iOS: HomePod Stops After One Song

[Esperanita]

Hello - when I use Siri to play music on my HomePod (using Hey Siri, play Poolside Miami Chill on Pandora), one song plays and it stops. I have to keep asking Siri to play Poolside Miami Chill. On the other hand, if I play the same station on my iPhone and cast it to my HomePod, it play continuously. What is the fix for getting Pandora to play continuously on my HomePod? Thanks!

mod edit: changed title for clarity

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey there, @Esperanita. 👋

Nice to see you around the community, and sorry for any trouble this has caused. 

First let's make sure your software meets the minimum requirements:

• Pandora iOS version 2010.1
• iOS or iPadOS 14.0
• Apple Home app
• HomePod Software Version 14.1

++

If you're still having the same problem, then please try the following steps:

• Check to see if there are any updates available for your HomePod and Pandora apps. Update both as necessary.
• Restart your HomePod device.
• Try unlinking and relinking your Pandora account.
  1. To unlink, open the Home app on your iOS device:
     • Tap the home icon at the top left of the screen
     • Tap Home Settings
     • Tap your iCloud avatar to view personal settings
     • Select Pandora and then Remove Pandora from Home
  2. To re-link, open the Pandora app on your iOS device:
     • Open the Pandora app on your iOS device.
     • Go to Profile and tap Settings.
     • Next select Connect with HomePod. 
     • Then tap Use in Home.

Let me know if this helps! 🎧

[Esperanita]

Hello - thanks for the quick response. That didn't quite solve my problem. Pandora, iPhone and HomePods were up to date. I am using my HomePods in a stereo pair, if that makes a difference. A work around for now seems to be to ask Siri to play the channel on Pandora and when it stops after the first song, go into my Home app, open the paused stereo pair HomePods and then press play in the HomePod settings. This is obviously not ideal, but doesn't force me to cast Pandora from my iPhone.

I'm open to any other fixes. To note, I have 5 HomePods altogether - two stereo pairs and a HomePod mini. I don't know if number of devices plays a role. I have been seeing the message indicating that someone else is using my account more frequently. I don't know if the Pandora app is having difficulty switching between my iPhone, iPad, HomePods, or Apple Watch - I frequently play Pandora on all devices. Thanks!

[AlyssaPandora]

@Esperanita Sometimes that error message can pop up when switching from one device from another. If that's what is happening, you can go ahead and disregard.

As far as the Siri commands, have you tried saying "Hey Siri, play Poolside Miami Chill Radio on Pandora?" Just want to be clear about the commands when I report this to our device team to find out more info.

Let me know. 🎧

[Esperanita]

Hello Alyssa - that is the command I use. It plays one song and stops. I say it again. It plays another song and stops. I then go into the Home App, find the HomePod pair, open the settings, press play (since the HomePod knows it was last playing Pandora) and then I have continuous music.

[AlyssaPandora]

@Esperanita Thanks so much for sticking with me on this.

I've created an internal ticket with our engineering team to report this issue. Appreciate you bringing this to our attention. If you notice anything else, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Thank you for your patience during this process! 👍

[Kempfsc]

I'm trying to use my HomePod to listen to Pandora on my MacBook Laptop. I open Pandora using Safari and select my HomePod in system sound preferences. Pandora starts playing on my HomePod. Every time a song ends my MacBook disconnects from my HomePod and reverts to the MacBook speakers. I'd welcome any suggestions on how to solve this problem. Just so you know, this doesn't happen when I listen to a playlist I have in iTunes.

[AdamPandora]

@Kempfsc Nice to see you around the Community. 👋🏽

First let's make sure your software meets the minimum requirements:

• Pandora iOS version 2010.1
• iOS or iPadOS 14.0
• Apple Home app
• HomePod Software Version 14.1

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

This issue can also be specific to the network you're using to access Pandora, so let's start by rebooting your modem and router.

If you're still having the same problem, then please try the following steps:

• Check to see if there are any updates available for your HomePod and Pandora apps. Update both as necessary.
• Restart your HomePod device.
• Try unlinking and relinking your Pandora account.
  1. To unlink, open the Home app on your iOS device:
     • Tap the home icon at the top left of the screen
     • Tap Home Settings
     • Tap your iCloud avatar to view personal settings
     • Select Pandora and then Remove Pandora from Home
  2. To re-link, open the Pandora app on your iOS device:
     • Open the Pandora app on your iOS device.
     • Go to Profile and tap Settings.
     • Next select Connect with HomePod. 
     • Then tap Use in Home.

Thanks for working with me on this. 🤝

[Kempfsc]

Thanks for your suggestions, however, the problem is not related to iOS. I have no problems if I'm listening to Pandora on my HomePod using my iPhone and the Pandora app. It works fine in that case.

The problem occurs when I'm listening to Pandora on my HomePod using my MacBook Pro and Safari to access Pandora. Same problem occurs if I'm trying to listen to a music playlist on YouTube. After each song listened to on my HomePod the sound reverts to my MacBook speakers for the next song.

My MacBook Pro is running OSX 10.14.1  Because their are certain programs I regularly use that won't work on later versions of OSX, I can't upgrade to a later version at this point in time.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi, @Kempfsc. 👋

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble. I moved your post over to this existing thread to keep the community space organized: HomePod Stops After One Song

We currently have an internal ticket open for this issue. I've shared your information with our engineering team. 

Thanks for your patience while they investigate. 🎧

[codepoet80]

Also having this issue. Tried all the steps.

Pandora does this on other devices sometimes too...

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi there, @codepoet80. 👋

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble.

Could you share what voice command you're using when this happens?

What station are you attempting to play?

Let me know. 🎧

[codepoet80]

"Hey Siri, play Postal Service Radio on Pandora"

[AlyssaPandora]

Thanks for getting back to me with that information, @codepoet80. I've shared this information with our engineering team on your behalf. We appreciate your patience during this process. 🎧

[MusicFan4523]

Ugh... having this same issue. Up to date, rebooted, recently reset. Am going to try to unlink/re-link.

[MariaPandora]

Hi @MusicFan4523 , thanks for posting.

Yes please, try unlinking and relinking your Pandora account.

1. To unlink, open the Home app on your iOS device:
   • Tap the home icon at the top left of the screen
   • Tap Home Settings
   • Tap your iCloud avatar to view personal settings
   • Select Pandora and then Remove Pandora from Home
2. To re-link, open the Pandora app on your iOS device:
   • Open the Pandora app on your iOS device.
   • Go to Profile and tap Settings.
   • Next select Connect with HomePod. 
   • Then tap Use in Home.

[MusicFan4523]

The instructions to unlink may be outdated. This is what I had to do with iOS 18.2.

1. To unlink, open the Home app on your iOS device:
   • Tap the ellipsis at the top right of the screen
   • Tap Home Settings
   • Tap your iCloud avatar to view personal settings and scroll to the Connected Media section
   • Select Pandora and then Remove Pandora from Home

It's up in the air so far if unlinking is helpful, since it played two songs, then paused seemingly when I opened the Home app and did nothing else. So far so go, so thank you!

It seems for a while now I have had issues applying a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" to media playing through the HomePod. Now I have to state "Hey Siri, do not play this song again" in order to apply a thumbs down. Telling Siri that I like a song simply offers to search the web.

All-in-all it has become a frustrating experience using the HomePod with Pandora even after making sure ALL versions (Pandora, iOS, and HomePod OS) are the latest and a factory reset was applied multiple times on the HomePod. This is not how it was at the beginning and I am not certain who is a fault and now merely accept what is.