Need Help with HomePods

Need Some HomePod Help

I'm having chronic problems with all my HomePods, and hoping someone might have some ideas how to resolve them.

I have 1 OG HomePod and 7 HomePod Minis. All HomePods/iPhones/iPads/Macs are updated to the latest software (26.2). FYI - The problems pre-existed 26.2, they've been going on for years. Every HomePod has been reset (multiple times).

Here are some of the many issues:

• When I try to play a song or artist or playlist from my iPhone/iPad/Mac to a HomePod, quite often it won't work, but if I ask Siri (on the same HomePod) to play the same thing, it will work.

• 2 of the 7 Minis are set up as a stereo pair. As I listen to them at this moment, only the left Mini is playing. The right mini has the glowing top, like it is actively playing, but it is not. Both were playing 15 minutes ago, but the right one stopped and has been quiet since then. It's not unusual for both to start playing, then just one plays, then just the other, then both, then one... you get the idea. As I was writing this left Mini is still playing, but the right Mini is still not and it's top just stopped glowing. I used my iPhone to stop the music. Then I tapped the right Mini and asked it to play music. Music started playing, but it's only playing from the left Mini. Using the Home app, restarted the pair, now they're both working again. ...45 minutes have passed the right stopped again.

• I'll ask Siri to play something on, for example, the Kitchen HomePod, and that works fine. But when I ask Siri to also play this on, for example, the Living Room HomePod, that fails.

• Basically the same thing as above except when my iPhone is the source. The first HomePod plays fine, but using the AirPlay interface to add another speaker that fails, just get the spinner and then nothing. To be clear, I don't mean to imply that there is a maximum of one HomePod playing at a time. When things are working properly, all the HomePods can play at the same time. It's just that too often there are failures for a random HomePod to play.

I don't know if this is an issue with wi-fi, bluetooth, AirPlay, or something else. I can tell you that there does appear to be some communication with the HomePod before failure, as very often the target HomePod's top will light at the time of the request.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks