HomePod Can Now Alert You If Your Smoke Alarm Goes Off

The Sound Recognition feature that is built into the latest version of the HomePod and the HomePod mini is now able to detect the beeping of a smoke alarm, sending you an alert if there is an emergency situation.

HomePod 2 and Mini feature 1
Announced when the new ‌HomePod‌ debuted in January, the Sound Recognition option is available as of today, according to TechCrunch. It can detect both activated smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, sending a notification to an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.

If you're at home, you're going to hear a smoke alarm go off, but if you're away, it is a useful feature to ensure that you're alerted as soon as possible when smoke or carbon monoxide is detected. Some smoke detectors are smart and are able to send alerts, but for those who have standard hardware, the ‌HomePod‌ offers peace of mind.

Smoke alarm Sound Recognition can be set up using the Home app on an Apple device. HomeKit setups that incorporate a camera will be able to send a video along with the alert so that you can see at a glance what might be wrong and react accordingly.

Sound Recognition is done through the ‌HomePod‌ or ‌HomePod mini‌ and the alert is sent from device to device, with no involvement of Apple's cloud servers.

Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

Top Rated Comments

vegetassj4 Avatar
9 months ago

“Using the home app” ?
I couldn't find a setting anywhere, so I asked Siri "Hey Siri listen for smoke detector" and got this:



Attachment Image
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
9 months ago
It would be cool if HomePod could turn into a fire sprinkler too.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xpxp2002 Avatar
9 months ago

Get alerts for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors ('https://support.apple.com/guide/homepod/alerts-smoke-carbon-monoxide-detectors-apd1f1921722/homepod') from the HomePod user guide.
From that article:

You can turn Sound Recognition on or off in the Home app. Open the Home app on your iPhone or iPad, tap , tap Home Settings, then tap Safety & Security.
I'm on the new architecture and this section does not exist.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
9 months ago
instructions??
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jhollington Avatar
9 months ago

Just gonna say it, since nobody else has yet: this means it is constantly listening to its surroundings. May mean something, may not, but that means for this to work it must be constantly vigilant to the sounds around it.
Well, HomePods have been listening for "Hey Siri" for years (unless you turn that off), so this isn't really anything new — and, of course, it's also an optional feature.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
9 months ago
HomePod needs to alert us when cats or dogs keep knocking down the HomePod from the table.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

ios stolen device protection

iOS 17.3 Beta Adds New Stolen Device Protection Feature to iPhone

Tuesday December 12, 2023 10:20 am PST by
The first iOS 17.3 beta rolling out to developers today includes a new "Stolen Device Protection" feature that is designed to add an additional layer of security in the event someone has stolen your iPhone and also obtained the device's passcode. Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen reported about instances of thieves spying on a victim's iPhone...
iOS 17

33 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 17.2

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Apple has made available for download its major end-of-year iPhone software update, iOS 17.2, featuring a large number of features and changes that users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 33 new things that your iPhone can do once you've installed the update. Check Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your device to get downloading. 1. Help You Keep a Daily ...
iPhone 16 Mock Back 1

iPhone 16 Early Prototypes: What Apple's Next-Generation iPhone Will Look Like

Tuesday December 12, 2023 3:07 pm PST by
With the launch of the iPhone 15, Apple introduced design changes like a curved frame and a frosted glass back. Information acquired by MacRumors suggests that Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 will build on these updates with modifications to the buttons and the camera layout. We have details on early pre-production designs for the iPhone 16, including a look at the variants and hardware...
CarPlay Phone Call

GM Says It's Nixing CarPlay to Make Drivers Safer

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:47 pm PST by
Earlier this year, General Motors (GM) announced plans to phase out Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto in its future electric vehicles, with the company instead relying on an infotainment system co-developed with Google. This has not been a popular decision with iPhone users, and today, GM provided some additional insight into the decision in a discussion with MotorTrend. According to Tim...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Rumored to Have These 12 New Features

Monday December 11, 2023 10:46 am PST by
While the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are still over nine months away from launching, there are already several rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped new features and changes expected for the devices so far. These are some of the key changes rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models as of December 2023:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped...
Apple TV 2022 Feature Blue

Apple Releases tvOS 17.2 With Revamped Apple TV App

Monday December 11, 2023 9:58 am PST by
Apple today released tvOS 17.2, the second major update to the tvOS 17 operating system that came out in September 2023. tvOS 17.2 comes more than a month after tvOS 17.1, an update that expanded the availability of the Enhanced Dialogue feature. tvOS 17.2 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌...
maxresdefault

Top Five Features in macOS Sonoma 14.2

Wednesday December 13, 2023 3:21 pm PST by
When Apple releases new software, iOS updates tend to get most of the attention, and there are sometimes useful new features in Mac updates that go under the radar. That's the case with macOS Sonoma 14.2. It doesn't have flashy features like the Journal app that came in iOS 17.2, but there are a number of useful improvements that make it worth installing. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube ...