Just came back here to comment that I managed to resurrect my long dead Homepod that I was going to throw away. I didn’t have the confidence to do this clean so I had a local repair shop attempt this. As suspected from the well described symptoms, it had the failed diode which was replaced, and the Homepod is back! Truly grateful to this video and channel!
Managed to repair a HomePod brought to our Repair Cafe - customer was going to throw it away if we couldn't fix it. Some aspects of the repair were quite challenging: the glue seemed to be much stronger than on the one in the demo. I couldn't detach the glued-in ribbon cable without putting a dent in it, and the clamp for the ribbon cable at the bottom of the unit fell off: I had a devil of a job to put it back and was not sure if it was working. Also when removing the diode I managed to dislodge the tiny capacitor next to it - a frustrating 40 minutes getting it back in place! I was absolutely amazed when after all that it worked when I had put it back together! Couldn't have done it without you.
Yesterday, the Christmas gift I bought for my wife many years ago - the first-generation HomePod - wouldn't turn on. My wife couldn't listen to music, a bit disappointed. Upon disassembling it, I discovered the Schottky diode on the power board, as mentioned by Nic, was faulty. However, the surface-mount component would take 7 days to arrive. Waiting wasn't an option. So, I spent five dollars on Amazon to buy 20 through-hole versions with the same 60V5A specifications. They arrived this afternoon. Using a hot air gun, I removed the faulty surface-mount one, soldered on the through-hole diode, and put it back together! It came back to life instantly! The material cost was only twenty-five cents, saving the HomePod! Ready for another 10 years! Now, my wife can enjoy music again, and all is well. THANK YOU SO MUCH! @NicsFix
Excellent video well orchestrated! Many just show how to disassemble something and then say the re-assembly is the opposite but there are many little intricacies involved in the re-assembly process as noted in this video. Well done! Thanks for taking the time to record, edit and post. I also like doing these sort of repairs and know the effort involved in making the video :-0 You took your time to adequately narrate and sped the video up at just the right times. High quality, clear and great angles made it easy to watch what you were doing. Five stars out of five!
This is the most awesome video tutorial, hats off to you. I saw this and then gave my HomePod for repairs, it’s coming back today hopefully working like a charm
A friends HomePod died and he gave it to me for free. Thanks so much for this guide! The repair worked like a charm. That ribbon cable being glued was so evil.
Thanks so much Nick for this video! When my HomePod suddenly died a few months ago I was very disappointed, until I discovered your channel. Since I live in Argentina, it was not possible to send you the HomePod for repair (I would have been glad to do just that) but felt encouraged to try to resurrect it myself using your amazing tutorial. Long story short, my HomePod came back to life after the diode replacement, all thanks to your step-by-step guidance. Cheers!
Perfect walk through. Fixed one of my HomePods just a few minutes ago. Works like a charm again. Without this video, something might definitely have been broken. I’ve sent a donation to support your great work.
Thanks for sharing this excellent walkthrough! I just finished fixing my Homepod (with a little help from a friend whom is beter at soldering) following your comprehensive video step-by-step. Big thanks and thumbs up!
This was awesome. Just fixed a HomePod I bought off eBay that was dead on arrival. Got a full refund, then paid 80pence for the diode, replaced it and now it's back in business bustin' grooves. Thank you!
A+ repair job! In the past I never bothered replacing surface mount component due to the cost of the hot air soldering stations. But that was way back in the day. Now you got me thinking....
supposedly others have managed to replace the diode by using two soldering irons to heat up both ends of the diode, or a single iron with a tip the size of the diode. seems pretty risky to me with the other super tiny components right next to it but to each their own!
man you really have too much patience, really a great video about this repair, even the best video I found here on youtube about this repair, thanks for your kind showing
Great video. I most certainly wouldn't have tried to repair my dead Homepod 1 without the excellent instruction. Thanks very much Nic. These things are a right pain to get apart, but most satisfying to repair!
