AirPlay to multiple HomePods not working

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Level 1

32 points

AirPlay to multiple HomePods not working

Hi everyone, there seem to be a lot of posts about this problem so I have followed the guidance and solutions posted in the other threads, but to no avail.

I'm unable to AirPlay to more than one HomePod through using iOS / iPad 15.1.1, macOS Monterey, or even asking Siri on the HomePod to airplay directly to other speakers. When the request is made, it just times out or presents an error message 'Unable to connect to airplay device.'

I have tried a full factory reset on all of the HomePods, and even factory reset my wifi router and setup a whole new wifi network. This also hasn't worked.

This problem started when everything updated to iOS 15+ / tvOS 15+ and macOS Monterey.

My setup for music is sort of 'hybrid' in that I also use Sonos products in our home. Airplay and multiform airplay to these devices work flawlessly, over wifi or ethernet. It's the HomePods and Apple TV that don't work with multi room AirPlay.

I have followed this guidance from Apple support to try and resolve the problem, but to no avail: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT202068

Here is a sketch of my setup for context. I can airplay to a single HomePod, but not to multiple HomePods:

I use a Linksys Velop mesh system, as living in an urban area and a townhouse meant the router from our internet provider wouldn't reach the top floor, and the wifi airstream around is us very congested.

I have both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz (both frequencies) set to the same ssid as well. Splitting the two bands actually made the issue worse in that nothing would work. Node steering on, or off makes no difference as well.

Any help would be appreciated, otherwise I'll just sell the HomePods for something more robust. (if I'm honest, I can't help but feel its a software related issue, as everything worked flawlessly on iOS / tvOS 14)

Posted on Nov 28, 2021 2:54 AM

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Answer 1

conkertronic Author

Level 1

32 points

Dec 10, 2021 8:59 AM in response to conkertronic

Unfortunately after following the suggested support articles, problems still persist, but in this case Hand Off has also stopped working after a full reset of the HomePods. A clean install of iOS 15.1.1 has also been completed on my devices too.

I think it’s clear that HomePods do not work properly on mesh WiFi networks. Even though everything is on the same network, I often see in the Home App that I can’t control the HomePods, as it comes up with a message ‘you must be on the same network as this HomePod’ - splitting the Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5) into to separate SSID’s is something I’ve also tried, making sure everything is on the same network, but no joy there either.

No matter which room I am in in our townhouse, we get the full 220mbps internet speed and the -db signal strength value is the same, so it’s unlikely that it’s going to be a Wi-Fi signal strength issue.

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Answer 2

bailier

Community Specialist

Nov 29, 2021 6:59 AM in response to conkertronic

Hi conkertronic,

From what we understand AirPlay is working as expected with two HomePods and also an Apple TV. We suggest going to steps that you haven't done in the article: If you can't set up HomePod. Other articles that may help are listed below.

If you continue to have the issue, we recommend contacting Apple Support here: Get Support.

Take care.

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Answer 3

MrJosefK

Level 1

14 points

Jan 10, 2022 7:07 AM in response to conkertronic

Great diagram and feedback... its a bit of a travesty that months later this remains an issue, I followed many of the same steps including removing/reinstalling IOS on HomePods and Apple TV's. My issue started with a new Mac Pro and HomePod mins. I called support 3 or 4 times, reinstalled macOS, Clean installed macOS (Monterey) created a separate partition, then after attempting to use a different set of HomePods (as defaults for the MacPro) realised the issue is widespread, but not before purchasing new HDMI cables to rule this out.... then I find this thread!!!! What an absolute waste of my time hours spent on trying to resolve and issue that is clearly the result of cruddy, buggy software... and not one "Tech Support advisor" identified the issue was a HomePod/Airplay issue.

thanks for again wasting hours of my time and money Apple... pathetic.

I do not believe customers spent multiple hundreds/thousands of pounds for cruddy, buggy software... plus all of my time is just wasted thanks to Apple shipping these insulting "updates"

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AirPlay to multiple HomePods not working

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