r/HomePod • u/TorrentGump • 1d ago

HomePod OG 18.2 Question/Support

I’m seeing connection issues with 18.2 on my OGs connecting to 5ghz that had not been an issue at all prior. I’m looking to find out if any one else has encountered something similar.

Before you tell me it’s WiFi, I have very good 5ghz density in my 1500sq ft single story ranch that was laid out based on an RF survey. I have no dead spots and almost any device has a minimum snr of at least 65db as reported by the network controller. I have 5 other minis that have no issue and have even put the minis in the same place as the OGs and see no issues. Thus far I have reset both OGs including deleting them from apple Home and from my apple.id.

After the reset I’m able to add them back but within a day they’re back to “I’m having trouble connecting to the internet” BS again.

5 Upvotes

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3

u/shawnshine 1d ago

I find that my HomePods operate best on the 2.4Ghz band, personally.

2

u/TorrentGump 20h ago

That is very true with single router or single AP deployments. 5ghz has relatively weak signal penetration.

I’m running prosumer/commercial Unifi gear with 5 total APs, properly configured channels with no over lap.

Like said in the opening, the HomePods have strong snr where they are placed.

1

u/IrixionOne 1d ago

It’s not signal strength that’s the problem, it’s how your router handles mDNS that causes issues. If your HomePod can’t talk to other devices on the network, especially when switching between the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz APs, they’ll have issues. The mini doesn’t have this issue as they default to 2.4Ghz if I remember correctly.

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u/TorrentGump 20h ago

The only devices on 2.4ghz are old gear that don’t support 5ghz and they’re on an entirely different ssid but I agree with you about mdns

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u/IrixionOne 13h ago

Have a single SSID and let your router deal with the rest. Even devices that don’t support 5Ghz should connect if your router can manage that.

1

u/TheBr0fessor 8h ago

I wonder if this is why my three airport extemes (connected via Ethernet backhaul) works so well. It’s so dumb it can’t out-think itself 😂 I tried all the cool mesh systems a few years ago and they were horrendous. Switched to the old faithfuls and never had a problem since

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u/matman_uk 1d ago

If they are on 2.4GHz does that even work with lossless music ? I’m having issues with this as well although mine are related to the OGS going out of sync - it was all 💯 fine before 18.0 and then went haywire - I have a brand new nighthawk router which I replaced an older orbi mesh system but its still having the same issues - why would Apple make it so these work better on 2g when they are all about the lossless audio and the Dolby - makes no sense - does anyone know how nighthawk routers handle MDNS or how to make them play nicer with HomeKit/homepods I really feel moving to 2ghz seems nutty!! lol

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u/TorrentGump 20h ago

I do appreciate all who have leaned in here ✌️

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u/stanb42 12h ago

My two OGs are working fine. Connected @ 5 GHz to the same mesh node on my original eero’s. Since you were asking.

1

u/Vivid_Application577 11h ago

Make sure you are following Apple’s recommendations:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102766

I also have a new Nighthawk router, and my OG stereo pair has been working perfectly since I got it (1/1/25).