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions and awesome tutorial. My original HomePod died recently, and all the observations aligned with your guide. I managed to replace the diode (never done it before, so it was interesting), and now I have a working HomePod again. Apple wanted to charge me £260 for the replacement ;) I did have display issues while reassembling - the display worked fine when being tested "loose", but it started boot-looping when fully screwed in to the top - it was flaky to say the least, but eventually put it back together ensuring the final top 4 screws where not too tight.
This is a spotless video and a very helpful and comprehensive tutorial that most be considered a jewel for anyone who has an Apple homepod that malfunctioned. Many thanks and hope this master of the homepod comes up with more helpful videos like this one. This is really appreciated. My hat is off for you!!
Best video out there on this subject! Apple flat out refused to even look at my speaker. They said they don't repair them. they only offered to replace it at nearly full price!. My speaker was only 4 years old... Your website is a fantastic resource. I hope I can get mine working again. Unfortunately I've never done this sort of repair work so I'm a little worried. Fingers crossed.
Absolute S tier tutorial, went ahead and bought the stuff you recommended using your link. Genuinely, thank you, I did not want to go through the ifixit "teardown" where they destroy the speaker.
Nic - hands-down the best instructional video ever. You really have a talent for this. My HomePod died a sudden and unexpected death. Sure enough, a shorted diode. The HomePod was the ‘slave’ on a stereo pair if that helps on your quest to understand why this happens. Anyhow, all repaired and I wouldn’t have even known where to start without your help. To anyone attempting to make the repair two things I learnt: the adhesive securing the main ribbon cable to the basket was murder, take your time! And the heat required to lift the faulty diode is phenomenal: so don’t be frightened to ramp-up the heat - you’ll need it. Nic - can’t thank you enough 🙂
Great video. step by step instructions helped me pull down and reassemble. Thanks for your link and to Nanthan in Melbourne Australia who repaired the board for me.
Awesome video... I know I can't do this work, but I now know it can be repair since these are now discontinued and only the small versions are for sale.
Amazing work on filming and explaining the hole process. My HomePod just got the same problem, let’s just pray that someone can repair it like you did.
awesome explanation Nic, greatly appreciated! I followed the directions and appreciate your input of rework temperature, I maxxed it at 500c for 30-45 seconds which did the trick. Put it all back and its working perfectly
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Thank you SO much my friend this has saved me big! I bought a replacement diode (different to the one you linked due to being in the UK, but same specs as original), followed your guide and sure enough that has resolved the issue and resurrected my lifeless HomePod! :D Shame that this appears to be such a common issue on these devices, but i guess they unfortunately werent around long enough before Apple killed them for them to start failing whilst in service :( At least i now know what to expect when another one of mine dies!
One of the best videos I have seen on the HomePod tear down. You manage it without destroying the device which is commendable. I have a unique situation with my HomePod. There is absolutely no bass. It happened a few months ago. Any suggestions?
I would check that your subwoofer is still good somehow, maybe using an external amplifier or another homepod for testing parts. If the woofer is still good, it's likely the amplifier IC that drives the subwoofer which I made a video showing how to replace! The video shows a no power diode repair and the amp IC repair but just ignore the diode parts: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OvHope_C_lc.html
Hiya! I've bought a few of the ~$15 power cables off eBay before. They have all been fine and compare to the original ones. not sure if there's any cheaper options!
Very good job, perfect explanation, I want to build my workplace like yours but I can’t find the apple pc cover for use the hot-gun and don’t damage the table😅, thanks again
You rock dude. If you ever solve the dreaded flashing HomePod mine is ready lol. It was so sad near the end it would come back to life spontaneously after an unplug but now it’s perma fried. I was on 14.3 beta when mine died. I tried unplugging it for a year and plugging it in but she’s cooked. Kind of annoying these things are so unreliable compared to an Alexa which is like a tenth of the cost but after seeing you tear down down just like the internals of any other apple product I now see why it’s more costly.
