iOS: HomePod says “To do that...”

[Pastorjim]

I love being able to listen to Pandora on my Apple HomePod. However, after a couple of days of functionality I will say to Siri play my station on Pandora and it will respond “to do that go to the Pandora app and activate HomePod in the settings.” When I go to the settings in my Pandora app and try to connect with HomePod it will say either having trouble linking my account please check back later, or it will say please in sure that you were logged in on your Pandora app. I have confirmed that I am always logged in on my Pandora app. Has anyone else noticed this? Has anyone found a solution?

[AlyssaPandora · Accepted solution]

Hey there, @Pastorjim. 👋

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with this. I haven't seen any mentions of this issue on the Pandora Community. In the meantime, I've enabled a trace on your Pandora account. Running through the steps will help our engineering team investigate further in case we need to report this over to them.

For troubleshooting, please try the following steps:

• Check to see if there are any updates available for your HomePod and Pandora apps. Update both as necessary. This may help with the issue you're experiencing.
• 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. 🎧

[Pastorjim]

Thanks for the comment and help!  I have done the steps you requested and was able to play Pandora through my HomePod this morning!  Yay!  

One additional question lingers. In the Pandora app once I have clicked on connect with HomePod and choose use in home, the words on the front of the page never say “connected to HomePod” it’s still remains “connect with HomePod.” Comparatively just above it when I link with Alexa the words will say “linked with Alexa.”  Is that just a bug in the Pandora app or is that a reflection of the fact that HomePod will disconnect from Pandora after a couple of days?

[AlyssaPandora]

@Pastorjim Thanks for letting me know. So glad that those steps helped and you were able to get back to listening without any issues.

I'm going to check in with our device team about your question. This could possibly be a bug. Appreciate you bringing that to my attention. 🎧

[Pastorjim]

Thanks for all your help Alyssa.  Were you able to determine if this is a bug?

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi, @Pastorjim. 👋

Thanks for your message.

For me, it would make sense for the language to switch over to "Connected", so this is possibly a bug. Our engineering team hasn't gotten back to us about this issue yet. However, I will check in again with them. 

Hope you are having a nice weekend! 🎧

[wetherellak]

Hey All, 

Thanks for these posts. I have not even been able to "Connect with HomePod." I am continually getting the message, "Unable to Add Pandora to Home." Make sure you are signed into your Pandora account and try again."

Now What????

Thanks

[wetherellak]

Hello All,

I ended up restarting every device and was finally able to get the Pandora App added to our HomePod.

🤞🤞🤙

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi, @wetherellak. 👋

Sorry to hear that you had some trouble getting set up. However, it sounds like you've been able to connect your HomePod and Pandora. 

If anything else pops up, please don't hesitate to let us know. Happy listening! 🎶

[Pheonix168]

I have had the exact same issue as the original post with my HomePod Mini and Pandora account. I have gone through all the troubleshooting steps listed and I can get my Pandora account linked for up to 7 days before I have the same problem of it not being connected through the App. 
I have kept a log of when I make the connection in the Pandora app with my HomePod and when I use my account in other ways. No correlation. 

[AdamPandora]

@Pheonix168 I would like to report this issue to our engineers. Could you tell me more about your two devices?

iPhone:

• Device & Generation: (e.g. iPhone X, iPad Air (3rd gen), etc.)
• Carrier:
• iOS version: (Settings > General > About > Version)
• Pandora version: (Pandora > Profile tab > Settings gear & scroll to the bottom of the screen)
  
• Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?
• Have you identified any other patterns or notable information?

HomePod:

• iOS version:

Thanks for working with me on this. 🤝

[Pheonix168]

iPhone 13 Pro Max

Verizon

iOS Version 15.4

Pandora Build 2202.1

Connection: WiFi (2.4 GHz)

HomePod Version: 15.4

Only noticeable pattern is number of days. 7 seems to be the max. I thought it was caused by using the Pandora app on my Roku. That proved not to be a cause. 

[AdamPandora]

@Pheonix168 Thanks for writing back with that. I've sent this over to our engineers. This information is really valuable, and helps us determine what might be happening.

I know this has been a frustrating issue, and I can assure you we are working on a resolution.

We really appreciate your patience in the meantime!

[Pheonix168]

I had the same issue again this afternoon but it did work this morning. Had been working since Sunday 3//27. I’ll try reconnecting in a few hours. 

[Pheonix168]

Again this evening I was unable to play Pandora over my HomePod Mini. Worked this morning and this afternoon. 

[atchinson1]

I connect Pandora to my Home through the Pandora app. Pandora says it was successful. I can open the HomeApp and see that Pandora has been added as a music service under my user account. However, when I ask Hey Siri play station on Pandora, it replies To do that go to the Pandora app and add to your home. Which I have done. I removed it several time and attempted adding again. Both from an iPad and an iPhone. It just keeps say To do that go to the Pandora app....

[AdamPandora]

@atchinson1 I moved your post over to this existing thread: iOS: HomePod says “To do that...”

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

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

This issue can 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.

Let me know if this helps.

[Jthuso]

I have this same problem trying to connect my HomePod mini to Pandora.  It keeps saying … “To do that go to the Pandora app and add it to your Home.”  When I go to Pandora settings it says Pandora is already added to my Home and ready to go. I’ve tried everyone of the troubleshooting tips referenced in this topic string multiple times.  No change.  

I can handoff a song playing in Pandora to my HomePod by holding it next to it but I can’t play Pandora directly from my HomePod mini using Siri … just keeps repeating “To do that …”

Running latest available software (as of todays date) on all applicable devices.  Pandora ver 2303.2.  Have iPhone 14 Pro and latest generation M2 iPad Pro.

[AdamPandora]

@Jthuso A new update for Pandora version 2303.2.1 should be available.

Can you please try updating your app and let us know if you continue to experience issues?

Thanks for working with us on this.

[Jthuso]

Thanks for the quick response.  Yes … that appears to have fixed it.  I updated the Pandora app, removed pandora from my Home, then reconnected it to Home.  Those steps alone weren’t enough … I then had to reboot my HomePod Mini. Then it fixed it.

thanks for your help.  Great to have such prompt service.😊

… JTH