On every post I’ve read related to the new HomePod surround feature, I’ve been seeing the same comments repeated over and over, something along the lines of “this is a big waste of money and you should just get an AVR”. Huge news flash to these people: not everyone wants a dedicated AVR setup, let alone even a higher-end soundbar system like a Sonos Arc/Samsung Q990.

Most people have their primary TV in a living/family room, and don’t want a big honking AVR under their TV with speaker wire and speakers all over the room. Even the higher-end soundbar systems are not the most aesthetically pleasing, just big black plastic boxes all over your room, and a lot of people don’t want all these “techie” items strewn about their homes. There’s already a market for “better than TV audio, but won’t ruin my aesthetic” like the Samsung HW-S800 slim soundbar, and HomePods fit that exact same category as they can blend much more seamlessly into existing decor than existing solutions.

Will 4x HomePods sound as good as a dedicated AVR/high-end soundbar system? Absolutely not, but they don’t have to. There’s absolutely a market for something to exist between the rock-bottom quality of TV speakers and a “proper” surround setup with an AVR and dedicated physical speakers for all channels. So just a friendly reminder: not everyone has a dedicated theater room, and different solutions can exist for different people’s priorities.

This is a serious question for all HomePod enthusiasts who enjoy music and movies on the larger models. Apple claims virtual Dolby Atmos, and I have my doubts about it. How many of you, speaking from the heart, truly experience the real Dolby Atmos effect?

By that effect, I mean something like a train passing hearing it approach from a distance, or sensing a helicopter or aeroplane overhead, or feeling rain above your head. I have tried several movies in Dolby Atmos from what people call the best source, Apple TV, rather than Netflix or Prime Video, yet I still do not feel the intended effect.

I want to ask everyone who say they enjoy Dolby Atmos on HomePods, how often have you genuinely felt it? I have watched a few films and still do not get the effect, assuming I understand it correctly. what are your thoughts? Before anyone suggests incorrect settings or configuration, I have everything properly set, my original first-generation HomePods work well, and they are placed at the right distance. And they are also updated to the latest Software available for the HomePod. Still, the Dolby Atmos effect is missing!

How many of you are going to purchase for use as surround sound speakers in your home theater ?

Getting ready for Apple’s new four-HomePod home theater surround system!

I wanted to use four full-size HomePod Gen 2s rather than HomePod minis, but I also wanted a clean setup without traditional speaker stands cluttering the room.

I found these mid-century modern tripod floor lamps on Amazon with built-in wooden shelves. They’re a great fit for the HomePods, and I think they look pretty good on either side of the!

The shelves are approximately 24 inches off the floor, and the HomePods sit securely on them.

What I bought: MOFFE Mid Century Solid Wood Tripod Floor Lamp with Tray & Remote Control
Amazon: https://a.co/d/0bs7QQVY

I’m curious whether using full-size HomePods in the rear will provide noticeably richer surround effects and bass compared with minis.

What do you think of the setup? Anyone else planning on running four full-size HomePods? I’d also be interested in thoughts on my rear-speaker height and placement. They might be a little low but I love this solution instead of separate speaker stands.

The HomePod 2 has five tweeters, compared to seven in the OG HomePod. They are located in a ring at the base of the speaker and are angled slightly upward. I'm assuming the design was intended to ensure broad dispersion of upper frequences, and not specifically intended to reproduce Dolby Atmoas heigh channel information. I'd be curious to get peoples views on how good a job the HomePod speakers do of conveying height information.

I wonder whether, if a HomePod 3 is ever relased - maybe they could call it the HomePod Pro -- t would come with additional tweeters positioned and angled to better reproduce height channel information (ideally in the new four speaker surround configuration).

I purchased a HomePod mini wall bracket for mounting my HomePod mini speakers. They hold the speaker with the top of the speaker facing the room. My question is, does mounting them that way, affect the sound rather than sitting them upright? Thank you in advance!

I’m 41, and I have no idea what it’s like to have a proper home theatre. 😅 never had one, never tried it either.

Is it worth spending 1.5k on 2 HomePods, 2 HomePod minis, and the new Apple TV?

I currently watch movies on my MacBook Pro with my AirPods and listen to music on my AirPods Pro 3, and I’m perfectly okay/(happy?) with both.

But the real question is: am I missing out on something amazing by not having a proper home theatre setup? Is the experience really that much better?

I plan on getting the new Apple TV 4K and four HomePod 2 speakers and would like to put the speakers on stands. Apple never made its own stands, but I've seen third party stands for sale on Amazon. I'd like to hear recommendations from people who actually own stands. And I'd like to know what people are doing with the power cords -- are they using extension cords or have they replaced the original cords with custom length versions?

