Custom Siri Announcements for Your Home!

[@ShaneCreates]

Follow me on social for more HomeKit stuff every day! ✅ INSTA: instagram.com/shanecreates ✅ TWITTER: Twitter.com/shanecreates ✅ WEB: shanewhatley.com

[@therealnicksmith]

Settings > accessibility > spoken content switch “speak selection” on > go to voices and select from whole bunch of options > go into notes type text > start screen record > select text and speak record that and do the mac stuff. More variety of voices.

[@Isa-hk8xf]

You’re legit the perfect example on how Apple want people to utilize their HomeKit.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thank you!

[@Isa-hk8xf]

Oh ur welcome

[@TJBiasong]

@@Isa-hk8xf sadly apple doesnt want us to utilize homekit without having apple music subscription

[@jessemorales146]

@@TJBiasong why would they want you to use another music service they don’t make money from? Lol isn’t that obvious.

[@iShaymus]

@@TJBiasong why would you want to use an inferior service for the same price as Apple Music?

[@MarkTodd0]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere in the comments (I tried looking), but this also works using the iTunes app in Windows 10. Also, if you're not a fan of the Siri voices, there are a few free online text to speak websites with a bunch of different accents where you can download in m4a format. This way, you don't have to go through the trouble of doing it yourself. You can get through this whole process in under a minute per automation.

[@Silverwing_99]

many thanls for this, really informative and as usual great instructions. My main gripe here and its with apple, is that it mandates an apple music subscription which is obtuse, apple really need to add default tones so I can play a tone when my front doo or patio door opens for example

[@Chuk13838]

Your content is so good, Shane. I follow a lot of HomeKit-centered channels. Yours covers legitimately interesting concepts and goes deep without getting overly complicated. Keep up the great work!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for the kind words Charles!

[@UnlimitedWhitetailHunting]

Thanks!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thank you!

[@jamessanzone7347]

Hello Shane. I just recently started creating a Smart Home via Apple HomeKit. I've purchased and connected 1.) two HomePod Minis, 2.) a Hue Bridge, and 3.) several Philips light bulbs. I've watched this KZbin video several times but cannot duplicate what you describe. Perhaps the video needs to be updated, as it is now two years old. I want my HomePod mini to announce, "Welcome Home James" when I enter my home. Could the trigger be my iPhone? What are my alternatives, and how do I create this automation using the current Apple Shortcut options? Others would benefit from an updated, perhaps more detailed KZbin video on this subject. Thank you for reading this note.

[@TheBradLloyd]

Great video Shane. Just tried it and works great. The pause at the beginning is helpful because the message starts playing before my locks finally respond.

[@ShaneCreates]

Hey Brad, thanks for watching! That’s awesome, I’m glad it’s working well!

[@BlazerRox]

Nice workaround! Hopefully eventually Apple expands home automations to include at least Siri text to voice actions :)

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching Charles. Yes, that would be nice. I hope they continue to expand the capabilities there also.

[@2QRh6g1I]

2 years waiting and counting...

[@IphoneScreen]

I stumbled at this video. I was searching a way to trigger Siri for asking a question, when I come home. But this feature is still not available in homekit. “Smarthome”

[@saschaschroeder7595]

Now I have a HomePod of my own, wohooo! I tried your method… found on the interweb, that you also can use the “show results “-action. On a screen it shows the message, but via voice interaction Siri reads this message. 😊

[@gabrielegelfofx]

You can record your voice messages on Memo app, then assign as audio source the HomePod

[@ashpole20]

Excellent tutorial Shane, thank you. I think you knocked it out the park this week!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks so much Michael! 🙏 Much appreciated!

[@Han1996]

happy “ Shanesday🤩🤩another very usefully video love that personalized message from Siri

[@ShaneCreates]

Haha thanks for watching Han!

[@CarlosRuiz-nx3vm]

Very good video, I didn't know how to send messages to the homepod mini, I think it's something that Apple should improve, thanks.

[@DrumsbyAshWells]

OMG thanks for this. Been working out a way to get my HomePods to announce things much like I do with Alexa in Home Assistant. Your method means I can integrate Home pod talking with Home assistant too! Cheers

[@ktkyletaylor8212]

I’m planning on using a Hue Dimmer Switch in the kitchen to activate voice scenes and play them on HomePod Mini’s throughout the house - “Come to the kitchen” ... “Dinner Time” ... “Keep it down, please”

[@ShaneCreates]

Oh very cool idea! I like it!

