HomePod Airplay: Unable to Connect and Paused

I spent a significant amount of money on a HomePod that turned out to be both defective and unusable. It consistently fails to connect to AirPlay and is always in a paused state. Since I didnt inform Apple about the problem within two weeks after buying it, Apple have refused to issue a refund or credit. On top of replacing the HomePod three times, keeping the software current, and multiple visits to the Genius Bar, this remains Apple's most disappointing product. A company worth $3.60 trillion, which takes good usable money from an educator to provide a non good, non usable HomePod, this is truly regrettable.