How to Use HomePod & HomePod mini Physical Controls

HomePods have a simple touchpad on top of them, but these have a surprising number of functions! I will teach you all the ways you can control your HomePod or HomePod mini using physical controls or touch gestures.

How to Use Every Single HomePod Physical Control

It doesn't matter if you have the discontinued HomePod, the new HomePod, or one of the HomePod minis; all physical HomePod controls are the same! When controlling your HomePod, all you need to do is tap the touchpad with your finger. The controls depend on the app using the HomePod and the number of taps and tap-and-holds. For more HomePod and other Apple product tips, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter. Here's how to use all the HomePod physical controls:

1. To turn the volume up by one level, tap the + button to make your HomePod louder.
   
   
2. To turn the volume down by one level, tap the - button to make your HomePod quieter.
   
   
3. To change the volume continuously, double-tap and hold the + or the - and let go once you reach your desired volume.
   
   
4. To pause any audio playing on the HomePod, tap the middle of the touchpad.
   
   
5. To resume playback when the HomePod is paused, tap the middle of the touchpad again.
6. If you have a stereo pair of HomePods as your Apple TV speaker, tapping the middle of the touchpad will pause or resume playback of whatever is playing on your Apple TV.
7. To skip a song when listening to music, double-tap the middle of the HomePod.
8. To replay the previously played song, triple-tap the middle of your HomePod's touchpad. This will not play the song you are currently listening to from the beginning but will skip to the previous track.
9. To activate Siri without using your voice, tap and hold the middle of the touchpad until you see the visual waveform for Siri. Once you see it, you can speak your command without saying "Hey Siri" first. This is useful if you have a lot of Apple devices and want to make sure that your HomePod responds instead of your iPhone or Apple Watch, for example.
   
   
   Image source: Apple
    
10. If you set an alarm on your HomePod, you can dismiss it once it goes off by tapping in the middle. Unfortunately, you can't snooze it with physical controls; you'll have to say, "Hey Siri, snooze" to do that.
11. If you are using your HomePod as a speakerphone for a call, you can end the call by tapping on the green light on the touchpad.
    
    
    Image source: Apple
     
12. If you are in the middle of a call and a second call comes in, you can tap and hold the green light to put a call on hold while accepting the other call.
13. If you put a call on hold and accept a new one, as explained in step 12, you can switch between the calls by double-tapping the touchpad.