These things cost around $200-250 for apple to manufacture! Pretty insane but in my opinion to this day still justified and an unbeatable experience that they still offer. My fingers are crossed for a solution to bricked ones soon, it's the last hurdle we have before we've solved it all!
ouitmenick made a great suggestion; when prying the top basket off the speaker, pry against the top of the subwoofer screws! this way you can avoid cosmetic scratches on the woofer. you may bend the subwoofer screws trying this but they're easy to bend back...YMMV! before prying the basket off the subwoofer, drip 99% alcohol inside the perimeter to weaken the adhesive! check out my new uploads where I show how to repair dc offset / death farts / crackling or popping bass, replace your mesh, and even repair a no-power homepod that WASN'T caused by this diode!
really love your videos, I love the homepods especially in stereo mode and is sad to see they discontinued it. Now thanks of you we finally also gained the ability to last the product at least for a very long time to counter the most happening issues it has. I don’t know why apple put a cheap diode component in such an expensive product anyways. Profit was bigger than quality I guess.. Thanks a lot for your videos looking forward of more content!
@@TechDraX who knows! the trend I've noticed so far with these diode failures is interesting and not necessarily indicative of apple just cheaping out on this diode. All of the diodes across all homepods have the same model number. But, so far, only diodes with a later date code on them have failed. I have not yet replaced any diodes from earlier date codes. With this trend I'm guessing there was just a bad batch of diodes later on, or, the later batch is just more prone to overheating and shorting out.
I lost the lid for that a long time ago and it was an old jar I borrowed from work so I am not sure :( but I've been using Chipquik NC191 in all of my repairs now
Hi Nic Hands down the best tutorial I came across your video after I developed fault with my HomePod I accidentally left my HomePod upside down and after that when I tried playing song on it I started experiencing issue with bass on high volumes. It also feels like there is some loose screw dancing in the HomePod Any suggestions Shall be greatfull to you
I'm having this same issue with a Gen 2 HomePod, it won't power on, won't join wifi. Will this fix work for it as well? Are the internals close enough?
They should be firmly tightened, but not so much that you're squishing the gasket. A little squish is good. More likely you have a loose / missing gasket somewhere
I somehow managed to put the top ribboncable in backwords. My thermal camera. Measured 81c coming from the little led thing on the top. I quickly flipped it around. Now it measures 41c and still doesn’t turn on. Any advice would be nice.
Hi Nic, I have 2 and I’m convinced they need new diode, i.e. they do notbpowerup but get warm around the power supply. I have the replacement parts and a Fixit kit but, having seen the effort involved, plus the likelihood of me losing a couple of fingers, I feel my place is in my garage, fixing my old Triumph bikes. Cut to the chase, I’m in Scotland, how many limbs do I trade … and … naturally, can you get them back to me before I notice that they’re missing? RSVP and I’ll forward the video of me smashing a number of piggy banks, Steve. 😜
@@SteveBattye Hey mate! I must say this is one of the most amusing comments I've had in a while! As you guessed, shipping will suck between you and I, it won't be cheap (about $75 USD) or fast, or reliable The good news is there are three different folks in the UK offering repairs too! I have them listed on my website nicsfix.com , under the Mail-In Repair section , just keep scrolling :) Let me know if there's anything I can help with!
Damn, I can only imagine what you charge to repair one of these. Probably cheaper to buy a new one! great clean work though, I’m very impressed that you have gone into that rabbit hole 13 times and been successful. Also never realized how big the magnet on the subwoofer was, and how many caps were inside one of these. Mine has been dead for a few months.
Well done. I’m sure you make it look easier than it is. So I might not attempt it still, but first I need to see if that diode is easily available. Then I’ll have a think about it. Edit.. thanks… I see you have a source link so great, but now I realise I don’t have the right tools. I have a standard soldering iron. I’m not familiar with anything else.
You miiiiight be able to wick all the solder out from under the diode via it's pins, I'm not sure. Also not sure if you can adequately resolder a new one on all with just an iron, but I've read stories from others who have managed. If you're at all into soldering, even a cheap $50-75 hot air station goes a long way though!
Excellent video . My question is a friend of mine brought in some used homepods from the states, and most of them are not connecting. It would not even reset. Here in Lagos, Nigeria we do not have Apple support. Anything that can help him is welcome
Hmm are they just booting up to flashing volume lights? If so they would need a logic board swap. Sadly I don't even have any good logic boards to do these specific repairs and no one has figured out how to de-brick them. But if you can find other broken homepods that, say, have sound or power issues, they likely still have good logic boards to swap with then factory reset.