[@sergiojohnson1903]

Shane, Thank you so much for this one. I have been trying to figure this out for some time now. Awesome work.

[@ShaneCreates]

Awesome, glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!

[@eliaelad]

Great video. But you don’t need to record your screen. In Mac you can convert test to audio with text editor and then put it in the music.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for the tip!

[@billjones373]

This is a slick way of making this happen. Is there any way to reduce some of the delay between the trigger and the announcement? It lags a bit. Amazon Alexa has a similar setup to this to announce which trigger was activated and the announcement happens much faster but I’d rather use Siri so this solution was perfect. If I can find a way to reduce the lag this is gold.

[@jasonmaeser]

This is awesome Shane! Very nice and creatively done method! will be setting up this weekend!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks Jason!

[@inelonwetrust9169]

Love this one. I do not have a Mac computer to create the voice portion. Can I have a friend create that part and email it to me and add it to my library of my Apple Music account and pull from there?

[@guangyuanyang9306]

Hey Shane, great video! Just wondering, if I'm already playing music using Apple Music on the HomePod, will the music resume after a recorded "Siri song" is played?

[@Lubochna]

Hi Shane! thanx for yours videos, plaese is there any chance to add a music track to homepod mini without apple music subscription?

[@dombull5841]

I noticed that the ‘show alert’ scripting function essentially does the same thing. If you’re not looking at the phone it sends a text notification to, it’ll read it out loud on a HomePod. I only have the one in my apartment, so this might not work for all but the most basic set ups? Worth a try though (and it won’t end up on your music’s last played list. My ‘goodnight’ automation turns off my Apple TV, kills the lights and heaters, then reminds me to check one of the heaters that’s not smart yet and I’ve sometimes left it running all night. Now it reminds me to check it’s switched off as the last step in the automation. Scared the crap out of me the first time it did it though as I never expected it to speak out of the HomePod!

[@ShaneCreates]

Haha that's a great automation. But that probably runs as a "personal automation," correct? Unfortunately I don't think we can use the "show alert" for home automations... like when a window or door is opened.

[@dombull5841]

@@ShaneCreates just double checked and it’s just a standard shortcut, so not a personal automation as far as I can see? I remember creating it as a basic ‘home’ automation originally, then added to it after watching some of your videos for inspiration ☺️. It can be a little flaky sometimes (your wife would NOT approve). Thinking of getting some rfid tags to see if it runs better on there. Failing that, added ‘wait’ functions between actions might give it some space to perform ☺️

[@mmaxton]

You can also suppress this from appearing in the “Recently Played” playlist by editing the rules for this playlist in the Music app on your Mac. First, assign a genre (or artist) that will always be excluded from the Recently Played playlist (I created a genre titled “Automation”. Find the recording that Shane showed us how to create in this video. Right-click it, choose Get Info, and then on the Details tab, find the “genre” text box/drop down. I created / assigned it to Automation. Click OK. Next, locate the playlist, right-click, select “Edit Rules”. Click the plus sign to add another condition. Instead of Artist, click on the drop down to select “genre”. In the next field, select “is not”, and then in the next field, select the “Automation” genre. Click OK. This recording will not be added to your Recently Played list in the future. Also see my response above for instructions on keeping this “song” from playing when shuffling music.

[@onepunchtyler]

Hm doesn‘t work for me. Can’t play anything on the HomePod via automation or shortcut. There is no error message. Nothing happens but I can see the shortcut working.

[@bjorn.holmgren]

Great video! I understand how todo this. Very smart workaround. But, The message is kind of a constant. How do I do if I want to announce todays weather instead!? I.e. a dynamic message. You can’t use the “Speak” command in this very limited subset of shortcuts command.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks! Yea, the speak action is only accessible in "personal" automations, therefore you can't use that in a home automation. There are really only two options to make it work that I can think of. 1. Use an automation server with the Pushcuts app to run the shortcut triggered by a homekit accessory. (requires a dedicated, always-on iOS device) 2. Use the Signals app on a Mac to run the shortcut, triggered by a HomeKit accessory. This would require the Mac to be using a HomePod as audio output, which may not be ideal. My most recent video discusses using the Signals App on the Mac for running shortcuts and automations.

