HomePod connection issues?

I’ve had the second Gen HomePod for a couple months and while it sounds great, I keep having connection issues. Mainly between my iPhone and HomePod. The HomePod wifi has full bars, it’s the same network. I’m aware that you can unplug the device and restart your phone but that’s a pain! We shouldn’t have to do that nearly every day. What the HomePod really needs is a way to force connect it and not relying on it to automatically connect. I’m a bit let down by Apple. I expected a great, smooth experience.

For the record: the HomePod works fine with voice, it’s the controlling it with my phone that’s the issue. I like to use the music player screen on my phone to skip music. After all, it’s easier to tap a button than to say “hey siri. Skip” several time.

All of my devices are up to date too. I don’t know what else to do but I’m tired of this not working consistently. I expect consistency from Apple. Am I missing something? I’ve done most of the troubleshooting including factory resetting the HomePod. I keep hoping they’ll update it to fix this issue but they don’t.