As said, there is a static and crackling sound lasting up to 5 seconds when I’m playing music from Spotify on my HomePod Mini. It comes up every couple of minutes and then music resumes playing normally. So far I had no issues, and after this emerged, I updated all softwares to latest versions and updated the Spotify app. Any ideas what to do next?
HomePod mini, 18
I've been experiencing the same problem after updating to OS 18. It happens whether I'm using the HomePod minis as tv speakers or while listening to music. I've also noticed an echo that comes and goes like the speakers aren't playing the audio at the same time.
The crackling, static, losing sync and echoing have driven me nuts for months. I have 5 HomePod mini's across two homes in two countries, and I've intended to buy a full-size HomePod, but if this persists, I won't be doing that, and I'll probably be looking for other smart speakers.
Mine started buzzing again at 12:50 today. I'm real disappointed to hear that 18.1 didn't resolve it. This is very frustrating.
Such a shame. My minis all crackling now and disconnecting and also echoing each other my large HomePods also disconnect or don’t respond to commands HomePod two and HomePod ones
Had the same result then 1 day later the crackling was back
All units are already running on 18.1.
The issue does not get fixed by that update.
nope, still the same.
At least - I assume that updating my iPhone to 18.1 takes care of that?
I cannot find any setting in the Home app to update the HomePod specifically.
It didn’t fix it for me
Yes, I had seen the same that the white light stayed on after stopping the playback. In case it happened, it was always the HomePod responding to the command
@FrankNeese, you update your HomePods through the Home app...Home Settings...Software Update.
18.4 and still not fixed, crackling, off sync and other sound artefacts are still annoying and destroy listening to music on any streaming source or other devices! Come on Apple!
You can check the state of the software of your HomePod Minis through the iOS Home App. If they are behind in software you can initiate a software update through the same app as well. Hope this help!
Excellent troubleshooting!
I had locked the 5GHz band on my router to 20MHz a little more than a week ago, and it seemed more stable for a few hours but then the issue reappeared.
I would second the advice to open a support ticket with Apple. The more noise we make, the more likely it will be that our HomePods will soon make less noise.
Yes, had high hopes for the update to 18.1 which seemed quite a lengthy one when installing on homepods last night. Disappointed and angry when the first song I played afterwards was ruined by humming and buzzing feedback again.
Come on Apple. Improvements in the homepod experience and its stability have always been a painfully slow process, but this current issue is a huge step backwards.
I’m sure as soon as I post this the issues will return, but since updating to 18.1 I haven’t had any more trouble. AirPlay is still wonky at times (randomly switches which speaker I’m controlling), but the crackling and sync issues have not been happening over the last couple of weeks.
Some update from side: I switched the 5 GHz WiFi to 20 MHz band width. Since 28th October I could no longer experience the sound issues, or delays. I’m still not 100% convinced of the stability. So, I will further monitor it.
I did not received any further feedback on my case from Apple, but I’m honest: I did not had time to follow up on it in the last weeks. But it is still on my list.
Static and crackling sound on HomePod Mini
