How to turn off your HomePod microphone

Unlike many other smart speakers, there is no physical switch to mute the HomePod’s microphone.

However, you can disable the always-on “Hey Siri” feature using the iPhone Home app or by asking the speaker. This turns off the microphone at the software level and stops it from always listening in on you.

Why turn off your HomePod’s microphone

1) Privacy concerns: All communications between HomePod and Apple servers are encrypted, but if you have privacy or trust concerns, you may want to turn off its ability to listen to Hey Siri requests.

2) HomePod’s “Hey Siri” conflicts with your other devices: Your HomePod may be fielding requests meant for your phone or watch. In that case, you can turn off “Hey Siri” for HomePod to avoid this from happening.

3) You just don’t use Siri: If you don’t like the Siri smart assistant and use your HomePod as a standard speaker or AirPlay audio destination, you may turn off its always-on listening capacity.

How to turn off Hey Siri on your HomePod

You can disable “Hey Siri” via the Home app or your voice.

Use the Home app

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
2. Touch and hold the HomePod option or right-click on it and select Accessory Settings.
3. Scroll down to the Siri section and select Listen for “Hey Siri.”
4. Turn off the switch next to your HomePod’s name.

Use your voice

Aside from using the Home app, you can also ask your HomePod to disable its “Hey Siri” listening ability by saying:

• Hey Siri, turn off Hey Siri
• or Hey Siri, stop listening

You’ll be asked to confirm that you’d like to shut down “Hey Siri.”

What happens next?

From now on, your HomePod will not listen in on you to say the “Hey Siri” voice command. When “Hey Siri” has been temporarily disabled, the Home app displays a crossed-out microphone icon in the HomePod tile to indicate that the speaker is no longer listening.

But you can still activate and use Siri manually by touching and holding HomePod’s top touch surface. When using Siri the manual way, there’s no need to say the magic “Hey Siri” word—just say your command. In case you don’t even want that, go to HomePod settings in the Home app and turn off the switch next to Touch and Hold for Siri.

Fun fact: According to a fascinating article in Apple’s Machine Learning series, the phrase “Hey Siri” was originally chosen to be as natural as possible, thanks to its brevity and ease of articulation: It was so natural that even before this feature was introduced, users would invoke Siri using the Home button and inadvertently prepend their requests with “Hey Siri,” says Apple.

How to re-enable “Hey Siri” on HomePod

You can turn “Hey Siri” back on through the Home app by enabling the switch next to Listen for “Hey Siri.” You can also touch and hold the top of your Siri speaker and say, “Turn on Hey Siri,” or something along those lines.

Also, check out:

• Why and how to reset your HomePod or HomePod mini
• 24 tips and tricks every HomePod user should know