[@bjorn.holmgren]

@@ShaneCreates Thanks for giving it a thought Shane. 2 is not so practical, as you note. I have been looking into pushcut, and also emailed them if they have any idea. I might try 1 and see if its possible. I always check your very well made videos. They give me a lot of ideas! Btw. I just bought the new Think Z-Wave gateway, the first Apple Certified z-wave bridge. And it works really well, I have tested it with several devices, like fibaro dimmer 2 And this opens up a lot of possibilities for HomeKit users. You should give it a try.

[@prbrown509]

Hello! Thanks for the video! Can you tell me what language and voice are you using I can’t find it. Is it UK or USA ? Thanks 🙏🏽

[@thejose24]

Been searching for exactly this for a while now. Thanks Shane!

[@ShaneCreates]

Awesome, glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!

[@michaelthompson657]

Heard about this before but always wanted to see a video, easier than I thought. Thanks man!

[@ShaneCreates]

Sure thing! Thanks for watching!

[@michaelthompson657]

@@ShaneCreates no problem man, anytime!

[@kyrbies]

How can I use text to speech with homebridge? At the moment I do it with siri shortcuts on my iphone… My other solution would be to use shortcuts on the Mac mini where Homebridge is running...

[@terrellclark]

I've already set up like 5 of these. How I got the audio though, is I found a site on google that speaks text into MP3 and downloaded it and added it to my iCloud music library. I also added some custom sounds on them as well, so it's not just speaking but a certain bell sound the kids would recognize and know what it's for.

[@TimDeWaele]

This only works when you pay for Apple Music. Google assistant have more options to let the voice assistant say what you want

[@CCPCraft]

Thank you Shane, great video. Why doesn´t Apple have this has a function in HomeKit? You did a great job, but its a workaround.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching! It is a workaround, no doubt. Not sure why... it does seem like a "speak" action or "show alert" is something that could be handled by HomePod as a part of a Home Automation/convert to shortcut. Maybe one day we'll get that...

[@ManticJohn]

This would be good for announcing if a door is open etc at night, but I hope apple adds this feature without the extra steps

[@ShaneCreates]

Me too! 🤞🏼

[@jaymacibe3731]

Should add to it “Lord of the manor. King of the castle”. First thing I thought of with Back to the Future 2. Lol

[@ShaneCreates]

haha yes! I'm sure we can come up with some fun stuff for this one!

[@snoogcity]

Yes to new videos .

[@tomlawson2330]

Another good tip for making a smart home more personable! Good work Shane! 👍🏼

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks Tom!

[@calcagno4545]

Wait, HomePod is discontinued?? I need to snatch up another one or 2

[@ilvxor]

You can do video->audio only within your iPhone, using a shortcut, (you can create a new one it’s easy, or download it from google)

[@ShaneCreates]

Good tip, thanks for sharing!

[@thebestsage559]

You never disappoint ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching!!

[@thebestsage559]

@@ShaneCreates thanks for the video and comment too 🤞🏾❤️❤️

[@trongtanle1271]

Is there a way to Notify the house through the homepod speaker but not through apple music?

[@mmosbauer]

Great video I was able to follow. your instructions to do the same thing.

[@rgarza7264]

Great video! I’m trying to do this in January 2022 and you have to have an active Apple Music subscription to play any audio on the HomePod using automations, sadly. 😭

[@ericpayne9434]

Is there no way to use something else? I am setting this up for my parent and they do not have a n apple music subscription.

[@Joe4USMC]

August 2022, and I'm having the same issue. An Apple Music subscription is required. :-(

[@guisblacio]

And again, great video and very informative! I always look forward to your videos and learn something new. Great job Shane 👍

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching! I appreciate the kind words!

[@jorgevazquez9839]

Great video. Been having a hard time with automations but I have cleared up many doubts I had to do these. Thank you and keep those videos coming!! 🍻🍻

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks Jorge! Glad to help!!

[@shabagiuly]

Hi Shane and thanks for this video. Just for info, with Documents by readdle you can extract the sound of a video directly from your iPhone ;)

[@ShaneCreates]

Oh nice tip, thanks!

[@serandall21]

Great, as usual. Really learning from your videos! I had figured a way to do this one but was really trying to get a text message or notification on my iPhone. The audio on the Homepod mini is kinda useful if i am home but worthless if i am not home and still want the notification on my iPhone. Any ideas?

