HomePods network issue after iOS 26 update

Back with another update to this annoying issue.

Since I posted last, my Apple Home, has been working as a turn sign signal - devices work for a while, then they don't, then they do again and.... over and over.

So I did some more digging, and found out the Matter list in my i-devices is broken.

So I have been doing the following (end result still pending - is it stable now?)

The first thing before resetting your devices should be to update and reboot your Apple infrastructure as follows. This is especially important for future major updates and can help avoid unnecessary resets:

1. Always update your end devices, i.e. iPhones/iPads (iOS/iPadOS) to the latest version, and update your Matter devices as well.
2. Force quit all HomeKit-enabled apps and restart the iPhone/iPad. Close an app on your iPhone or iPod touch - Apple Support
3. Make sure that all home hubs (Apple TV 4/4K and/or HomePod/mini) are also updated to the latest versions. Never rely on automatic updates - disable Apple's automatic update of your iOS on all devices.
4. Restart all home hubs by unplugging the power cable for one minute, then plug it back in and wait 10 minutes before continuing.

Then, try the following:

1. On the iPhone (or iPad) of the homeowner in iOS, open Settings > General > Matter Accessories:
   1. If your Matter devices still appear here (by serial number/Matter code), delete them manually.
   2. If you see ghost entries such as “Matter Accessory,” delete these as well. This is specific to Matter via Apple. When you remove devices from your home, you must delete them manually here; otherwise, you will not be able to re-add them. (all your Matter devices reside in the Keychain, and should be removed! Don't worry, they'll return when you re-add your device again)
   3. Fact: I found, that "if" your device is currently working as it should, there will be your Appple Home name underneath the listed device, e.g. Eve Thermo -> My home, if it's not functioning as it should, the device will just be listed as Eve Thermo
2. Make sure a Thread-enabled hub such as a HomePod mini is set as the leading hub in Apple Home > Home Settings > Home hubs & Bridges.
3. Please force quit all HomeKit-enabled apps, such as Home, and any others you use, then reboot the iPhone/iPad. Close an app on your iPhone or iPod touch - Apple Support
4. Reboot your home hubs by disconnecting them from the power source for at least one minute (I suggest 10 minutes to be safe), then plug them back in and wait at least 10 minutes.
5. Reset your Matter device according to the manufacturer’s specific reset instructions or documentation.
   1. Typically via the small hole insertion - use your sim card pin, and hold it in the hole insertion for at least 10 seconds or more
6. Stand close to your device; ensure Bluetooth, mobile data, and Wi-Fi are turned on.
   1. Do not use VPN or privacy firewalls such as pi-hole while adding your device(s).
7. Add your Matter device to the home by scanning the Matter Code, or tap “Add Accessory” in the Home app.
   1. Instead of scanning, you can tap “More Options,” select the Matter device from the list, and enter the Matter Code.
8. Pray

Last resort of fix, is to delete your entire home and start over - I have 110 Matter enabled devices, so this is not an option I will choose lightly.

Hope this helps :)

I had the same, so I swapped my router to a different one which has a single Wifi name and uses band steering. No issues on that one.

So, I swapped back to the other router which uses 2 different Wifi names [Name] and [Name_5] , but as it was buried deep in the settings, [Name] is actually both 2.4 and 5 with band steering while [Name_5] is 5 only.

So I disabled the [Name_5] and only use [Name] with band steering and no more issues. Looks like there is an issue with the pods getting confused with 2 different network names while one if operating on both 2.4/5.

Unyieldingly unhelpful, unpleasant, and unwilling to read the entire original post is my favorite combination of personal qualities on a support forum.

A huge segment of the early iOS26 adopters are having this issue. It is both well-known and widespread. OP specifically listed the things they tried in the end of their post, but lkrupp can’t resist the urge to feel better than someone else while they hide behind their keyboard. What a valiant warrior for humanity. Nothing showcases the finer points of our society like attacking someone else’s intelligence while demonstrating your own idiocy.

OP, I’m technologically literate, have the same issues, and mostly importantly, I’m not an arrogant troll.

None of the standard resolutions have solved this problem for me. I am a longtime Apple user, with much of my home running in the Apple ecosystem through HomeKit. There have been many networking issues with HomePods linked to buggy updates or software drops over the years. This is obviously a bug in iOS26, and I think we’re going to have to wait for Apple to fix this. I suspect it will be resolved in their first patch or shortly thereafter.

Sadly, this is a returning issue every time the HomePods are being updated I experience.

But this time, the issue is worse than ever.

I have 4 HomePod mini’s, 1 HomePod 2nd gen., and have forced my home to be controlled by the latest version of Apple TV 4K….

I mostly see the issue with smart home devices that run matter/thread natively, e.g. ALL my Eve and Aquara devices, not Hue for some reason (maybe it’s because they run on Zigbee protocol still?).

Before updating to iOS 26, my entire home was stable, not a glitch ever. (And I should know better, if something works, don’t try and fix it)

A hard reset (remove power for a prolonged time, shut down all devices and reset the Wi-Fi router), helps for a period of time, like 4-48 hours, then smart home devices drops off at Randy or all at once. Sometimes the lost devices return after some time, but mostly they remain lost - until the next hard reset.

