Disable HomePod mini as a home hub?

Has anyone found a way to disable the HomePod mini as a home hub? Every time one of my 2 minis is connected as the hub, my doorbell camera will not record clips. Everything works well if an ATV is the hub (except for some reason I can only see the video on one ATV and cannot see the recorded clips) but through the home app on the iPhone or iPad there are no issues as long as one of the ATV’s are in control. I have submitted feedback suggesting a way to disable the HomePod home hub or allowing a way to set priorities to which device you prefer to be the hub.


HomePod mini, 15

Posted on Jun 11, 2022 7:07 PM

Reply

Similar questions

5 replies

Aug 11, 2022 6:19 PM in response to USAC

I have the same issue, I have two mini homepods in two homes, and they mess around with each other when a standby homepod in the second home takes over as the connected home hub. For example if the home hub is in a different location (i.e. the second home) eve temperature sensors will not be able to retrieve temperature readings. The Eve devices go into a "not responding" status until you force the connected homepod to change by turning off the connected homepod in the second location. The homepod mini in the primary location will then take over again. It's a real pain, as in this example the temp sensors control the air con, so if the homepod mini in the second home takes over, then the air con plays up because the automations (dampers) don't get triggered.


The only way around this with certainty seems to be using a second apple id. Oh no. I suppose if you use family sharing with a second id you don't have to buy new subscriptions if for instance you want to play music from your apple music subscription. I read another post that a person used MAC filtering for the homepods as his two homes were connnected by a VPN. I looked at this and found the standby/connected status in controlled over the internet connection and not direct between homepods on the same LAN so that option doesn't seem to work. Be handy to have the same functionality as the apple tv where you can disable homekit for individual homes.

Jun 15, 2022 10:41 AM in response to USAC

A lot of people do ask this but unfortunately we cannot choose which hub we prefer. Although you can disable Apple TV’s and iPads. You can submit feedback requesting the option of to disable HomePods: . Feedback - HomePod - Apple


  • There are some issues with HomeKit if you’re using the default audio setting on ATV 4k with HomePod speakers. You can try switching it back to TV Speakers and use them via AirPlay with the ATV instead.
  • Another thing that might interfere is not having everything updated to the latest software; HomePods, Apple TV’s and the iOS device you used to set up HomePods.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Disable HomePod mini as a home hub?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.