Why and how to rename your HomePod

Learn how to use the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to rename your HomePod so you can differentiate it from other HomePods in your house.

iPhone Home app showing the Now Playing screen with multiple HomePods of different colors in the background

Apple lets you set a name for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Watch, Vision Pro, AirTag, as well as your HomePod.

By default, a regular HomePod or the HomePod mini is simply listed as “HomePod.” But you may have never noticed this or thought about renaming it, as on most occasions, the HomePod’s name appears as the room it’s kept in. For instance, I have my HomePod in my office. So, it shows up as Chris’s Office.

However, suppose I have two HomePods in my office. In this case, giving each one a unique descriptive name helps.

If you happen to live in a household with a bunch of Apple devices, identifying them in the AirPlay, AirDrop, and other menus gets confusing fast. Therefore, you need more descriptive names for your Apple gadgets, like “Mom’s iPhone 15”, “Dad’s iPad Pro,” and so forth.

How to rename your HomePod

You can do it from your phone or computer.

Using your iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Home app.
  2. Touch and hold the HomePod icon in the Home tab and select Accessory Settings.
  3. Tap the default “HomePod” name mentioned at the top and type in the new name for the speaker.
  4. Lastly, tap Done on the keyboard.
Renaming HomePod using iPhone Home app

It may take a few seconds or minutes for your newly assigned HomePod name to synchronize through iCloud across all your connected Apple devices, apps, and services.

Using your Mac

  1. Open the Home app and make sure you’re in the Home tab.
  2. Right-click over the HomePod tile and choose Accessory Settings. You can also click the HomePod tile and hit the gear icon from the next screen.
  3. Type the new name in the “HomePod” field and close this screen to save your changes.
Renaming HomePod using Mac

On a related note: How to rename the room your HomePod is in