There are no steps required to enable Siri on the Apple HomePod and HomePod Mini, your voice assistant is ready to go as soon as it’s turned on.
In this article, we’ll show you:
- How to talk to Siri on a HomePod.
- How to set up voice recognition on a HomePod.
- How to ask Siri on a HomePod for the current temperature and humidity readings.
- How to find friends, family, and items with Siri on a HomePod.
- How to add new people to a HomePod.
- What to do if Siri doesn’t recognize your voice.
There are two ways to talk to Siri on the HomePod.
- By saying “Hey Siri”.
- By pressing the top of HomePod.
If Siri doesn’t work, or you have previously turned Siri off on your HomePod, check the following settings:
- Open the Home app on your iPhone and tap the More button (three dots in a circle) at the top right of the screen.
- Tap on Home Settings.
- Scroll down to the Siri options and make sure Listen for “Hey Siri” and Touch and Hold for Siri are toggled on.
- Tap the Close button.
How to set up voice recognition on your HomePod
In your HomePod’s default state, you can access basic information, such as the local weather, or use Siri Knowledge. But the real power of using Siri is revealed when you set up voice recognition, more specifically Recognize My Voice and Personal Requests.
Recognize My Voice means Siri will know your name and voice, can access your Apple Music account, use Find My, and control accessories from your HomePod.
Personal Requests enables additional features, such as using your HomePod for text messaging and making phone calls (when your iPhone is nearby), using your calendar, reminders, and notes, and running Siri Shortcuts on your iPhone or iPad. You can turn Personal Requests on or off for each HomePod you have in your home.
Siri on the HomePod can recognize up to six individual user voices. Once set up, Siri will know who is speaking when requests are made.
So if you walk into a room and ask your HomePod:
Hey Siri, play my party playlist.
Siri will know it is you talking and play the appropriate music from your Apple Music account.
To set up Recognize My Voice and Personal Requests on a HomePod:
- Connect your iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network as the HomePod.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Siri & Search.
- Check that Listen for “Hey Siri” is toggled on.
- Go to Settings > Your Account Name > Find My.
- Check that Share My Location is toggled on, and My Location is set to This Device.
- Open the Home app and tap the More button (three dots in a circle) at the top right of the screen.
- Tap on Home Settings.
- Tap on your user profile name under People, then turn on Recognize My Voice.
- Tap on Personal Requests and toggle on the name of the HomePod you wish to use the feature with.
Important: Voice recognition is not available in all languages and regions.
Siri is now fully set up on your HomePod. Give it a try:
Hey Siri, remind me to get milk at 10 am today.
Hey Siri, do I have any appointments today?
Hey Siri, play my relaxation playlist.
How to ask Siri on a HomePod for the current temperature and humidity readings
The HomePod 16.3 software update enabled the temperature and humidity sensors in the HomePod Mini (yes, they’ve always been there!) and the second-generation HomePod.
This means you can ask Siri for climate information in rooms that contain a HomePod.
Hey Siri, how warm is it in here?
Hey Siri, what’s the temperature in the Bedroom?
Climate readings are integrated with Apple HomeKit, so smart devices around your home can be controlled using temperature criteria. Such as turning on a fan if a room reaches a certain temperature, or the heating if it drops too low.
If you have two HomePods connected as a stereo pair, Siri will give you a temperature or humidity range based on the readings from each device.
How to find friends, family, and items with Siri on a HomePod
The HomePod 16.3 update also added the ability to track friends and family who have shared their location with you, as well as items you have added to the Find My network, such as AirTags.
You can ask Siri where someone – or something – is, by saying:
Hey Siri, where is Dad?
Hey Siri, where are my keys?
Siri will respond with an approximate location, or address, if available.
How to add new people to your HomePod
If several members of your household would like to use a HomePod and have access to their own personal requests, you can teach Siri to recognize their individual voices, too.
First, you need to invite each new user to join your home from the Home app.
- Open the Home app and tap the More button (three dots in a circle) at the top right of the screen.
- Tap on Home Settings.
- Tap on Invite People.
- Enter the person’s Apple ID and tap to send the invite.
The person will then need to open the Home app on their device and accept the invitation.
What to do if Siri doesn’t recognize your voice
If several people in your household use Siri on the HomePod, you may occasionally be asked who you are when making a personal request. Siri will say:
Who is this speaking?
This is normal, but if it happens a lot, you can preface a request with your name:
Hey Siri, this is Jane. Do I have any meetings today?
If Siri continues to have trouble recognizing you, you can reset Recognize My Voice.
- Open the Home app and tap the More button (three dots in a circle) at the top right of the screen.
- Tap on Home Settings.
- Tap on your user profile name under People, then turn Recognize My Voice off and then on again.
Other options are to restart the iOS device and your HomePod, and set up “Hey Siri” again.