When Apple presented the HomePod mini in autumn 2020, the manufacturer withheld information: A sensor from Texas Instruments is installed in the small smart speaker, which records the room temperature and humidity. It is located as far away as possible from the circuit board, which itself generates some heat, namely near the power cable entry point. He remained inactive for over two years.
Activate temperature sensor
It is only now, with HomePod software version 16.3, that Apple is putting the HomePod mini’s indoor climate sensor into operation. The new big HomePod in the second generation also has the chip, but not the earlier model from 2018.
Apple automatically pushes the software update to the HomePod. If you are not going fast enough, you can help and start it in the Home app on the iPhone:
- On the Home page, tap the HomePod button. (If you don’t see the button on the home screen, first go to the room HomePod is assigned to).
- Select “Device Details”.
- In the window that now opens, scroll down and tap on the cogwheel.
- The Home app should now show you the new software version, tap on “Update” here.
You can start the HomePod update via the Home app.
In our tests, the Home app immediately displayed the update option for one device at the described point, for another we had to wait a few minutes. You also have to be a little patient before you can query the values for the first time: the temperature sensor first wants to calibrate itself, which took around 30 minutes on one of our HomePods in the first run.
Query temperature and humidity
You can now have Siri output the values directly to the HomePod: “Hey Siri, how many degrees is it in the kitchen?” You will also find the current temperature and humidity displayed on the room page in the Home app. There, however, the data is updated with a few minutes delay. In order to see the sensor data in the Home app on iPhone, iPad and Mac, the latest software version must be installed – i.e. iOS and iPadOS 16.3 as well as macOS 13.2 Ventura.
The iPhone reveals the room values of the HomePod temperature sensor.
You shouldn’t expect too precise values anyway. Apple states that the sensor is optimized for an ambient temperature between 15 degrees and 30 degrees and a relative humidity of 30 percent to 70 percent. The accuracy can decrease if audio is played at high volume for a long time – probably due to the heat generation of the HomePod. When compared with an Eve sensor, the two devices were usually around 0.1 to 0.7 degrees Celsius and 0 to 4 percent humidity apart.
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