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching! There are two ways to accomplish this. 1) using the Pushcut app as an automation server on an always-on iOS device that stays at home. 2) Using the Signal for HomeKit app on a Mac (that stays plugged in) and shortcuts I’ve done videos that cover both of these processes some.

[@craigs.4302]

Should be a standard feature in Homekit and HomePod. I'm not using a Mac or Apple Music subscription to do this. Apple needs to get off their rears and natively implement the fundamental basics...of which? This is mine.

[@tombe1412]

Interesting video again. These are the kind of videos I learn so much from.

[@ShaneCreates]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching Tom!

[@augustya7543]

My question is, when you come back home and when the door unlocks how does the Automation trigger how does it know ? What is the trigger point ?

[@millbean13]

Do you know of any way to accomplish these custom siri notification if you don’t have a Mac computer? I have iPad Pro but I’m an engineer and we don’t use macs. Thought maybe if I could get just the audio file on its own I might be able to save it to my Apple Music library through my iPad so I found a shortcut someone created that’s supposed to separate sound from video clip. So I did same thing you said to do, screen recorded Siri saying stuff, but the shortcut only goes to 50% then stops. So I still can’t seem to get the audio file on its own and I’m not even sure if once I had the audio file I’d even be able to add to music library using iPad. Any ideas? I wanted to use mailbox vibration sensor to announce on HomePod that I have mail and also send a custom notification saying something like “mail has been delivered” (also can’t figure out the second part either). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[@the-bu3lb]

if you are on the same network as your children were you can see your family and share can u set this up for them so when they enter a bedroom or leave the house it will say hello or good by or do u need his or her actual phone to set this up i would like to do a Suprise for them

[@bquinn722]

Great video Shane. I have learned so much from you! I have been trying to get this to work for a while today. However, the audio file does not show up on my phone. I contacted Apple support and they said I need to subscribe to iTunes Match to get the audio file to show on my phone. Do you have that or is there some workaround?

[@ShaneCreates]

I do not use iTunes Match. Your Apple Music library should sync up. Perhaps it's just taking some time to sync across devices?

[@bquinn722]

@@ShaneCreates thanks for the quick reply. I figured what Apple told me was incorrect. Perhaps it is taking time but it just shows “waiting” on my Mac and it has been like that for hours now.

[@Bikepacking]

Has this been improved for 2023 ie easier way

[@socialnetwerck]

Thanks Shane. Why do I need an Apple Music subscription though if this audio file (and any music really) is already in my own personal music library?

[@ShaneCreates]

That is just a limitation it seems of HomeKit automations. In order to use your audio in an airplay speaker automation, you have to have the Apple Music subscription, unfortunately... even if it's our own audio files.

[@shields1989ful]

Is there any other way to add the file to your home pod if you don’t have a Mac pc or from your cell phone?

[@dennismoore3678]

Been looking for a good way tot do this for a while, thanks! Which voice are you using? You can also use shortcuts to encode media to audio only and save to iCloud files. Could then send to a PC

[@ShaneCreates]

Nice tip Dennis, thanks. I am using the Siri Female voice. I find that to be the most natural sounding when doing stuff like this.

[@jacekskrzynecki3553]

Great idea Shane! How to do it without Mac? I have iPad only :(

[@ShaneCreates]

Some people have mentioned apps that can strip out audio from a file and save the audio file only. However, I think you'll still need the Mac to save the file to your Apple Music Library. Last I checked, I don't think there is a way to do that in iOS (which is crazy) and assuming it's the same for iPadOS.

[@jacekskrzynecki3553]

@@ShaneCreates Thanks! So for the moment I have to stay with Pushcut App. Greetings from Poland!

[@MrRanettius]

Hi.Can you tell me if this also works for different family members? I'd like the homepod to play a file when the kid is leaving the school. So put a file on his iphone's music library and created the automation on his phone , but the homepod won't play the song.. Neither when testing the automation. All users are added to homepod (primary user is homepod account). Should I do/look for something else? Thanks

[@pascalvuilliomenet2792]

That is soo cool!! Just like in Hunters Home @ paranormal activity 😂😂

[@jttrclub]

Anyway to get this to only happen every so often like 4-6 hrs

[@kennyogunbekun2466]

Hi Shane, I'm a fan and have been using some of your videos for my Apple homeKit. I recently set up my welcome home automation, which worked fine for like a week . Then just quit on me. I've tried to restart the process from the beginning multiple times. But it just won't work anymore. Please advice me. Thank you.

