HomePod users report audio cutting out or pausing briefly while playing a track on loop after 15.4 update

In the last few years, people have adopted several smart home devices such as Google Home and Amazon Echo. While some of these offer a screen, one of the most popular type of smart devices are speakers.

Having said that, Apple has its own smart speaker lineup known as the HomePod. The first version incorporates beamforming and consists of eight speakers.

But in the last few months, users have reported several issues such as popping noises and Siri not working or playing music after updating to iOS 15.

That being said, HomePod owners are now complaining that the audio is pausing briefly whenever they play a track on loop. Reports suggest the issue surfaced after the recent HomePod software version 15.4 update.

Others add that the audio cuts in and out and at times the device stops playing music for no reason. Several users have already tried resetting their HomePod and unlinking and relinking their HomePod but the audio pausing issue persists.

Hi Everyone, I see there are a few threads on this already, but our issue is slightly different and I imagine others are having the same problems. We’ve had scenes setup now for years where we say good night or night night and an audio track called white noise for deep sleep plays on repeat the entire night. We’ve not had any issues with these scenes running until we updated to iOS 15.4. Now when we run these scenes the audio only runs for about 2 hours then shuts off.
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I’ve been part of the Apple ecosystem for a while and I’m quite baffled by how bad the user experience is for this product, specifically when listening to music. I primarily listen to music synced across all homepod minis and the music CONSTANTLY cuts in and out on some devices, sometimes songs just randomly stop playing. And then when I try to fix it by tapping my homepod button I accidentally start playing U2. WTF????Does anyone know how to resolve this or what the best setup is for listening to music? I had almost no issues with the Google Nest speakers at a fraction of the price.
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Considering the fact that the HomePod is designed to work with audio streaming services like Apple Music, many are disappointed that the device is having issues playing music in the first place.

As it turns out, Apple is unaware of the problem and hasn’t said anything on the matter. We hope HomePod developers take a look at the problem and fix it in the coming days.

Until then, we will track further developments and provide updates so keep checking this space.

In the meantime, users can try playing music using AirPlay from an iOS device to the HomePods as a temporary workaround.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Apple Section so be sure to follow them as well.

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