Thanks for the video. I had a homepod with the same issue, the warmth on the side when plugged in but otherwise dead. I replaced the diode per your instructions. Now, when I power it on, nothing. Still dead, but it no longer gets warm on the side. Any thoughts on what it might be? Thanks in advance.
Most of the time it's something you might have damaged along the way like a ribbon cable. Or you just don't have one of the ribbon cables fully reinserted or correctly locked. nicsfix.com/#goofball
@@NicsFix Thanks for the reply, and the link! I disassembled, re-soldered, and re-assembled and still dead. Time to throw in the towel, but thanks for all the great information!
Great video! Loved watching it! I've got a similar problem with the homepod mini. Mainly doesn't respond when reconnected once disconnected to power - then if left connected can randomly turn on. Basically turns on on its own will. Any thoughts?
I haven't had my hands on any Minis yet...can you give the power cable and connector a good wiggle to see if it's perhaps broken inside? I'm guessing you've also tried another power supply too. This doesn't really sound like an internal hardware failure to me yet if it sometimes powers on and sometimes doesn't, but I'm not sure.
Excellent thank you very much for sharing this video your description is perfect and in the detail, the only thing I would like to ask you please? ¿What is the faulty part's name? DIode? and the value in amps or any other detail I may need to know to get another one. Would you mind giving me the full details of that diode or part that you mentioned? and if possible where I may order or buy it? please? I will appreciate your kind reply thank you very much regards from Melbourne Australia.
Hi there! Currently the no power repairs are $60 plus return shipping of your choice. Feel free to shoot me an email at nic@nicsfix.com if you have any questions or want to send it in!
Sadly Apple won't give us replacements :( only way to get more is from another homepod. It's possible you only damaged noncritical lines but it's not worth the risk trying it as you could end up shorting and wrecking both the amp board and logic board, ugh! We all need to bug Apple to add homepod parts to self service repair!
Hey man, great tutorial. I got one problem after changing the diodo, the chip to the left of the diodo shown in the video got burnt as well,, the 8pin chip,, and every letter on it are screwed... i have no idea what chip is it,, could you please be so kind of telling me what chip is that? thank you in advanced.
Awesome! Thanks so much for posting. My HomePod crapped out earlier this week and I was very chocked. Now I at least have an option to attempt a fix as I had no desire to give up or replace my HomePod if I could help it. What part info can you share regarding that diode so I can purchase locally or order once? Again, much thanks.
It's a surface mount 60v 5a schottky barrier diode, I replace it with part number "PDS560-13" which I get from digikey here (available at a bunch of online component stores): www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/PDS560-13/PDS560DICT-ND/776779?so=73342686
That very last step when you place the top cover back on... Is that glued on? I see you moving it around to center and seat it ... are there catches in there or is it glue?
Yes that uses adhesive to stick on, no alignment notches or anything, I'm just trying to line up the volume buttons under the top cover to the volume cutouts on the layer below it before pressing it down to fully stick back in place.. If you don't touch the adhesive with greasy fingers and cut it clean enough when you first remove the top cover, it's usually good enough to re-use when putting back together. We've gotten about 50-75 homepods sent in and shipped back out by now for repairs doing this and I haven't heard any complaints or issues of them coming loose so it seems to be working well.
Thank you so much for putting such comprehensive videos together. This definitely gave the confidence to try and repair our blown-diode HomePod. While we replaced the diode and managed to get power back on, it still behaves a little wonky. When the sub hits a high volume, the whole HomePod loses power and resets. A friend who helped with the soldering repair mentioned that occasionally when a diode shorts out, it may take down nearby components (in this case, they suggested that the IC immediately adjacent to the diode may have taken some damage). Have you ever replaced other components on the amplifier board, or run into a situation like this post-repair? Thankfully the IC in question is apparently readily available -- a TI TPS5450 ... so I was thinking of repairs round two ...
