HomePod starts playing on its own, randomly every 20min.
Tell Siri “off” and a few minutes later it starts again.
Turned off Siri. Still happens!
Turned off my phone. Still happens!
Reset via ”remove accessory”.
Still happens!
It sits on high shelf and we’ve never used the touch buttons.
We have to leave it unplugged.
Very frustrating that there are a lot of people making this claim.
Model: MQJ73LL/A
Version 26.2
HomePod (2nd generation)
UPDATE called Apple Support and they dug around their KB and didn’t find any engineering reports.
So I cracked the case and disconnected the touch panel. So far so good. HomePod still responds to Siri and network contacts.
it was easy. I followed the tear down in link below. One I get the top off, I just unplugged the ribbon cable (#2) in the process. I did not have to unplug the main ribbon cable.
reassembly was just the reverse. The inner sock cover I just pulled up tight and left untied. The outer cover i used a needle to thread a new cinch string to pull it tight and then used some thin double stick tape to put the bottom back on.
When you take the bottom off be careful as the are these small rubber feet that are in between the bottom cover and the pod. They fell out on disassembly. They get sandwiched back in.
[Edited by Moderator]
UPDATE called Apple Support and they dug around their KB and didn’t find any engineering reports.
So I cracked the case and disconnected the touch panel. So far so good. HomePod still responds to Siri and network contacts.
it was easy. I followed the tear down in link below. One I get the top off, I just unplugged the ribbon cable (#2) in the process. I did not have to unplug the main ribbon cable.
reassembly was just the reverse. The inner sock cover I just pulled up tight and left untied. The outer cover i used a needle to thread a new cinch string to pull it tight and then used some thin double stick tape to put the bottom back on.
When you take the bottom off be careful as the are these small rubber feet that are in between the bottom cover and the pod. They fell out on disassembly. They get sandwiched back in.
[Edited by Moderator]
It seems it’s the 2nd gen that has the touch issues.
To solve them coming on by themselves I had to ungroup my stereo paired 2nd gen HomePods. They were set as default audio to my Apple TV. So now I set one to be the default and AirPlay to the other, you’ll need to test which one prefers being on default audio. it’s solved so many other issues that were going on. This suggests a possible issue with stereo pairing or Home Theater audio synchronization in audioOS 26.5. I don’t like having to use them this way but I’m hopeful Apple might address this issue in a future software update. Apple does not read or monitor these forums so you need to let them know via feedback here ——->Feedback - HomePod - Apple.
Just came off the phone with Apple again this morning, following a couple of escalations, and their view remains that 2 years is as long as HomePods could reasonably be expected to last. If the issue develops inside 2 years (which it doesn't, usually) they'll replace for free, regardless of warranty status (in the UK, at least). If they're more than 2 years old, then tough.
That's certainly an unusual interpretation of the UK's Consumer Rights Act, but Apple has USD 162 billion cash on hand so a) they can't afford to just give stuff away just to comply with irritating local laws, and b) they can afford very expensive lawyers.
I've filed a s75 claim with the credit card company to get some of my money back. I'll use that either to pay fixpod or someone to fix the issue, or I'll find a more reliable non-Apple alternative (I guess Sonos 300 or KEFs of some kind?).
Shame, because when they weren't waking us up with maximum volume Skrillex at 3am, I really liked the HomePods.
I've had no resolution. I did take it in to a local Apple Store to see if a Genius had access to more info. Alas, she did not. She suggested calling Apple Support as they have a deeper access to see if there's a special not from engineering.
One of her comrades successfully opened hers up and disconnected the buttons. There's several tutorials online for how to do that. It doesn't look hard.
I'm going to call first before cracking the case.
Before taking it apart, ungroup them, if one is faulty it just drags down the other one. Not ideal but worked on mine. See my other reply in this thread.
I fixed it. I opened my 2yo HomePod2 and disconnected the touch panel. Reassembled it (tying the fabric again was tough work, but did it anyhow), and now its working well. No ghost touches, no random Siri activations, no sudden volume max-outs. Absolute fix.
If Apple is reading this post, please note:
"You guys may not acknowledge the issue with your hardware, you may deny paid/good-will repairs (in India you guys tell it cannot be repaired and only can be replaced) without thinking that a customer is left with a useless piece of ultra-expensive speaker (it cost ₹32,000 in India) only after 2yrs of usage!
That's not the case with any other expensive products from brands like Sony, Bose or Marshall. They simply last more than a decade or even multiple decades without any issue.
You guys can at least offer a software-based solution through updates by giving an option to allow touch panels to be disabled by the software. I am sure that's not a rocket-science and this simple fix may bring relief to your HomePod customers across the world who are either facing or are going to face this ghost-touch issue."
All HomePod customers across the world would be grateful to Apple for introducing this software fix.
Before taking apart your HomePod, try placing a small magnet (for example, from a magnetic board) on top of it. This solved the problem for me.
UPDATE - Looking around online as I'm sure you've found as well leads to more frustrated owners as well as some tutorials on how to open the case and unplug the touch panel.
Before cracking the case, I went to an Apple Store and talked to a Genius. They had no engineering notes indicating that Apple Engineering was acknowledging the problem. One of her comrades had gone the route of disconnecting the touch panel with success. They suggested I call Apple Support as those folks can reach deeper into the Apple Support system.
Alas, that came up with nothing.
My next step will be to crack the case.
I found the simple solution to that.
https://youtube.com/shorts/YFAlwYjB7Lo?si=kdxiSRiOnrafN2QU
the owner of the video tried everything suggested like activating the accessibility and touch hold for 4s. It didn’t work.
By doing this, WITH the touch hold at 4s, it seems to stop the ghost playing / Siri responding to ghost request, etc…
note: Turning off the touch hold 4s WILL NOT make it work. BOTH need to work hand in hand.
I’d add: be persistent (polite, but persistent) in contacting Apple support. You may get a better resolution on the second or third time of asking.
Incidentally in my limited experience Apple’s feedback process is a waste of time as Apple doesn’t seem to ever look at it (as noted by someone else here, the most recent software you can select when providing HomePod feedback is 16).
Try using Touch Accommodations in Accessibility to set a hold time for the touch pad.
Just started to have the same issue on my HomePod Mini. For me it is not every 20 minutes, it starts playing very irregularly.
I've looked into it in the last few days and apparently the touch panel on the HomePod Mini and the 2nd Gen HomePod is faulty and produces ghost touching. Apple is aware, but does not care about it... shame, I would expect more for the price tag.
I have no idea but it works for me. Just give it a try. If it works spread the word. It also responds better on the touch of your finger now. Maybe Apple has an explanation for this. Keep the magnet on it and don’t take it off. Working stable now for days
Same issue here. I've got two HomePod 2s - set as a stereo pair - everything worked fine for a couple of years until a week ago, when they starting turning on (and off) at random, without any commands, playing random music. None of the easy fixes - cleaning touch pads, changing software settings, adding magnets - has worked. I think I have identified which of the pair is the rogue, and unplugged it. Next step will be to take it apart and disconnect the touch pad.
annupamiyer wrote:
That's the exact reason why I mentioned "If" at the start of the address. I have shared the same with Apple on their feedback link as well. I know one voice doesn't matter to Apple, but I got to do my bit at least!
Just letting you know they are not. Everyone that is experiencing this issue should be sending them feedback using the provided link and also contacting them through Apple Support.
That is how you get their attention and what anyone wants to tell Apple on this Community Forum is irrelevant, whether that is prefaced with an "if" or not. That is why we focus on providing user level support here and the specific actions to take, as opposed to what you would find on a Social Media site.
Homepod randomly starts playing.
