I sure hope this fixes Siri's "hard of hearing" issue I experienced with my original HomePod and with the replacement I bought after returning the original. Apple support couldn't figure out the problem, which is why they offered a refund.
On both HomePods, Siri will gradually become hard of hearing to the point I have to yell at the device at close range in order for it to hear me. Unplugging the HomePod and plugging it back in completely resolves the issue...for a couple of hours to a couple of days until it happens again.
I can be two rooms away (open floor plan) and the HomePod hears me fine.
Same here...after each power cycle, but hours or days later, it will become hard of hearing again. When it's working properly, I can have the volume at 100% and speak in a normal voice and Siri will still hear me over the music even though I can't even hear my own voice! Amazing! But, the party doesn't last. It becomes hard of hearing again and I have to unplug it and plug it back in - that's all it takes to instantly (and temporarily) restore proper operation. It's the strangest thing and happened with two different HomePods - one pre-ordered from Apple and one off the shelf from Best Buy. Like I say, Apple "gave up" after a couple hours of troubleshooting.
A few others have reported a similar issue on Reddit, but it doesn't appear to be widespread.
Comments
A few others have reported a similar issue on Reddit, but it doesn't appear to be widespread.
https://www.reddit.com/r/HomePod/comments/7wu97o/siri_suddenly_lost_its_ability_to_hear_me/
https://www.reddit.com/r/HomePod/comments/7y79jm/i_think_my_homepod_is_hard_of_hearing/
https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/829hzn/sometimes_the_homepod_cant_hear_me_and_i_have_to/