[@ShaneCreates]

Hey Kenny. Thanks for watching. Sorry to hear you are having issues with the automation. Sorry, it's hard to say what the issue is. I just tried it, and it still works fine for me. Maybe something in the automation isn't configured right?

[@thebestsage559]

Great videos always and always on time ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks so much!

[@Jhovan33]

Do you need an apple music subscription to make this work?

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes

[@tiggerlove12]

Not messing with Shane...gonna have to have him come hook up my house...Great Video Shane(Siri Voice)...🤣😂

[@JonGustafsson]

Do you have to subscribe to Apple Music for this to work? I can’t seem to be able to make an audio action from my own library.

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes you do, last time I checked.

[@carlstevenson8531]

Nice video Shane!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks Carl!

[@_L.L.]

Hey, do you also an alternative for Apple Music Subscription? Because I use my own music.

[@ShaneCreates]

No, unfortunately in order to create an automation like this, you have to have an Apple Music subscription, as far as I know.

[@inelonwetrust9169]

Is there a way to create on someone else’s Mac since I don’t own one and emailing me the file?

[@kv4n]

I’m transitioning from Amazon Alexa to HomePod and Apple has made this so much harder to do this. On Alexa I just asked her to remind me of something at a certain time everyday and she would announce out loud what I asked. I didn’t have to do a hack. I’m started to regret my HomePod purchase now.

[@derekzitnick3336]

Great Video Shane! I would like to know if the winners of the Flic Buttons have already been chosen or what but still LOVE the video keep it up!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks Derek! I'm not sure if they have been chosen yet. That is being done directly by Flic and they said viewers have one week from the publishing of my video to enter. So it should be soon if not already.

[@launderlandlaundry9326]

Great video like always. Question, does the HomePod have an output jack so you could connect the HomePod to an amplifier and then the announcement would play for example through in ceiling speakers. Thinking about putting a HomePod in my business location and using it to play announcements but it would have to be through in ceiling speakers.

[@ShaneCreates]

No, the HomePods do not have an output audio jack.

[@DennisWarner]

iOS and iPad OS 15 shortcuts keeps crashing when trying to create a shortcut and I don’t have an option to add media to play it.

[@kampf-wuffi]

I don't understand why there is no Automation to speak text on e.g. Homepod mini.

[@andresate6314]

I’m running right now to the  store and buying a HomePod mini 😺

[@ShaneCreates]

Haha do it!! 👍🏻

[@jaymacibe3731]

Got one recently. It’s surprising how small it is and yet the speakers are powerful.

[@AlexManMe]

Would this work with airplay 2 devices or only HomePods?

[@mossm717]

You can’t use a windows computer to do this???

[@AgWhatsUp]

Couldn’t you also just use “set playback destination” in shortcuts to HomePod, and then use the “speak” action?

[@dombull5841]

I noticed that the ‘show alert’ scripting function essentially does the same thing. If you’re not looking at the phone it sends a text notification too, then it’ll read it out loud on a HomePod. I only have the one in my apartment, so this might not work for all but the most basic set ups? Worth a try though (and it won’t end up on your music’s last played list.

[@ShaneCreates]

Nice tip. The problem with these options is that these actions: "speak, set destination playback, or show alert" cannot be used when creating a Home Automation. All that can be done in a personal shortcut or automation, but you can't trigger any of these when a door is opened for example, unfortunately. I think that is something many people are hoping to accomplish with something like this.

[@chiuc.c7449]

GREAT VEDIO Shane! Is there any way to run shortcut automatically without saying to HomePod? I want make an automation that remind me the light is turning on for 5 min, do you want turn off?? and then I can say "YES", to turn off the light that I always forgotten ... that will be great , prevent me from being stared at by my wife.. thank you

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks! It depends. There is a difference between "home" and "personal" shortcuts/automations. You can run either automatically, but home automations give you less options and I don't think you can make the HomePod ask for feedback in a home automation. So it really depends on how you want the automation to be triggered. If you want it triggered with by the light turning on, then I don't think you can do that natively. You might be able to do something similar with the Pushcut app, like I did in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYbFiaF5iL99p5I

[@chiuc.c7449]

​@@ShaneCreates yes, I set automations on HomeAssistant. Trigger is not problem, but the only way to run shortcut on HomePod is saying the name of the shortcuts(right?) or use Alexa like this? : www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts/comments/gnm310/running_shortcuts_in_the_homepod_automatically/

