Post #1001205

2026-04-07 05:26 UTC

One (of four) of my first-gen HomePods died a few days ago. It doesn’t respond, it doesn’t turn on, it doesn’t light up. Nothing. Apple will replace it for ¥40,000 (~$250). I know it’s nearly 8 years old. And I know these have a bad reputation. But— Unlike MacBooks and iPhones, HomePod is not really a product that moves around to be mishandled. It sits on a surface. Why am I paying to repair/replace it at all? Any issue with it is undoubtedly an Apple engineering problem, not a Louie problem.

Replies (3)

@SmileyKeith@hachyderm.io 2026-04-07 05:33

@louie mine have started dying too. I attempted the self repair but it's pretty tough! https://nicsfix.com/

Open ##1657440
@cjgyt@mastodon.xyz 2026-04-07 05:37

@louie Agreed! Especially since there are a few known issues that they could easily cover through some type of service program. One of mine ceased to work (but felt warm in the area near where the power cord meets speaker). nicsfix.com was easily able to repair it for me, but it wasn’t inexpensive to ship from northern Canada to Washington state and back. Probably even less affordable from Japan, I’d imagine.

Open ##1657441
@JoshHrach@iosdev.space 2026-04-07 17:33

@louie I have a HomePod mini in my office. It's purpose is just as a "smart" speaker. Never touched, only spoken to. A few months ago it started randomly playing music unprompted. Then it got into a reset loop. The issue? Faulty touch sensor on top. Apple suggests I buy a new one.

Open ##1657442