I haven't experienced what you're describing after repairs though what your friend is saying makes sense. I would also be curious if you have any dc offset: nicsfix.com/#popping
@@jackgerberuae Alas, we think we have a damaged logic board. It got stuck in a few reboot loops, and when iOS tries to push an update to the HomePod, it would download the 0.5GB update, reset, and start the download again. This is in addition to the points mentioned in my original comment above. So unfortunately, we've given up on this one. :( I'm eyeing one of the new 2nd gen HomePods ...
@@dreamstate07 thank you for the update. I will be able to strip mine, but that is where it will end 🤣🤣🤣 I saw Marques Brownlee reviewing the HP2 just before watching this video - which reminded me of mine. Have a look, the review is not very positive
There's a large pad on the bottom of the diode and the board will also suck a lot of the heat up, so a hot air station will make quick and easy work out of it. I've heard others successfully using two soldering irons on each side or one large one big enough to cover the whole diode but sounds tedious
The plastic is removable but I generally just don't recommend it because you can knock off the ambient light sensor that's on that side of the PCB, and you can also scratch the PCB and damage traces. If you haven't damaged the PCB you can simply reinstall the plastic layer. If you accidentally knocked off the ambient light sensor, the display will still work fine but at 100% brightness all the time.
Excellent job done here, now I can believe that the future of the Original HomePod is guaranteed just like the way iPod Classics continue to flourish after KILLED the great device. Thanks for this video, do you advise that we should be switching off the HomePod from the power? At the onset of this videos, you said because the HomePod is plugged in permanently that could be why the DIODE is burning off. Thanks and looking forward towards another wonderful videos.
Yeah they can sometimes put up a fight. You're fighting against the board acting as a big heatsink, too. Make sure your hot air is turned up to 500c, ~80% airflow, and preheat the backside of that area of the board for ~15 seconds, then flip it back around and go straight for the diode until it comes off.
You can gently re-heat both sides of the adhesive to re-use it! If its no longer sticky, some rubbing alcohol can clean it up, too. I don't advise using new adhesive as that will make taking it apart again in the future unnessecarily difficult
After watching this, I'll just buy a new Sonos, forget all this! How much do you sell the repaired units for? I would love a second one, but some people would rather have them sit unsold with crazy high prices, than sell them for a little bit less.
It should be known that replacing this diode doesn't fix any of the popping issues. There are three popping issues I'm tracking: 1) Loud Pop and Restart, associated with a panic log in your HomePod Analytics. Apple says this is fixed in the upcoming 15.3 release. (UPDATE: Software popping is fixed in 15.3!) 2) Loud pop and restart, no panic logs. This is more likely a failing amplifier IC, a custom part made only for apple's homepods that we cannot get. This is a sign of iminent failure. (UPDATE: Not the amp IC, but failing filtering capacitors. I've also found two options for replacement amp IC chips) 3) Subtle click / pop every ~10 minutes or as the homepod goes in and out of standby. This is also caused by the amp IC, when it turns on it sends dc to the woofer which you hear as a pop. (UPDATE: As stated above, not the amp ic!!) EDIT: Issues 2 and 3 I have found repairs for! They are not caused by a faulty amp IC, but in fact failing capacitors! Check my channel for new repair videos~
The speaker in self is a sealed enclosure, right? If I put some dust cover to prevent this insane dirt in the woofer (mine is white too) the electronics won't be hotter?
Im not sure I understand how you will do this, but it will almost certainly run hotter. I wouldn't be concerned with altering a HomePod to prevent dust anyways, instead you can simply blow compressed air through the mesh and giving the top touch cover a quick wipe every time you feel like cleaning them. I use a plug in electric air duster to save $ on buying cans of air and hit all of my homepods about once a month
@@NicsFix Thanks. I already buy dust covers named "TXEsign Elastic Anti Dust Cover for HomePod", recommended by iMore. In the article they says that not interfere with the sound, but nothing about thermals. My window is up front a traffic street and a lot of dust enter in my bedroom. I vaccum clean the floor 2 times per week and remove the dust from the forniture almost every day. White things tend to turn gray.