[@luimaldonado3897]

Hi Shane, great suggestion. I'm trying to follow along with the instructions. I'm stuck with the step to using the screen recording. When I try to record it, the phone (iPhone 8+) gives me a message that reads: "Not available when AirPlay, CarPlay, Restrictions, or screen mirroring is active." I can't figure out how to undue or resolve this message. Any useful advice for the HomeKit novice who's trying to learn the craft? Thanks in advance and keep the videos coming. They're useful and very creative.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks Lui. It sounds like you have screen mirroring turned on. If so, turn that off in the control center.

[@yuchenliu8386]

The only problem here is that you need to have Apple Music subscription to make HomePod play music (even the music import by yourself) in Home Automation...

[@Homekitgeek]

Another great idea Shane! This one is definitely on my list but I will probably go the full Siri Shortcuts method. Really hoping that Apple adds a text-to-speech in iOS 15 to help us make this more accessible (ie less work!) in the future!

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes, I'm always a fan of less work! I'm excited to see how all this evolves over time from Apple.

[@mrlt1151]

I wish apple would expose a simple homePod "chime" for contact sensors. Sure i get the alert on my phone, but other people in the house don't get the same effect. I used this technique to give a specific alert when my patio door is opened. I have a pool, and my sister has young children, so anytime she is at my house and my patio door is opened, Siri reads out "the door to the pool has been opened." I don't need the alert when i'm home alone, so it's nice that it's specific to when she's here. I'd like to figure out a way to track specifically the kids, in the event that they are here and she is not, but they are device free still. I also like that it specifically mentions the pool as a reminder of the danger. I still deadbolt the lock when the kids are here and we aren't using the pool, but it adds another layer of awareness that i'm happy with.

[@ShaneCreates]

That's a great use case for something like this.

[@mrlt1151]

@@ShaneCreates Homekit makes sharing my home with my extended family really easy. She and a friend sometimes use the pool when I'm at work, so I also plan to Rick Roll her some day. Just need to figure out what the best trigger would be.

[@fxzzurita4220]

Do think their may be a way to have the wall mounted iPad make the announcement or the Aqara speaker instead of a HomePod?

[@ShaneCreates]

No, unfortunately there is no way to make the Aqara Hub speakers play custom sounds.

[@klausgreifenstein5702]

Great video! I don’t have the option of playing files from library on my homepod. Any idea why? Could it be that it is only available in the US? i’m in Europe. I do have Apple Music subscription and can play my welcome message from the itunes library on my mac and iphone but not on the homepod. It’s too bad. I really wanted this😆

[@ShaneCreates]

Hmm.. Not sure. If you have Apple Music, and it works on your iPhone, I don't see why it wouldn't work in the automation. That's odd.

[@klausgreifenstein5702]

@@ShaneCreates I finally figured it out. Somehow in the Home App, the media had been set to a different Apple Music Account than on my phone (I have two acvounts because I lived abroad). It didn’t help to reset or reinstall the homepod. I had to go to settings in the home app, click on my name and then change the media account. Now I have the library back and could set the customized message automation. Awesome!

[@luisbarcenas6076]

Shane, I am trying to have a unique customized message every time. (i.e. I want the voice message to get the temperature outside, look at my agenda and reminders and any other relevant info for the day) This method you showed is a static message. Any idea how to make this a dynamic message? Thanks!

[@ShaneCreates]

Unfortunately there is currently no way to do this from a HomePod, when triggered by a homekit accessory. You can set it up via personal shortcut, and just use the siri command/shortcut name to run it on a HomePod. Here is an older video doing something similar: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYiQZGx7mJ2EsM0

[@luisbarcenas6076]

@@ShaneCreates thanks for the super quick reply!

[@Yitzchaq]

Shane how do u get the vocolink lock keypad to light up. I always have issues getting it to light up so I can enter my code

[@ShaneCreates]

If you tap the keypad it should light up. Or maybe you need to tap the unlock icon to make it light up.

[@phamxhoang]

after adding my record to apple library I couldn’t find it from iphone. Ios15 look like apple changed it

[@krythedog]

Great job! But, after HomePod Siri tell me welcome home, if than I touch the HomePod to play music it still repeats welcome home and no other songs. Do you know why ? Thanks

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes, I mentioned that in the video as the only downside. The HomePod plays the audio just as any audio, or song. That’s also why I added the part in the shortcut that starts playing other music.

