Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
My original HomePod has, for several days now, been unable to create timers or alarms. If I say, “Hey Siri, set timer 10 minutes”, she replies, “There was a problem with your timer request. Please try again in a minute.” Likewise for alarms. Power cycle does not help. TIA for any information.
HomePod
FINAL UPDATE: After more resets than I want to admit, I have arrived at a fix:
1) Reset HomePod and repeat initial setup, assigning HomePod to a room other than Default Room (which is not available during setup.)
2) Afterwards, do NOT move HomePod to Default Room!!!
If I DO move HomePod to Default Room (for all I know it could be any other room), within seconds the Home app loses the ability to configure timers and alarms, reporting that HomePod and iPhone are not on the same network. At that point, timers and alarms are broken. As long as I leave HomePod in the room specified during initial setup, everything works.
FINAL UPDATE: After more resets than I want to admit, I have arrived at a fix:
1) Reset HomePod and repeat initial setup, assigning HomePod to a room other than Default Room (which is not available during setup.)
2) Afterwards, do NOT move HomePod to Default Room!!!
If I DO move HomePod to Default Room (for all I know it could be any other room), within seconds the Home app loses the ability to configure timers and alarms, reporting that HomePod and iPhone are not on the same network. At that point, timers and alarms are broken. As long as I leave HomePod in the room specified during initial setup, everything works.
I was able to fix this issue by manually setting an alarm on the problematic homepod using the home app. After i did it, suddenly the homepod allowed me to set timers and alarms through talking to it
I've been frustrated with this issue for weeks. I found this thread. Homepod has been in default room for years with timers working until recently. All I did was move the Homepod from default room to Living Room, and bam! Timers work! Thank you!
Thanks for the reply.
I've cycled the router and iPhone to no avail. The HomePod requests do not show on the iPhone as personal requests.
The Home app on iPhone CAN create an alarm on the HomePod, but it doesn't sound at the appointed time, and the HomePod, when asked to list all alarms, says it can't find any.
The Home app on iPhone CANNOT create a timer on the HomePod — it says "Timers Unavailable / Timers can be viewed and managed only when this HomePod is on the same network as this iPhone." Both devices, however, are in fact on the same network.
Everything else is fine on the HomePod. I can make phone calls, control my house lights, check the weather, check the time, etc. It is only timers and alarms that have broken.
And Siri-set timers and alarms still work fine on my iPhone and iPad (which I'm having to fall back on.)
Since it's so persistent, I assume it isn't just an upstream server issue, and I'm hoping an OS update will fix this eventually. This is Version 16.4.
Thanks again.
Mark
FWIW timers have not been reliable on mine. Today it said I’ll send some web results. Or a 20 minute timer says 4 hrs and 49 minutes counting down. I keep getting these random responses. I might even get the weather if I ask for a timer. I have to manually press the top to do it.
You might want to submit feedback: Feedback - HomePod - Apple and hopefully they can fix it for a future update,
Did you reboot your router as well as power cycling the HomePod? You might also reboot your phone and make sure it is active on your Wi-Fi in case HomePod is treating these as personal requests. Can you set alarms or timers via the Home app?
tt2
Well, factory reset did not help, and now the HomePod is stuck in the Home app at “HomePod is being configured. Additional settings will be available shortly…” Fortunately I can use Siri on it to control lights and play music as before, but as I feared, I only dug the hole a bit deeper.
UPDATE: Several resets later, all is well! Configuration is completed, the Home app now recognizes that all devices are on the same network, and I can once again set timers and alarms via either Siri or the app.
Possibly, though I have an Apple TV, a Roku TV, and a tap switch in Default Room. I could try moving HomePod to another non-default room to see if that breaks it as well, but I’m too burnt out on the whole reset/setup process to go another round. =8^)
I too am struggling with the same problem. Siri will not set a timer but it will do a countdown. In other words if I try to set a timer for one minute it responds, "there is a problem setting the timer." If I ask Siri to "countdown one minute" it does this. It seems as if there is a syntax issue between asking for a timer and asking for a count down
I’ve been several rounds with this now. I wish there were a definitive answer. I’ve reset and removed accessory many times, rebooted router many times, I’ve never had HomePod in a “default room,” but after multiple rounds, I did try moving it and that didn’t work either. I wish Apple would just fix this issue. Every time I reset or reboot the router, it comes back online and I can see alarms, but when I leave the house and come back, it’s all gone again. Everything else works except alarms and timers. Running version 16.5. Both iPhone and HomePod ARE on same Wi-Fi network.
I realized about the time all this began, I had added a hard-wired Wi-Fi access point to my network to extend the range of my Wi-Fi that was not great in certain areas of my home. It is supposed to just extend the Wi-Fi’s own signal and essentially be the same. But even though it still shows all devices on the same network, the devices must notice a difference. If I turn it off the Wi-Fi access point or disconnect it, this whole problem with alarms goes away permanently. Now I just have to figure out a way to get Wi-Fi to the bad spots.
I am now having the same problem for the first time ever. I have had my HomePod for at least five years. I don't use the Home app on my iPhone much at all and when I just tried to launch it now to reset the HomePod, I get a message saying "Loading Accessories and Scenes" and a spinning icon that never goes away. I have tried restarting the phone and the HomePod but to no avail. Any ideas how to even get the Home app working again? Thanks!
kaarrll wrote:
I am now having the same problem for the first time ever. I have had my HomePod for at least five years. I don't use the Home app on my iPhone much at all and when I just tried to launch it now to reset the HomePod, I get a message saying "Loading Accessories and Scenes" and a spinning icon that never goes away. I have tried restarting the phone and the HomePod but to no avail. Any ideas how to even get the Home app working again? Thanks!
You should include your router in the list of things to reboot when you have issues using HomeKit. What version of iOS are you running on your iPhone?
tt2
Odd. I'll check my OG HomePod when I get home. I'm using a new one for my alarms and timers right now and they work there.
tt2
HomePod can’t set timers or alarms
