[Updated] Apple HomePod reportedly not detecting HomeKit devices or not responding for some (potential workarounds)

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on Jan. 6, 2023) follows:

Apple has a wide catalog of products, both hardware and software, that seek to form an interconnected ecosystem that works perfectly with each other.

One of its most popular hardware products is ‘Apple HomePod‘, the company’s line of smart speakers. Then, on the software side, ‘HomeKit‘ is Apple’s home automation platform.

As part of the company’s device ecosystem, both products are designed to interact with each other. However, this does not seem to be working correctly at the time of writing this story.

According to multiple reports, the Apple HomePod is not detecting HomeKit devices or not responding for some.

Multiple users report that the integration between their Apple HomePod speakers and HomeKit devices stopped working correctly, without any apparent explanation.

Apparently, the affected users are getting an error message saying that there are no HomeKit devices connected or available. The error appears when they try to execute a voice command.

HomePod Minis suddenly reporting “it looks like you haven’t setup any HomeKit devices…”

As the title says, any commands I try to say to my HomePod Mini are now met with this. Everything worked fine for probably a year before this. Source

There are cases where the Apple HomeKit ecosystem works partially. That is, only some connected devices continue to respond correctly to voice commands through the HomePod speakers.

“None of the homehubs are responding”…. Are you kidding me.

I get this multiple times a day, then 15 seconds later I get “one of the home hubs is responding”. I have 10 HomePods and 3 Apple TVs.
Source

HomePod Mini saying “no HomeKit devices” with hey siri.

Devices are working as they should. I can use siri on phone, watch, or use the HK app. It’s listed as a hub in settings. Even when off my Wi-Fi it works as it should. Automations and all.

However, when I say “hey siri turn off (device)” it tells me I have no devices setup.
Source

There is still no official word from Apple on this issue. However, there are some workarounds that could help you get HomeKit back on the HomePod speakers.

First, you can try the classic ‘restart the device’ (your HomePod speakers):

You can also try a reboot of your home router:

I posted about this earlier as well. It seems it’s a wide spread problem. However, it doesn’t seem to be the same fix for everyone. Mine worked by restarting router.

Alternatively, unplugging the HomePod for 1 minute and then plug back in, or even restart the HomePod app, could do the trick:

Others have had luck with unplugging the HomePod for 1 min and plugging back in or restarting the HomePod in the app. They’re all simple so try going down the list.
Source

We will update this story as events unfold.

01:06 pm (IST): Some reports (1, 2, 3) suggest that this issue is primarily affecting HomePod minis at the moment.

Also, a user claims that it has something to do with iOS 16.2 as it introduced completely new architecture for HomeKit.

02:46 pm (IST): We have come across a potential workaround that involves going into the Home settings on your smartphone and changing the name of the connected HomeKit device:

If you go into the Home settings on an iPhone or iPad and change the name of any of your connected HomeKit devices, it pushes a refresh to the HomePod and fixes the glitch.
Source

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