As of the end of last year, Apple Music is no longer the only music streaming service compatible with HomePods, from Apple. The only problem, so far, the various players in the sector have not scrambled to make their service compatible with these connected speakers. In France, Deezer has just opened the ball.
Since the introduction of the HomePod mini late last year, Apple has announced that Apple Music could be replaced by another music streaming service on its smart speakers.
The door was technically open therefore, and Pandora, a service that is not available outside of North America, seized on this possibility. However, since then, no competing streaming service, whether Spotify or YouTube Music, has followed suit. Until the very recent announcement of the arrival of Deezer on Apple’s platforms.
A service not only available, but also very popular in France. Here’s how to get your HomePod to play songs from Deezer instead of Apple Music. Be careful, however, you must have subscribed to Deezer to be able to make this change.
1 – Some prerequisites to respect
First of all, to take advantage of this function, you must make sure that the devices and applications are up to date.
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you need iOS or iPadOS 14.3 or later installed on your Apple device. To make sure, go to Settings / General / Software update.
- Now make sure your HomePod is running the latest version available. From your iPad or iPhone, go to the Home application.
At the top left of the interface, click on the house icon, then in the menu that appears tap on Home settings.
Scroll down the interface until you find Software update. Type and wait for the new interface to confirm that All accessories are up to date or you need to download one. For more peace of mind, activate the option of Automatic updates.
- Now all that remains is to make sure that your Deezer app is up to date on your iPad or iPhone.
To make sure, go to the app App Store, then tap on your account icon at the top right of the interface.
In the window that opens, make sure that Deezer is not one of the applications that need to be updated.
2 – Pair Deezer with your HomePod
Before you can ask Siri to play songs from Deezer, you will need to link your Apple smart speaker to the Deezer app.
- Launch the music service application. Click on the cogwheel located at the top right of the interface.
- Then scroll through the menus until you find Pair my HomePod.
- Then tap on the button Use at home, then in the next window on To end.
3 – Set HomePod’s default music service
Now that your Deezer account is activated for a HomePod, you will need to have your connected speaker turn to this service when you ask to play a song.
- From your iPhone or iPad, go to the Home application.
- At the top left of the interface, click on the logo symbolizing a house, then, in the menu that appears, on Home Settings.
- In category People, which are at the top of the interface, click on the icon that represents you.
- In the new interface that opens, scroll down until you find the section Multimedia content. You should see at least two options Apple Music and Deezer. Tap on the sub-heading Default service, then in the new window, select Deezer.
Note that it will still be possible to ask Siri to play music from Apple Music, but it will be necessary to specify the source when speaking the command. For example : ” Hey Siri, play the Foo Fighters on Apple Music. By default, Deezer will be called upon.