zroger73

robin huber said:

I hope they address the Siri bug in HomePod that makes the very useful function of Shopping List virtually UNusable. Half the time it works, the other half she tells you you “haven’t set that up yet.” Supremely frustrating!

Siri always adds items to my shopping list. Unfortunately, they're often misunderstood. Recently, "ear plugs" was added as "your plugs", "face cream" was added as "ice cream", and my favorite - "Cheesy Enchilada Hamburger Helper" was added as "Cheese inch a lot of hamburger helper".

Mark62 said:

I still haven’t updated my HomePod since people complained that the first update changed the bass...asked about it at an Apple store and they had never heard about the problem. AppleInsider sadly didn’t follow up on the issue. I suppose I’ll just eventually take the plunge in order to get new features,,,

I never noticed any change in bass or sound quality - it still sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for a firmware that fixes the regular "hard of hearing" issue that occurs within a day or two after each restart. Like clockwork, Siri becomes almost deaf. Unplugging and replugging the device temporarily restores proper operation. After hours of troubleshooting, Apple's solution was a refund. I bought one locally and it does exactly the same thing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HomePod/comments/7wu97o/siri_suddenly_lost_its_ability_to_hear_me/

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/7y79rm/deaf_homepod_in_need_of_a_hearing_aid/

This user reports a similar problem and claims that today's update fixed it for him. I had hoped that for the last two updates, but it always works perfect for a day or two after a restart, so it's still too soon to tell for me.

I noticed this same issue when using a single HomePod with an Apple TV 4 a few days ago. I had to turn the volume up to about 70-80% just to achieve a "normal" listening level in a quiet home.

The same thing happens when sending audio from an  Apple TV 4 to a Bose SoundLink Mini II via Bluetooth in another room - I have to turn the volume "way up".

Audio coming from a third and fourth Apple TV 4/4K to vis HDMI is "normal".

Can I get a refund for the lessons I already purchased?

In addition to the orientation issue, I also find the remote difficult to hold onto (it slips out of my hand) and the glass surface can shatter if dropped onto a hard surface, such a ceramic tile floor. Its relatively small size and thinness encourages its disappearance into crevices.

The Siri remote looks svelte, but it's a frustrating example of form over function. A third-party case made the Siri remote livable, though not preferable, for me. I bought my first of four Apple TV 4's two years ago and I still don't like the remotes.

Meanwhile, my TiVo's "peanut" remote is ergonomic, functional, practical, and durable, though not the most attractive device to have sitting around.

I'm on my second HomePod since launch. The first one had a problem where Siri became hard of hearing after hours/days of use. Apple refunded my money and I bought another one at a retail store. Unfortunately, it does exactly the same thing. When Siri starts going deaf, all I have to do is unplug the HomePod and plug it back in and the operation returns to "perfection"...for hours or days. Apple couldn't solve my problem with the first one, so they refunded my money. They haven't been able to figure out why the second one does the same thing, either. All I get is escalations to another department who calls back a few days later and I go through the same "infinite loop". I had hopes the 11.3 update would resolve this issue, but it didn't. I also don't like how Siri answers me too loudly at times and too softly at others independent of the volume setting. The sound quality is impressive, but the voice control makes the product too frustrating for me. My "workaround"? I plugged the HP into a digital timer that turns off the power for one minute each day.

When it works, it's well worth the $349 I paid for it. However, having to cycle the power to get it to work is unacceptable. I find myself using my Amazon Echo devices more often. Even though the sound quality is much lower, Alexa doesn't have a hearing problem.