Apple's HomePod speaker can recognize the voices of up to six people and tailor the music selection to an individual user's taste profile, respond to their own Personal Requests, and access their information to help them with everyday tasks.

homepodmultiuser
Before you can make use of ‌HomePod‌'s multi-user voice support, you have to set up the feature, and there are a few steps involved. This article explains what they are and also offers a few troubleshooting tips if you're experiencing issues.

Check That Your Software is Up-to-Date

The first thing you need to do is ensure that the ‌HomePod‌ and the iPhones or iPads of the people who intend to use it are updated to iOS 16.3 or later or iPadOS 16.3 or later. You can check what software your iOS devices are running by opening the Settings app and selecting General -> Software Update.

To check the software version of your ‌HomePod‌, launch the Home app on your iOS device, tap the home icon in the upper left corner of the display, then scroll down to Software Update. You can pull down from the top of the iPhone or iPad screen to check for an update if you need to.

Turn on Share My Location in Find My

Share My Location must be set to This Device on the ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ of every user who wishes to be recognized by ‌HomePod‌, including yours.

  1. Launch the Settings app on the ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.
  2. Tap your name in the banner at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap Find My.
    settings

  4. Tap the toggle next to Share My Location to turn it to the green ON position.
  5. Next, set My Location to This Device.

Add People to Your Home Network

Whoever wants to be recognized by your ‌HomePod‌ must be part of your Home network. Here's how to add them.

  1. Launch the Home app on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.
  2. Tap the ellipsis button (three encircled dots) in the top-right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Home Settings in the dropdown menu.
  4. Under People, tap Invite....
    home

  5. Enter the person's Apple ID that they use with iCloud.
  6. Tap Send Invite.

Additional Settings to Check/Enable

You'll also need to check the following settings on your ‌HomePod‌ and iOS device to ensure everything works.

  • Make sure Listen for "Hey, Siri" and Personal Requests are enabled on your ‌HomePod‌: In the Home app, long press on your ‌HomePod‌, tap the cog in the bottom-right corner of the screen, then toggle the requisite switches. On the same screen, check also that the Language is set to English. (Siri on ‌HomePod‌ multi-user only supports English at this time.)
  • Make sure Listen for "Hey, Siri" is enabled on the iOS device of every user who wishes to be recognized by ‌HomePod‌, including your own device. The associated toggle can be found in Settings -> Siri & Search. On the same screen, check also that the device is set to the same Language as your ‌HomePod‌.
  • Likewise, location services must be enabled on the device of every user who wishes to be recognized by ‌HomePod‌: Go to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services, and make sure the Location Services toggle is green.

Testing HomePod Multi-user and Fixing Issues

When someone that you've set up to be recognized by your ‌HomePod‌ first asks it a personal request, ‌Siri‌ will ask who it is. If the user states their name, ‌Siri‌ should be able to recognize them after that.

Apple does say ‌HomePod‌ can have trouble distinguishing some voices, like those of young children, but rest assured whenever ‌HomePod‌ isn't sure, it will ask who's speaking.

If ‌Siri‌ doesn't recognize you after multi-user setup, try these steps. After each step, see if ‌Siri‌ recognizes you.

  1. In the Home app, tap the home icon, then tap Home Settings. Choose your home, then turn off Recognize My Voice, then turn it on again. Wait a few minutes before trying ‌Siri‌ again.
  2. Restart the iOS device that you use with "Hey ‌Siri‌."
  3. Restart your ‌HomePod‌: Open the Home app on your iOS device, tap and hold ‌HomePod‌, then tap the cog wheel in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Scroll down and select Reset HomePod, then tap Restart HomePod to confirm.

  4. On your iOS device, go to Settings -> Siri & Search, then turn off Listen for "Hey Siri", then turn it on again, and follow the onscreen instructions to teach ‌Siri‌ your voice.

To test out out the voice recognition further, you can get users to try asking different questions that relate specifically to them, like what their upcoming calendar events are. If everything works, ‌Siri‌ will reply with their respective name and the answer to their query.

The neat thing about ‌HomePod‌ multi-user support is that it doesn't apply to queries and commands that aren't person-specific – so you can ask what time it is or what the weather is like, just as you would do so normally.

Similarly, anyone can ask ‌HomePod‌ to play music, and it will play from the primary user's account without affecting that person's taste profile.

Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

Popular Stories

ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
iphone 17 lineup cad render majin bu

Revealed: Entire iPhone 17 Lineup's Striking New Camera Designs

Monday February 24, 2025 2:49 am PST by
A new CAD render of all the devices in Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 lineup has been shared online by leaker Majin Bu, specifically showing the allegedly different rear camera system designs of the standard iPhone 17, all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. The leaker Majin Bu has had some hits in the past, but some of his information has been wrong,...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...