@@Dr.Marcos I see, those look pretty safe to use. I can't imagine it being more than a negligible impact on sound and heat dissipation, especially since it leaves the top exposed and it looks pretty breathable
Great video, it looks like you have had a lot of experience with repairing these HomePods. It appears you even repair these for other people as well on occasion. I have one that will not power on; It was sitting on the kitchen counter and got knocked off (oops). It has no physical damage on the outside and was not on when this event happened, Do you think there could be a loose connection inside preventing it from powering on? I tried to contact you through Discord but couldn't really figure out what to do.
Hola, me compré un HomePod grande de primera generación al cual se le puede hacer un reseteo, enciende y todo lo demás, pero cuando a la hora de conectarse con un dispositivo no lo hace y no sirve de ninguna manera, porque he intentado con dos iPad, con una Mac y con un iPhone y ninguno se pueden enlazar con los HomePod o sea que el problema seguramente sea del HomePod, se queda la luz superior parpadeando pero no aparece ningún dispositivo para enlazarse, necesito tu ayuda para saber más o menos qué es y si me podrías ayudar.
Hi, do you have also a solution for HomePod which led lights on the top aren’t showing up? Everything works except the Siri and + and - light. Touch is working fine.. I have updated and reset the device. But that didn’t helped.
Both the touch and display are on the same PCB and use the same ribbon cable to connect to the logic board, so, if touch works, I would guess the cable and connector are likely still fine, too. I've not yet seen a display simply stop working before on a homepod but I would hazard a guess that's what is needed. Hard to know without taking it apart and swapping around parts! Also curious if you've tried both factory reset methods, both from the home app and using the red spinning circle method
@@NicsFix thank you for your assessments. I tried also both reset methods. But the result was the same. No led lights. I think I will try to look into the HomePod and check and switch some parts..
Also wondering what temp you ran the reworking station at? I am not having any luck in removing the diode but don’t want to prematurely bump up the temperature
I was exactly the same at first, but I found on my cheap little station that it works best (and only works at all) when I max it out at 500c, then hold the hot air about half to one inch away for about 30-45 seconds until the solder has melted and I can pull the diode off. The amp board is acting as a heat sink and taking away a lot of heat.
@@davidwardle6712 That's the goal! I strongly suggest also watching "Basic Soldering Lesson 1 - "Solder & Flux"" by the paceworldwide channel if you're looking to learn. I would contribute the majority of my fundamental understanding and success with soldering to that series.
SMPS sounds like they're saying the power supply is dead. It's impossible to tell what's wrong with a no-power homepod without disassembling it for diagnosis, but you can GUESS what's wrong with it by looking at it's power draw. Zero watts of power draw is usually a blown fuse on the power supply. 1-2 watts draw is usually a short on logic board. 3-7 watts draw is the MOST COMMON with no power pods and is caused by the same shorted diode on the amp. At least 9 out of 10 no power homepods are the same dead diode, NOT a power supply or logic board issue. nicsfix.com/#commonissues
@@NicsFix Thanks a lot for the response. It seems to me that the fuse has blown, I’m not sure as I can’t check the power draw for my HomePod. Can I use any 3.15 AH Fuse to replace the one on my HomePod? Or should I use the exact same fuse. I don’t have much idea about these things.
@@hammer2302 I'd suggest replacing with "T3.15AH250V" It is specifically designed to fail under specific conditions, you'd want to stick to it for the best protection
Damn! It's probably bricked :( Please submit feedback to Apple through their feedback portal asking for them to enable the restore function on these, even if we have to solder the usb cable onto it!! nicsfix.com/#commonissues
I am so screwed, HomePods are so expensive and out of stock and this JUST happened to mine, I am in Slovakia, no-one wants to handle the repair... any advice? I am considering buying iFixit tools and try to do this, but the welding stuff is just not for me, I would screw up... so :( yeah
At this point you don't have much more to lose! I also offer 50% off my repairs if you find the fault and send in just the board for repair. You may also have some luck looking for a local repair shop and providing the repair info to see if they're willing to take up the task!
Like the Chanel owner said, dissasable the pod, and give your best local repair shop a visit with exact steps what to do (hey please change this diode) this will be way cheaper
So much for Apples environmental policy. Repairable Apple products is just a myth. Well done for your work and the video. I was about to take my dead HomePod to the Tip but will now have a go at fixing it.