[@krythedog]

@@ShaneCreates thanks for your reply! Hope they will adjust soon !

[@optimuscreation]

Can you use windows 10

[@francocapaldo4623]

hi, do we need à music subscription or not ?

[@ShaneCreates]

yes

[@ivo.fernandes]

I’ve followed all steps but it doesn’t work. Do I need an Apple Music Family subscription?

[@ShaneCreates]

You shouldn't need a family subscription, but you do need an Apple Music subscription. As long as the HomePod is setup with the same Apple ID as the primary homekit account that also has an Apple Music subscription it should work.

[@ivo.fernandes]

@@ShaneCreates yes I have one Apple Music subscription and the primary user is me. I can’t understand why it doesn’t work. Any Apple Music music is reproduced when triggered by an automation...

[@jarheadeason99]

Is there a difference between doing this and just setting the airplay destination to your HomePod within the shortcut? For me it seems to work when I run the shortcut from the app but then when I try to set it up with automation the audio just comes out of my phone still :( I think it would be cool if Apple allowed each HomeKit device to store their own specific shortcuts, that way when you automate a shortcut to run it knows which device to run the shortcut from!

[@ShaneCreates]

The problem is that when you create a home automation, that must run entirely on the HomePod or homekit hub. Set destination playback requires the phone, which can't be done in a home automation. Home automations and shortcuts using "convert to shortcut" when setting up automations do actually run from the homekit hubs and don't require another device, but the available shortcut actions are much more limited because of this.

[@geek2330]

Shane, if using a mini split room AC unit, can you control it remotely from outside the WIFI in your home, giving Siri a command while your cell is on cell signal? If so I assume you need a hub like the HomePod Mini, correct? I assume there are smart AC units out there hopefully HomeKit compatible?

[@ShaneCreates]

There are some smart AC units, depending on what kind you are looking for. And yes, to control your homekit accessories remotely, you will need a HomeKit Hub (HomePod mini, Apple TV, or iPad).

[@jackrhodes7635]

Sorry can I ask what voice you are using for the automations? Thanks

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes it’s the “Siri female” voice. I find it to be the most natural sounding.

[@sharimorse6715]

Where did you get the wall mount for your ipad to run your hub?

[@ShaneCreates]

Here's a video on my wall-mounted iPad. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKe1q4F7arWXraM

[@inkeye1]

This is basically what I've been looking for but I don't have Apple Music. Can this be triggered another way to play the audio file? Can this trigger Sonos to play an audio file over the system? I created a file that sounds like the Back to the Future II voice a while ago. Thanks for answering my questions. :)

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching Billy. As far as I know, I believe you have to have Apple Music.

[@Y0V0BANGZ]

You actually don’t need a subscription. These are local files and do not have anything to do with the Apple Music Subscription. You can look up a guide on how to use iCloud and Apple Music app to play local files.

[@ShaneCreates]

That’s true, but I think you still need Apple Music to be able to use your audio within the automation. If not, that would be great tho.

[@inkeye1]

@@ShaneCreates I almost had this working by using an app called Yonomi. I just need to be able to trigger it by location AND by an open door sensor. I'll report back if I finally figure it out.

[@selfhealer1]

Hi Shane. When you set up the voice in shortcuts there is a drop down to change the voice. What voice is yours as there are limited voices. Mine is set to Samantha but this is not the same as the voice that usually comes out of the HomePod.

[@ShaneCreates]

Good question. I should have mentioned that in the video. I use “Siri Female,” which sounds the most natural.

[@OffroadTreks]

@@ShaneCreates It's likely this was changed in iOS at some point, because Siri isn't an option anymore. At least not in iOS 15

[@Kat-dl3kc]

Is it possible to do this without iMac? Only iPad and mini pod is what I have.

[@ShaneCreates]

I believe you have you have a computer to add a your own audio to Apple Music.

[@Kat-dl3kc]

@@ShaneCreates no I don’t

[@Danol03]

@@ShaneCreates You are a badass ... thank you ...I've learned a lot since I subscribed to your channel ... I followed this to the T except I used the app "VideoToMP3" you can separate audio form video then share either file to the cloud. Thanks again man!

[@ShaneCreates]

@@Danol03 Thanks Daniel! Nice tip using VideoToMP3!