Apple shares instructions on what to do if you can’t update your HomePod with advanced data protection turned on

Apple has shared instructions on what to do if you can’t update your HomePod with Enhanced Data Protection turned on. Apple has posted a new support document explaining what to do if you can’t set up or update your HomePod with iCloud Advanced Data Protection turned on.

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To use iCloud Advanced Data Protection, all devices signed into your Apple ID require a minimum software version. Namely, the HomePod 16.2 software must be installed on the HomePod.

However, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, there is a bug in the Home app that prevents updating a HomePod running an older version of the software with iCloud end-to-end encryption enabled.

This means that anyone who buys a HomePod that comes with an OS older than 16.2 will not be able to set it up as it first requires an update.

Apple’s support document explains what options are available for customers facing this predicament. If you have a HomePod mini speaker, you can connect it to your Mac via a USB-C cable and update via Finder (or iTunes on PC) by selecting HomePod in the Finder sidebar and clicking the Restore HomePod option. This will update the speaker to the latest software version, after which it can be configured properly.

How to update HomePod with extended data protection?

The full-sized first generation HomePod and the new 2023 HomePod do not have a USB-C port, so unless Apple includes a fix in iOS 16.3, which is expected to be released next week, owners of these speakers will have to temporarily turn off advanced data protection to update the software. HomePod software. Apple tells you how to do it:

1. Turn off advanced data protection in iCloud settings on your iPhone, iPad or Mac: in Settings or System Preferences, click on your name and then click on iCloud. Scroll to the Advanced Data Protection section and turn off Advanced Data Protection.
2. If you received an error message the previous time you tried to set up your HomePod, you may need to reset your HomePod. Then set up HomePod.
3. Update your HomePod to the latest software using the Home app.
4. Turn on advanced data protection in iCloud settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac: In Settings or System Preferences, click on your name and then click on iCloud. Scroll to the ‘Advanced Data Protection’ section and turn on ‘Advanced Data Protection’.

Apple advises anyone who temporarily disables extended data protection to turn it back on immediately after updating the HomePod software.