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

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...

Top Rated Comments

vegetassj4 Avatar
29 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
29 months ago
It would be cool if HomePod could turn into a fire sprinkler too.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xpxp2002 Avatar
29 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
29 months ago
instructions??
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jhollington Avatar
29 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
29 months ago
HomePod needs to alert us when cats or dogs keep knocking down the HomePod from the table.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)