You perform all of this at your own risk with no promises, guarantees, warranty, whatever. Mistakes made with software can be restored with software, but mistakes made with hardware will need repair. Approach with care
17.6: https://nicsfix.com/ipsw/17.6.ipsw
17.5 (no longer signed): https://nicsfix.com/ipsw/pod17.5.ipsw
Video Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCm-ac8EmaE
p.0. you need a usb connection to your homepod. the port on the pod is under the rubber base. remove the base by wedging your fingers between the base and mesh, pry it straight off. no heat necessary. it will stick back on with no issues.
p.0.0. while you can solder directly to the debug port on the pod, it's not recommended. the pads are fragile. You can make your own adapter (based on tihmstar's design) you only need the four usb 2.0 wires for restoring. for troubleshooting hardware issues, you will need UART. I am also selling premade adapters here!
p.0.0.0. avoid removing / disturbing dongle while the pod is powered. the pads are close together with voltage next to data lines and you risk shorting and damaging something if mistakes are made. it's best to disconnect power from pod first, then unplug dongle usb, then remove dongle from pod
p.1. tested on apple silicon, may work on intel / linux with additional tweaks
p.2. your homepod should show as Recovery Mode on a connected computer when powered on oriented normally. If it never connects in Recovery Mode, or it only gives DFU mode, it's likely a hw issue, but you can still attempt to restore. this is just for reference, you will actually restore in DFU mode upside down.
p.3. Homebrew https://brew.sh/
p.3.0. after you install homebrew for the first time in your terminal, you will see "Next Steps, Run these two commands..." Run those two commands!!
p.4.
brew tap d235j/ios-restore-tools
brew install --HEAD libimobiledevice-glue
brew install --HEAD d235j/ios-restore-tools/libimobiledevice
brew install --HEAD libirecovery
brew install --HEAD idevicerestore
brew install --HEAD gaster
brew install --HEAD ldid-procursus
Now you can restore homepods!
- Place and keep your HomePod upside down, and connect the adapter to the homepod first. Then, plug the usb into computer. Only then, can you plug power into homepod.
-
It is important you do this in order. Leave upside down. USB to PC first. Then Power to Pod.
-
allow any accessory connect prompts (pay attention to ones while running restore process too)
- run the following, replacing YOUR.ipsw with the location of your .ipsw file
gaster pwn
gaster reset
idevicerestore -d -e YOUR.ipsw
- Do not disturb HomePod or cable during restore process
- If the restore is unsuccessful, just try again! But...
- If you get an
Unable to restore deviceerror because offailure when attempting to flash the nitrogen firmware, try again from step 1 and it should work. - If you consistently get
Possibly invalid iBecerror, orWaiting on NANDduring restore, it's probably hardware failure (bga / nand) - Basically, it should restore successfully if it's purely a software brick, and your connection and cables to the homepod are good enough.
- If you arent able to get a USB commection to your HomePod, look for any balled-up bits of the black adhesive keeping your adapter from sitting flush. You may need to clean all the adhesive off the bottom of your homepod, to allow the adapter to make closer contact.
- Be patient. Takes a few minutes. Once you see
Restore Completecontinue waiting about a minute. Then unplug power first, then usb, flip rightside up, reconnect power and wait for setup chime. At this point it can be set up and used like any other homepod. This does not break over the air updates or any features / functionality.
You may see many repeating timeout messages like so:
ReverseProxy[Ctrl]: (status=3) Connect Request ReverseProxy[Conn]: Got device identifier [redacted] ReverseProxy[Conn]: (status=1) Ready ReverseProxy[Conn]: Received Ping command, replying with Pong ReverseProxy[Conn]: Connection closed ReverseProxy[Conn]: (status=2) Terminated No data to read (timeout)This is normal and may take up to 10–15 minutes.
If you want to try building an .ipsw yourself, accomplish the prerequisites first. This is actively being worked on to be made easier.
- Download the latest ./makeipsw.sh from tihmstar's repo
- Download the desired signed, full OTA .zip for AudioAccessory1,1 (from ipsw.me). You need the one with the full ramdisk (usually the largest one with no prerequisites)
- Download the same version of the signed full .ipsw for AppleTV5,3 (from ipsw.me)
- Download the
_keys_17.5_and_17.6.zipfrom this repo. Currently working for 17.5 and 17.6 (new / self key generation coming soon to makeipsw.sh script) chmod +x makeipsw.shbrew reinstall ra1nsn0w(to ensure you have the latest version)./makeipsw.sh PATH_TO_HOMEPOD_OTA.zip PATH_TO_APPLETV.ipsw PATH_TO_OUTPUT.ipsw PATH_TO_KEYS.zip
- Point the first path to the latest signed, FULL ota .zip for AudioAccessory1,1 file you downloaded
- Point the second path to the latest signed, FULL .ipsw for AppleTV5,3 file you downloaded
- Point the third path to where you want your ipsw to be output, along with a name (like ~\Desktop\nic\homepod.ipsw)
- Point the fourth path to where you downloaded the keys.zip file from this repo
Huge thanks to thimstar, and David Ryskalczyk, for making all of this happen. All I've done is test and put guides together! Consider donating to them if you found this helpful
