Volume dropping & random autoplay/Siri activation with HomePods + Apple TV since tvOS/HomePodOS 26

I’m experiencing extremely frustrating behaviour with my Apple TV 4K and a pair of second-generation HomePods since upgrading to tvOS 26 (since beta 8 and now the final release) and HomePodOS 26.

Every time I use the Apple TV with the HomePods set up as a stereo pair, the volume automatically turns itself down—sometimes almost to silence. This began with tvOS 26 beta 8 and continues unchanged in the final version.

In addition, the HomePods randomly start playing music on their own at all hours of the day and night—sometimes at 1 a.m. or 3 a.m.—and Siri will activate by itself even though no one has said “Hey Siri.” These issues also occur even when the HomePods are not paired with the Apple TV, so it’s not limited to the Apple TV setup.

This setup was completely stable before tvOS 26 and HomePodOS 26, which makes it hard to understand how these problems made it into the final release. The constant volume drops and spontaneous playback make the system unreliable and disruptive.

Are there any known workarounds or an upcoming fix? At the very least, it would be helpful to know whether Apple is aware of a firmware bug affecting both tvOS 26 and HomePodOS 26.