HomePod mini: Volume/crackling looping white noise after HomePod Software 27

Hi everyone,

I’ve been using my HomePod mini for several years, and 99% of the time I use it to play white noise while sleeping. I usually select my preferred white noise track from Apple Music and set it to repeat a single track continuously.

However, since updating to HomePod Software 27, I’ve been experiencing some annoying playback issues.

Every time the white noise track loops back to the beginning, one or both of the following happen:

• Sudden volume increase: The volume noticeably increases for a few seconds before returning to normal.

• Audible crackling: A noticeable crackling or popping sound occurs during the transition between loops.

I’ve already tried the following:

• Disabled song transitions: This doesn’t resolve the issue, and now there’s an approximately 2-second interruption between loops.

• Enabled Crossfade: Unfortunately, Crossfade doesn’t seem to work properly with HomePod Software 27. Instead of smoothly transitioning between loops, the audio simply stops for the configured Crossfade duration.

This was working perfectly before the update, allowing continuous white noise playback without interruptions or sudden volume changes.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues after updating to HomePod Software 27?

Is this a known bug, and are there any workarounds or fixes available?

Thanks in advance!