Got a HomePod mini and have been unable to effectuate a Handoff, transferring sound to and from my phone by placing the phone in close proximity to the HomePod. Tried all the usual YT suspects, but no dice.
Called Apple Support. After an hour and a half of restarts, returning the HP to factory defaults, and playing with settings, the Support tech found a suggestion that even she thought was pretty weird—on the iPhone, I went to Settings>Privacy>Motion & Fitness and enabled Fitness Tracking. Voilà! Handoff now works as advertised.
I would love to understand why that worked—the Support tech had no idea…and couldn’t stop laughing.
Definitely the weirdest solution I’ve ever encountered in almost 35 years of working with Macs.