iTunes is buggy on both HomePod and Apple TV4k

Hi tt2,

I tried what you suggested... but this is the results I got:

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. All of my songs that are in iCloud have a status of either "Uploaded" "Purchased" or "Match" and they all (with the exception of the music that I have bought and downloaded recently) have the icon of:

This skipping of songs has been happening for quite a while on my Apple TV, long before I bought the HomePod. I just thought it was an Apple TV problem. Now that I see the same thing on the HomePod, that makes me think it is a bug in iTunes.

-djb

P.S. All of my software is up-to-date on all of my devices.

Yep, found that. However, when I choose another playlist to play, this is the message that I get:

It kind of defeats the purpose of being able to use Siri instead of having to manually control it via my iPad or iPhone. But I guess that's better than not being able to play my music at all. I still think iTunes on the Apple TV and HomePod are buggy. As an Apple fan since 2001 and my very first Power Mac G4 with the launch of OS X, I worry that Apple is in danger of becoming more and more like Microsoft... mediocre.

Thanks, for the help. I appreciate your time.

-djb

Yeah, I thought that too. But no, I'm using it exactly as you suggested in your earlier post: Remote control for HomePod, not using AirPlay

And when I do, I can choose another song from the playlist that is currently playing, change the volume, change the order of the next song up or, if I try to choose another playlist, that's when I get the message "HomePod will stop playing when my iPad is no longer nearby." I suspect that choosing a different playlist at that point, I am basically seceding control of iTunes music (small m) from HomePod to my iPad. And then Siri is no longer controlling it.

But what's really frustrating is when (before I ever tried controlling it with my other devices) I'd ask Siri to play a playlist that I know I have and it either says: "Ok, playing xxx" and then nothing plays. Or it indicates that it can't find the playlist. And a few times it actually responded to the request of a specific playlist by playing a song that was completely different from what I asked for! Don't know if you've ever watched the HBO show "Silicon Valley", but it was like a scene from one of their episodes. "Audious, play John Lennon's Imagine", and "Audious" responds by saying "Can't find John Wayne in a mansion in your playlist". 😁

I did some checking around and it seems as though that that "Airplay" symbol is in fact (unofficially) "Airplay 2" though it's not yet released.

Apple's AirPlay 2 Technology Explained - The Mac Observer

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I am using iTunes Match. I do not have an Apple Music account since I already own (CDs or iTunes downloads) 99% of the music I like and any new songs that I like, I will just buy.

Anyway, I will try what you suggested when I get home from work and let you know how it turns out.

Thanks,

djb9

Ok, tried that. No help. Now Siri (on HomePod) can’t find any of my playlists. And when I ask for a specific song she either can’t find it or plays something that sort of sounds like what I asked for but not the right song at all. The only thing that works (temporarily) is to reboot the HomePod. But that only fixes being able to find and play my playlists. It doesn’t do anything for the skipping of dozens of songs in the playlists.

I really think HomePod (and iTunes on the Apple TV) is very buggy. Unfortunately I’m past the 14 day return date for the HomePod. I’d like to replace it & see if it’s the software overall or specific to this unit.

Thanks again,

djb

Hi, thanks again. Yeah tried that... no help. over the last two days, I’ve tried rebooting the HomePod 6 or 7 times but now it won’t find any of my playlists. It either replies “ok, playing (playlist) shuffled” and then plays nothing or says it can’t find the playlist that I’m requesting. At this point I’d like to exchange the unit for a new one to see if it’s a problem either the unit itself or a software issue with the HomePod and iTunes. Unfortunately I’m past the 14 Day return window.

Hi again,

Thanks, I do have an open case with Apple support. So we’ll see how that turns out.

Yeah, I would think there would be others posting with similar issues although I wonder how popular the HomePod is just yet and then, how many of the early adopters are already signed up for Apple Music? From what I understand, it seems to work fine if you’re an Apple Music subscriber. How ever, it makes no sense, financially, for me to pay a monthly subscription to listen to music I already own.

Thanks again,

djb

Yes. Sort of... that’s how I am able to see what Siri is currently playing and to see what is supposed to play next. That’s how I noticed that it was skipping dozens of song in the “up next” list and getting to the end of a playlist in a matter of hours that shouled last for days (over 1300 songs).

Haven’t tried using the remote feature to select or change the playlist though. I’m not sure how to go about that but I will investigate that next.

Thanks.

djb

That finally seems to be the fix! I updated everything to to iOS 11.3 earlier this week and have been putting HomePod through its pace. So far it’s been working correctly. The only thing I haven’t been able to determine yet is, if it’s still skipping songs from my playlists. I’ll be looking for that over the next few days.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

And Thanks Apple (if you’re listening) for getting these issues resolved!

-djb