Previously to iOS 26 I had the option to restart a HomePod remotely now I don't see that option anymore. What is up with that? I just have the option now to remove it.
Being able to restart them was great!
I see what you mean. I just checked mine and only have remove on the iPad home app. On the Mac I still have Reset, which when clicked brings up Restart, Reset or Remove.
If you have a Mac do the restart in that and it seems to fix it on iOS device or unplug it for 10 seconds.
You can otherwise always restart a HomePod by unplugging for 10 seconds.
You can submit feedback here: Feedback - Home App - Apple
I see what you mean. I just checked mine and only have remove on the iPad home app. On the Mac I still have Reset, which when clicked brings up Restart, Reset or Remove.
If you have a Mac do the restart in that and it seems to fix it on iOS device or unplug it for 10 seconds.
You can otherwise always restart a HomePod by unplugging for 10 seconds.
You can submit feedback here: Feedback - Home App - Apple
What helped for me was to reboot my primary iPhone on which I could only see the Remove option but not the reboot and wait 5 minutes - the reboot options came back.
I am running macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 on my Mac. The HomePod that was missing the Restart option is an OG HomePod. Which model of HomePod do you have? I have all 3 models.
Have you tried force quitting the home app on Mac and force closing the home app on iPhone to see if it refreshes? See if rebooting the wifi also assists in a refresh to make sure the home app has loaded. I have an App from my ISP that allows me to reboot remotely but I’ve only ever done it while at home.
I get you want the convenience of restarting remotely but I’m just saying once you’re at home if you tried this manual restart if it might fix this.
Ok the answer is. You can only use the option for rebooting the device when you are on the same local network as the device.
The option to reboot a device remotely when not physically home isn’t available. You can only do it when on the same network and could also physically do it. It might be a security feature.
Which model of HomePod is it? All of mine have the option. I’m sorry I’m not able to test remotely for you. I only use it while at home. I use it a lot as sometimes my Mac won’t connect to HomePod. A restart always fixes that.
I have 7 homepods; 2 gen 2 big ones, 4 OG big ones and one mini. I also have 2 Apple TV 4Ks. So that’s 9 HomeKit hubs. Sometimes it can make a difference on which Hub is acting as the main connected one. This can be chosen remotely in Home Settings - Hubs & Bridges in the Home App, if you’re able to do that? This might test what you can do remotely.
A couple of weeks ago my HomePods were acting up and I tried every troubleshooting step there was and nothing worked. So I signed out of one Apple TV, restarted that and signed back in and voila , it was fixed. This resets HomeKit, at least in the Apple TV. I don’t choose which Hub to use, I let it choose automatically, as that has always worked. Some people swear one works better than others, why doesn’t Apple let us choose? So Apple finally added this as a feature a few updates ago. The HomePods originally never let you Restart remotely, again this was a feature they added later on. Apple does read all feedback and consider requests if enough people pester them about it: Feedback - Home App - Apple
I guess you’re mac are not running Tahoe 26.0.1. Mine is running the latest os and the restart option for home pods is also gone on my mac.
I am not home now so the ability to remotely restart them if a problem arises was great. Unplugged for 10 sec only works when you are home. The whole thing about a smart home is being able to do things even when you are not home.
I did a remote reboot of wifi and had someone who was in the house power cycle the device. The option is still gone on the Mac. I am now wondering if they have changed it so it is only something you can do from the local network and not remotely anymore.
The reset / restart option for homepods is missing in iOS 26!
