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bitethis

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 21, 2012
58
88
It does not matter what I am listening to on Apple Music. Eventually I can hear what sounds almost like a fake reverb, surround sound but its just the mini's out of sync. Sometimes really bad. Usually a pause/resume of the song will set it right. Not on beta or anything. Ive read to set the pods up again but come on. Is this really the answer to everything? Anyone else having this or have any tip/tricks.
 

dotme

macrumors 65816
Oct 18, 2011
1,218
273
Iowa
Sync issues are almost always down to WiFi issues (Not internet speed, but the WiFi network inside the home - how congested it is, how many devices are attached, and how far the Access Point is from the Minis all factor into it). Minis prefer 5GHz.

People using ISP-provided WiFi routers usually suffer the most because those simply don't have the horsepower to handle AirPlay's talkative protocols. There's a lot of back-and-forth traffic between your stereo HomePods as they compare notes to make sure the audio is in sync.

I had problems early on with stereo sync - sometimes, one of them would even give up and go silent. Adding more Access Points to my network resolved the issue for me. If you have good WiFi and feel you have coverage, I would check the documentation that came with the system to see if there's any filtering taking place that you might be able to temporarily disable, just to see if that's the problem.
 
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bitethis

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 21, 2012
58
88
Sync issues are almost always down to WiFi issues (Not internet speed, but the WiFi network inside the home - how congested it is, how many devices are attached, and how far the Access Point is from the Minis all factor into it). Minis prefer 5GHz.

People using ISP-provided WiFi routers usually suffer the most because those simply don't have the horsepower to handle AirPlay's talkative protocols. There's a lot of back-and-forth traffic between your stereo HomePods as they compare notes to make sure the audio is in sync.

I had problems early on with stereo sync - sometimes, one of them would even give up and go silent. Adding more Access Points to my network resolved the issue for me. If you have good WiFi and feel you have coverage, I would check the documentation that came with the system to see if there's any filtering taking place that you might be able to temporarily disable, just to see if that's the problem.
Thank you for that very informative reply. I am going to look into everything you've said. I am looking at my Linksys app and can not tell which of the devices listed is a HomePod. I see listings with just network device. Perhaps removing the pods and starting new and watching the list. Thanks again.
 
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