Remote app not working with Catalina. When will this be fixed. Massive problem for me

Did you actually get the Remote app to play music this way? I've tried turning on Media Sharing as described and my iTunes library does appear in the Remote app in iOS, but I haven't been able to click anything and get it to play.

Sharing is not the problem - the "remote" app is the problem as it does not work with Catalina (as described in my previous post - at least not for me)

Is there anyone who have solved this problem yet?

True. I spoke too early. It is an apparent bug and not the only one (I had problems with audio streaming that were almost completely fixed with the latest upgrade to tvOS 13.2.

Let's hope Apple fixes it soon.

Babowa, like myself, is here to help fellow users. Our points are the voting result by the thousands of users that we have helped over the years. Hopefully, through your own contributions, you will acquire a further appreciation for this commitment.

GLinSLC wrote:

Thanks for techsplaining babowa. I have contacted Apple and hoped that someone here may have a workaround. I see that britter8 is working on it so I'm relieved and know that he/she will have a better workaround than home sharing which is not a workaround.

That's a lot of points you have, did you earn all of them from correcting newbies who shout in lowercase? I'm impressed and stand corrected as I step into your hallowed ground of volunteers.

FWIW, I've learned over the years that it is probably best to not attack/insult volunteers trying to help you.

Thanks for suggestion but as I wrote in my first post ;-)

If using iOS "Music" and home sharing feature, we either need to stream the actual file from iMac through the device and stress network and sluggish response as a result of large files and library. Second possibility is the stream compressed copies from the "cloud" and stream to speaker.

Neither of these choices are acceptable - We need an update of Remote for iTunes so it works with new Music application running on Catalina or just to add decent remote function through iOS Music!

Well, I can't tell you, when Apple will get this fixed unfortunately. But I can tell you, what to do in between.

There is an app called "retrospectice" that makes iTunes compatible with catalina. This also includes remote control features... You won't find it on the app store though, but any search engine of your choice might help :-)

Good luck and thanks to an active community and to clever developers finding solutions and answers where Apple fails...

mindmachine123

I can't locate any app called "retrospectice" and it's baffling why Apple would release a new OS that breaks the iTunes Remote app and not offer a suitable replacement. Like many on this thread, I've used the iTunes Remote app for years to control iTunes via my iPhone. Now Apple is requiring me I need to physically be at my Mac to do this. Maddening.

Since I do not want to switch off all of Apple's security measures to install some 3rd party tool (no offence intended), I worked around Apple's failure by firing up Microsoft Windows 10 in a Virtual Machine, install iTunes, and connect it to my music library via a soft link in a folder shared between my Mac host and its Windows guest.

Annoying, but at least that works.

I have a considerable music collection that I put on iTunes. Since the “upgrade” to Catalina I have had no end of problems with Music (as iTunes seems to have been reticle) remote app won’t work, much of the album art hasn’t appeared. Some will appear with “Find Album Art” but just as many doesn’t and, therefore, has to be searched for manually.

the most annoying losses in this inferior system is 1. Search for a band in Albums just used to show me them all in the order I have them, now it gives me a awkward list that, when I open one it I not then easy to go through the others, I have to go back and start the whole process from the beginning. 2. If I just scroll down to a band in albums, in the Rs for example, (my preferred way of doing things in the good iTunes) and open a album to check the tracks, when I close it I am sent back to the beginning of the A’s.

This absolutely destroys the notion of Apple products and software being intuitive and user friendly. I absolutely hate this dreadfully I’ll-conceived software update, it is a massive fail for Apple

I too have a considerable large music collection.

Ever since I upgraded to Catalina (the day it came available - not beta), I've had nothing but issues like everyone else. After installing Retroactive for iTunes (first looked promising). The iTunes Remote worked perfectly. However everything with syncing music, video and pictures would NOT work. I tried a few steps others suggested with no luck.

Yesterday (after a month of frustration) I downgraded back to Mojave. Thank goodness for Time Machine backup. Everything is back to normal and is working perfect. Lesson learned, NEVER to upgrade within the first 2 months of a new operating system. In the past I've never had issues.

Catalina never should have been released until after the beta versions proved that everything works properly.

[Edited by Moderator]

Since downgrading to Mojave this past Saturday, Everything is working GREAT. No issues, everything is working like it should. I don't plan to upgrade to Catalina for some time. I'll wait to know if everything is working like it should. I learned my lesson not to upgrade until things have been proved to be working right. I can use iTunes Remote and can sync my music, video and pictures via iTunes with NO problems. Thank you everyone for your inputs and suggestions.

I wouldn't mind Home Sharing except you cannot push the music from iOS across multiple wifi speakers throughout the house. It appears I can only select one speaker at a time. And it does impact my hearing aid- iOS functionality. Unless I'm missing something, can you push music from the iOS to multiple wifi speakers?

I have now got a functional sharing icon that I have configured to facilitate Remote. I have had to reassign my Music folder and so this has more of the iTunes functions but I am still having to manually restore a lot of cover art. Playing music from Albums still has the problem of going back to the beginning of the A’s when I open an album so I am using Artist to search for tunes at present. The search function is still not working but I am, at least in a better position to work around the glitches now

Partial workaround: I now carry my iMac keyboard into the dining/lounge (where the music is streaming to two airplay devices with speakers attached), then I can use CMD-UpArrow and CMD-DownArrow to control the volume in the Music app. I cannot see what track is playing (not even on my Apple Watch), but at least I can adjust the volume and skip tracks. One downside: I keep forgetting to carry the keyboard back into my study when I return there! Is it possible to pair 2 keyboards with a Mac?

I was thinking of upgrading my Apple watch 2 for Christmas but without the Remote app working I think I'll hold off to see whether the reduced functionality will be restored, or whether it was intentional. I think I'll ask my wife for a new Sony lens instead.