HomePod Pair - Independent Functions

Question

HomePod Pair - Independent Functions

I use Apple Music for both HomePods and have Family Sharing. Still, I can't seem to play different music on the different HomePods. What do I need to do to allow independent control?

HomePod mini, 15

Posted on Nov 20, 2021 9:26 PM

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Answer 1

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Stephen Colley2 Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 21, 2021 4:21 PM in response to Stephen Colley2

In answering my own question, I found out (thanks to Apple support phone call) that this problem depends primarily on the settings for AirPlay. When a song is being played on Music on the device that's tied to the HomePod (a specific Apple ID), click on the AirPlay icon to see through what speaker the music is being directed toward. The problem I had was due to one of the HomePods AirPlay settings were set up to be heard on BOTH of our HomePods. Correct the destination signal to only one HomePod at a time, unless you WANT both HomePods to be playing the same song.

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

272,795 points

Nov 21, 2021 2:44 AM in response to Stephen Colley2

If you set HomePods up as a stereo pair then you should expect them to play the same content, but perhaps you simply mean that you have two of them. If you have a single user Apple Music account then you're only allowed one content stream from Apple. Trying to stream on a different device will pause the first one. Family Sharing is not the same as a family subscription to Apple Music. You should be able to AirPlay locally stored content from one computer or device to one HomePod while streaming Apple Music content to another.

tt2

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Answer 3

Nov 22, 2021 8:52 PM in response to turingtest2

Thanks for the clarification. We do have a family subscription to Apple Music, so we are able to stream from each of our Apple ID accounts independently now that things are fixed. I just didn't realize it was my limited understanding of how AirPlay worked that kept us from being able to operate the Home Pods independently from opposite ends of our house.

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