OG HomePod 'previewing' random songs in a playlist, by first playing them from the middle, before restarting them again from the beginning.

This bug began after updating my original HomePod to OS 17.

I will start playing an album or playlist on my HomePod - as usual - either by asking Siri to play something, or by using the Music app on my iPhone.

Everything will start off fine for the first 4-5 tracks.

Then, a few songs in, the HomePod will decide play the next track from the middle of the song, before starting it again from the beginning after 'previewing' it for about 10-15 seconds.

This track will then play for only about two minutes, before the HomePod randomly skips it, in order to play the next song in the playlist or album.

This bug happens every 5-6 songs.

To try and resolve the issue;

I have restarted the HomePod;

I have removed it and added it again;

I have performed a factory reset on it;

I have even power-cycled the HomePod overnight, just in case.

None of the above work at resolving this playback issue.

Any help or feedback on this bug would be very appreciated :)

Posted on Oct 2, 2023 4:33 PM

Top-ranking reply

Richard Zabilski Author

Level 1

37 points

Posted on Oct 22, 2023 11:46 AM

As the original poster of this thread, I thought I might update you all on a decent solution which I have found through trial and error - although it's not ideal if your intent was to have two HomePods for the purposes of listening to music in stereo or Atmos.

For some reason, unpairing the HomePods and setting them in different rooms of the house via the Home app resolves this problem.

Since unpairing them over a week ago, my wife and I have been able to listen to skip-free music on both units without any of the original issues I posted earlier.

One unit is in my study and the other in the bedroom. They can both play completely different songs if we so choose, or the same song (but not in literal stereo), and have so far performed flawlessly.

Although not ideal, as we purchased two units for their stereo sound; having the ability to 'intercom' one another from different ends of the house, and being able to listen to our own selection of music at the same time is actually quite cool.

View in context

OG HomePod 'previewing' random songs in a playlist, by first playing them from the middle, before restarting them again from the beginning.

Similar questions