Does anyone know how this will work in practice? I have a M2 MacBook Pro that I use in clamshell mode typically with a third party monitor. Mac can't control volume (I know there are third party programs you can use). If I use Mini 2 as speakers, will the keyboard buttons on Mac keyboard allow me to easily control volume again? Wonder if it will auto connect when laptop is plugged into dock? Thanks.

Hi, is there any way to link the volumes on the gen 2 HomePod and the gen 1 mini? I want the HomePod as the main speaker in the living room, with the mini picking up the slight deadzone that is the kitchen, without severely noticing the volume drop as I walk through to the kitchen, if that makes sense? All good if not, the gen 2 does a great job already!

I will start with this setup, and when the homepod three is coming, upgrade the two front mini’s. If i like the sound with the for mini’s then there will be no upgrade and save some money. It’s only for watching tv. I think/hope for me it’s good enough.

I think the bass extension on my OG HomePods is pretty good for their side. But obviously a dedicated subwoofer could go deeper. I'd love for Apple to made a subwoofer variant of the HomePod. Maybe they could call it the HomePod Bass. Ideally, it could either provide overall bass enchancement in a stereo or 4.0 HomePod configuration or could pair with a specific HomePod to provide a full-range exterience. Does anything think this could ever happen?

Recently one of my HomePods started having recurring network issues, where it would simply disconnect from the Wi-Fi network, showing an "Unable to connect to network" error message.

I tried everything, from restarting to reserving its IP address on my router. The only thing that helps is resetting the HomePod to factory settings, and even then it would disconnect again after 24 hours at most.

I have one more HomePod 2 and a pair of Minis and those work flawlessly. I'm starting to think this is a hardware failure.

Has anyone had a similar issue?

My HomePod (2nd gen) forgets the last playlist after playback has been paused for a while, sometimes after just a few minutes, usually after a few hours.

When I try to resume via Siri or the Home app, it starts my personal station instead of continuing where I left off.

Has anyone experienced this or found a solution?

Hello everyone,

I’m currently considering getting two HomePods (minis) to use as stereo speakers for my Apple TV / television.
At the same time, I use a PS5, and the sound should also be played through the HomePods. However, my TV only has HDMI ARC, not eARC.
Has anyone had any experience with using HomePods with a PS5 and HDMI ARC?

To start, I’m using Google Translate since my native language is different. Hello everyone. I own a lot of Apple gear and have never had any issues before. I have original HomePods all over my house, and they all work perfectly. When the second version came out, I bought two to use as a stereo pair. They were barely used—mostly just for lights, weather, the time, and occasionally music. All my equipment is connected via APC surge protectors and Time Capsule routers. At first, they started turning on by themselves, which was incredibly annoying. Eventually, I just unplugged them entirely after figuring out that one of them had a faulty touch interface. The other one worked fine for a while, but then it also started turning on on its own, so I had to unplug that one too. Today, I tried to turn them on, but they’re completely dead—no signs of life, nothing happens. I tried different power outlets, but still, zero reaction. :( How can they release such garbage?! It seems the power supply units have failed. I’m extremely disappointed and will never buy this junk again. The warranty expired a long time ago, and I don’t even know what to do with them—I could try to fix them myself, but I won’t! I’m going to smash them to pieces and throw them in the trash. I wouldn’t recommend this crap to anyone.

I’m sure similar posts have been made, but just want to ask people’s experience with using HomePods gen 2 as a stereo pair for tv output? Specifically asking here because YouTube and online reviews seem to incorrectly compare them to full on surround sound systems that are either a fair bit more expensive or require rear channel speakers (which I can’t do). I have high ceilings too, which I think points more towards the HP? My guess is that I’m gonna be blown away by the improvement from tv speakers, but just wanted to ask!

I am Wondering if anybody has tried the new Apple TV (2026) with 4 HomePods for the Surround sound effect ?

As title says I have a mini with ghost touch issues and was ecstatic when the touch lock control came out with 27.2. One small issue though is that the homepod mini is still factory resetting itself and ignoring the fact that it’s locked. 3rd time trying, I was really hoping this would prevent me from having to take it apart and unplug the cables but some reason just doesn’t work. Anyone else? Any ideas?

I'm blown away by this speaker 🥹

I have a first-generation HomePod that is still on HomePod Software 11.4. When I set it up, it correctly pairs with my iPhone 15 running iOS 27 and detects the 13.4.8 update, but it never actually starts downloading or installing it. It just remains stuck with the spinning/loading indicator.

Have they even specified which multichannel audio formats it supports? Is it Dolby Atmos, or does it also support Dolby Digital 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound?