its own and popping infrequently… but it is very loud when it pops, it’s very surprising.

Hoping it gets fixed soon! Love these things!

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Answer 10

Mercamou

Level 1

8 points

Dec 17, 2021 5:52 AM in response to tonyclerico

I have the exact same problem (since iOS 15 and above apparently) with HomePods paired in stereo and randomly popping heavy sound and sometimes even one of the two goes out. It’s truly a disastrous experience and for the price of these devices it’s a shame from Apple!

It seems that the development of iOS for HomePod and the resolution of the problems related to this device does not seem interested Apple...

I am more and more disappointed with this brand (Holy Apple) which seems to not respect its customers anymore...

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Answer 11

tonyclerico Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 17, 2021 6:55 AM in response to Sarg93

Sorry about your issues, I appreciate your frustration. I have to say since switching my router to a mesh type, most of these issues have all but disappeared. I have had the up and down volume issue occur with wireless speakers other than the HomePods as well.

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Answer 12

tonyclerico Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 17, 2021 6:58 AM in response to Mercamou

I have felt a very similar level of frustration. As I stated in other posts, switching to a newer mesh router has solved most of the issues that you have outlined and that I have previously experienced. I did update to v. 15.2 of the software but I attribute the router as the primary fix in my situation.

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Answer 13

Mercamou

Level 1

8 points

Dec 17, 2021 7:09 AM in response to tonyclerico

Thank you very much for your response, I really appreciate your advice and help.

I also updated my HomePods to iOS 15.2 but nothing changed there. As for the Mesh router, I already have a FRITZ! Box 5490 box router which uses the Mesh network.

I will try to change my 5ghz channel and see if that has a positive effect. I'll keep you up-to-date.

Thank you again for your response and advice. Highly appreciated.

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Answer 14

Milany84

Level 1

8 points

Dec 21, 2021 5:09 PM in response to tonyclerico

Same here. I only have one, it sounds fabulous, but suddenly out of nowhere a gigantic “pop” , not once or twice but continuously until I unplug the power cord from the outlet. Now it started to make a sipping sound as well. Such a shame for unit sounding so lovely😢

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Answer 15

Dec 29, 2021 4:39 AM in response to tonyclerico

I had the same issue since several months. I have 7 HompePods (Classics) in my house. Popping Sound appeared on all 7 since summer this year. Some days ago I did a hard reset on each HomePod and reconfigured. Since then it completely dissapeared.

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