Impressive sound and build quality aside, probably the best part about HomePod is the deep integration with the Apple ecosystem. The Siri-powered smart speaker seamlessly connects with Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, and Mac, allowing you to control and manage your connected smart home devices with ease. To get started, let me show you how to set up HomePod mini or HomePod and also customize the settings to your liking.
How to Set Up HomePod mini or HomePod (2022)
Apple allows you to set up your HomePod both automatically and manually. While the automatic setup should be the preferred choice, the manual method comes in handy when the setup animation doesn’t appear.
Notably, HomePod shows several different status lights to indicate certain things. To figure out what the smart speaker is doing, you should make sure to identify the meaning of each HomePod status light. Moreover, it’s also recommended to have a good understanding of the HomePod touch controls that allow you to quickly perform several common tasks. Once the setup is done, we’ll take about these essential things. With that in mind, let’s jump right in to get going!
Quick and Easy Way to Set Up Your HomePod
1. First off, make sure to place your HomePod on a solid surface with at least 15cm of space around it.
2. Now, plug your HomePod into a power source. Then, wait for a chime and a pulsing white light to appear on the top of the HomePod.
3. Next, unlock your iPhone or iPad and hold it next to your HomePod. Then, tap Set Up when it shows on your device’s screen. After that, follow the prompts to set up your smart speaker.
4. When prompted, make sure to center your HomePod in the viewfinder on your iPhone/iPad to complete the pairing process.
Note:
- If you are unable to use your camera, tap Enter Passcode Manually. Now, Siri will respond with a four-digit passcode which you can enter on your device.
That’s done! Once the setup is done, Siri will greet you and offer you a few examples of things you can ask.
Set Up Your HomePod Manually
If the setup screen doesn’t show up, you can set up your HomePod manually.
- Open the ‘Home’ app on your iPhone and tap on the ‘+’ button on the top-right. Here, tap on ‘Add Accessory‘.
- In the scanning screen that pops up, tap on ‘More Options‘. Your iPhone will now look for nearby HomeKit accessories (including your HomePod mini) and the set up should start.
Use HomePod Touch Controls
HomePod offers some pretty handy touch controls that you can use to perform many common tasks faster.
- Adjust the volume during playback: Simply, tap, or touch and hold the “+” or “–” button on the top of the HomePod to increase/decrease the volume.
- Pause and resume playback: Just tap the top of HomePod to pause playback. You can tap it again to resume the playback.
- Go to the next track: You can double-tap the top of HomePod to skip the song which is currently playing.
- Go to the previous track: You can triple-tap the top of HomePod to go to the previous track. Keep in mind that it works only when you’re listening to a playlist or an album.
- Activate Siri: Just touch and hold the top of HomePod to invoke Siri. Alternately, you can also use the “Hey Siri” command to activate Siri on your HomePod.
- Dismiss an alarm: Simply tap anywhere on the top of HomePod to dismiss an alarm.
Identify Status Lights on HomePod
Different status lights appear at the top of the HomePod at different times. You need to identify each one of them to know what exactly is happening with your speaker.
White Pulsing Light
When the white pulsing light appears, it means your HomePod is ready to be set up or an alarm/timer is going off.
White Spinning Light
The white spinning light shows up when the HomePod is turning on or updating the software.
Red Spinning Light
A red spinning light appears on the top of the HomePod when you are resetting the smart speaker.
Multicolored Spinning Light
When Siri is listening, you will see the multicolored spinning light.
Green Pulsing Light
A green pulsing light appears on the HomePod when you transfer a phone call to it.
Identify Status Lights on HomePod mini
White Pulsing Light
White pulsing light shows on the top of the HomePod mini when the smart speaker is playing audio.
White Spinning Light
The white spinning light at the top of the HomePod mini suggests that the smart speaker is turning on or updating the software.
Orange Flashing Light
An orange flashing light shows up when the HomePod mini is updating the software while being connected to a Mac. Besides, it also appears if the HomePod mini is plugged into a power adapter that didn’t come with the smart speaker and isn’t rated 20W.
Green Pulsing Light
When you transfer a phone to HomePod mini, a green pulsing light appears.
Multicolored Spinning Light
You will see a multicolored spinning light when Siri is listening.
Customize and Manage HomePod Settings
The Home app lets you customize and manage your HomePod settings with the desired control. For instance, you can fine-tune the individual settings for each HomePod you have, customize settings that apply to all the HomePod speakers, reset HomePod, allow/disallow access to personal requests, and more.
- Open the ‘Home’ app on your iPhone. Here, touch and hold on the HomePod icon.
- Scroll down and tap on ‘Settings’. You can now customise all the available settings for your HomePod or HomePod mini easily.
Set Up and Use HomePod mini or HomePod with Desired Control
So, that’s how you can set up, customize, and use HomePod mini or HomePod. In terms of sales, HomePod may not yet threaten to take the crown away from Amazon Echo and Google Home but the Siri-powered speaker remains a top choice among Apple users. What do you think of HomePod and where do you rank it among the best smart speakers? Make sure to share your invaluable feedback with us.
