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Enable AirPlay 2 on macOS Catalina

Hi,


What's the best way to go about enabling AirPlay 2 on macOS Catalina?


I am currently attempting to use 2 HomePods paired in stereo mode as my Mac desktop speakers but am unable to do so with the default state of AirPlay 2 on Catalina.


Thanks!


— J

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on May 9, 2020 3:21 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 9, 2020 5:33 AM

JeffdotC wrote:

Hi,

What's the best way to go about enabling AirPlay 2 on macOS Catalina?

I am currently attempting to use 2 HomePods paired in stereo mode as my Mac desktop speakers but am unable to do so with the default state of AirPlay 2 on Catalina.

Thanks!

— J





AirPlay system requirements - Apple Support


HomePod - Technical Specifications - Apple




Reset HomePod

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208244


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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 9, 2020 5:33 AM in response to JeffdotC

JeffdotC wrote:

Hi,

What's the best way to go about enabling AirPlay 2 on macOS Catalina?

I am currently attempting to use 2 HomePods paired in stereo mode as my Mac desktop speakers but am unable to do so with the default state of AirPlay 2 on Catalina.

Thanks!

— J





AirPlay system requirements - Apple Support


HomePod - Technical Specifications - Apple




Reset HomePod

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208244


Reply

May 10, 2020 4:04 PM in response to JeffdotC

Thanks for the replies! I can create a stereo pair without issue.


The problem is, the Music app is the only app on the Mac that recognizes the HomePods as a stereo pair. Every single other app (including the Finder!) seems to incorrectly identify the HomePods as single speakers and not a stereo pair.


Is this a bug in macOS?

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May 11, 2020 9:56 PM in response to JeffdotC

Thought I'd follow-up and see if anyone has any ideas regarding how to enable AirPlay 2 in apps on the Mac outside of the Music app (e.g., Finder).


I spoke with Apple support regarding this today — they bounced be back-and-fourth between the HomePod and the Mac teams with no resolution, although representatives from both teams said that this "should" be possible.


After spending >$600 on HomePods that are widely-advertised to work great as a stereo pair, it is incredibly frustrating that this isn't easier to implement.


Currently, my best guess is that there is a major bug in the macOS Catalina AirPlay 2 stack that prevents the system from recognizing paired HomePods.

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Enable AirPlay 2 on macOS Catalina

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