Homepod cuts out over Airport Express

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Level 1

22 points

Homepod cuts out over Airport Express

Hi,

I have an Airport Express (first generation) connected to my amplifier through the audio out jack and RCA cables. I'm able to play music through my MacBook Pro (Apple Music App) to my speakers. I like the equalizer in Music. I recently purchased a HomePod, which works fine when I use Airplay2 from my iphone or ipad. However, when I stream to the HomePod through the Airport Express/amplifier it (the HomePod) cuts in and out. Should I move my other Airport Express (2nd generation) to the main amplifier or will that be futile? I've seen other posts about disabling WMM on the router, but not sure this would be a good solution. Any ideas?

Chris

HomePod, 13

Posted on Aug 19, 2020 11:30 AM

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Answer 1

chrisste Author

Level 1

22 points

Aug 19, 2020 1:35 PM in response to turingtest2

Thanks for the idea. The Airport Express (1st Gen.) is 2.4GHz only. I have basically the same setup (with the 2nd generation, 5 GHz version in another room) so I'll try that and report back.

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

278,199 points

Aug 19, 2020 12:03 PM in response to chrisste

If your Airport Express supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio you find that HomePod is more reliable if you disable the 5GHz band. The unproven assumption is that when both services are present HomePod gets stuck trying to switch between them for the "best" service.

tt2

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Answer 3

chrisste Author

Level 1

22 points

Aug 25, 2020 2:14 PM in response to chrisste

An update: I swapped the 1st generation with the 2nd generation Airport Express. It looks like everything is now working on Airplay 2 downstairs, which really makes for a crappy listening experience since the equalizer is not available when I do that. I don't know why, but I thought this was possible when I spent the $$$ on the HomePod. So, I guess I'll continue listening through the Music app and Airport Express from my MacBook Pro, but not through Airplay? Someone suggested AirFoil has an equalizer and works with everything. Does anyone have experience with that?

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Homepod cuts out over Airport Express

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