[Edited by Moderator]

Now i think, that’s only a Problem in iOS or iPad OS, the HomePod itself works fine and in the Home App on OSX (already running the latest OS) everything is normal.

I noticed already, when you in the Home App on iOS oder iPad, i choose the 3 Point Menu in the the upper right corner, then Point on the Message „1 Problem“ -> the normal HomePod-Page opens without any issues.

Both my HomePod minis were completely stable until I updated them to OS 26. Now I have multiple network dropouts. I have isolated the problem to the HomePod mini by disconnecting my Apple TV, which was serving as my hub and by using my phone as a hotspot to eliminate my router as a possible issue. It’s apparently not possible to “downgrade” back to the old system So I’m hopeful of future fix via software update.

Same issue. Noticed because TV audio was going thru TV speakers and wouldn’t connect to home theatre paired homepod. I was able to resolve that issue even though i still technically see the wifi error in homepod panel.

For anyone trying to fix their TV output, here’s what i did:

From TV:

1. Restart
2. Set default audio output to TV speakers

From HomePod:

1. Unplug & replug

From Home app:

1. Tap TV panel & verify that HomePod is NOT set as default audio output, should be set to TV for now.
2. Play music to verify internet connection & ensure it plays from HomePod (previously, HomePod commands played thru TV speakers ??? when it thought it was connected to AppleTV)
3. Set HomePod back as default output for AppleTV

Really i think it just comes down to the last steps in Home app, but i included everything i did just in case it was a mixture of things.

I think I found a solution, to some of my problems at least, might be a better help for others.

It's working for EVE Motion and EVE Energy (all under 1 year old, and running Matter over Thread)

But it does not work with EVE Door & Window and EVE Thermostat (all under 1 year old, and running Matter over Thread).

Warning: If you happen to have some devices working, this will effectively put them in "No Response" within Apple Home, when you follow the below steps. And be prepared to loose all metrics for the devices as well.

1. Set your Wi-Fi router to only 2.4GHz (if you should have 5GHz enabled together with 2.4GHz, else leave step 1 out)
2. Turn off all Apple HomePods and TV's, and ALL other Apple devices
3. Reboot Wi-Fi
4. Turn on only one Apple HomePod or TV
5. Turn on iPhone (leave all other devices still turned off)
6. Turn off any VPN on your iPhone, and make sure it does not automatically reconnects
7. Remove one device at a time that Apple Home lost (unreachable)(sensor, lock, thermostat and so on)
8. Factory reset that one device
9. Setup the device again in Apple Home
10. Add automations to your device as needed
11. Repeat steps 7 through 10 for all your devices Apple Home lost after your update to iOS 26 and later
12. Enable 5GHz on your Wi-Fi again, if you rely on high speed Wi-Fi (apparently 2.4GHz only, is needed for the paring sessions)
13. Wait for Apple to truly fix the issue

Hope this helps to some extent.

Phenomenon: My HomePod Mini can play Apply Music playlist directly, but audio handoff from iPhone shows a successful connection without sound, then auto-switching back to iPhone speaker in a few seconds.

How to Fix: After trying everything--Check setting, Update OS, Reset HomePod. What magically fix the issue is so simple--reboot your iPhone... Hope you don't have to go through all these.

After the release of iOS 26.0.1, my entire home corrected itself?

And for nearly 24 hours, everything was working perfectly again - needless to say I was happy and relived.

BUT, after the 24 hours, all NON Apple devices slowly but surely began to drop out again, leaving only my Eufy cameras somewhat reliable to my smart home - which is now a complete dumb home.

(I have to add, I use my Apple TV 4K as main HUB (forced), because it's directly wired to my mesh router, again for reliability, but this does not change a thing, not even with only the Apple TV turned on and all HomePods turned off)

I have turned off all Apple devices completely, reset all devices, reset my mesh wifi.... again and again.

Sometimes this works for a bit, sometimes not at all, still leaving all devices lost for my smart home.

I relied on my smart devices before, opening a window, would close the valve to the heating in that same room or multiple rooms depending on the amount of open windows/doors.

The problem is biggest (also because of sheer amount (34) of devices) with Eve (Sensors/Thermostats/Energy), present for Aqara devices (Locks/Bell), and partly present for Eufy.

I have checked and updated firmware where possible, updated apps and reset 10+ times over and over.

Really looking forward to iOS 26.1, where I hope Apple have solved all the communications issues with Apple Home - this issue is not with the user/owner, it solely sits with the Apple Home app itself in my opinion.

Exactly the same here. The problem shows at the Home app on my devices only (iPhone and iPad). On my wife’s and children’s iPhones, the problem doesn’t exist. What’s more strange is that today I updated my iPhone to iOS 26.0.1 while at work (far from home), and after the iPhone restarted the problem seemed to be solved, to the extent that I even initiated updates of all our four HomePod minis remotely (and they installed), but when I returned home the problem showed again, regardless of whether I was on home WiFi or cellular.