Every time I start the Visualizer in Apple Music on my Mac it immediately drops any Airplay connections that are running. After exiting the Visualizer I can not reconnect to the Airplay device(s) without restarting Apple Music (at least) and sometimes I have to restart the Mini. Any idea about resolving this?
I'm on a Mac mini, M1, 8GB, macOS 13.1
Mac mini 2018 or later
Hello M(a)tt,
To help us get a better understanding of the issue, we’d like to ask a few questions.
1. When this happens, and the AirPlay connection is dropped, do you receive any errors?
2. If you do receive an error, what does the error say?
3. Does this only happen when using visual effects in Music on Mac, or do you experience issues with AirPlay connection at other times as well?
The above information will help us confirm how to proceed.
Please also check out this link, which has some good information on streaming audio using AirPlay, and may help: Stream audio and video from your Mac with AirPlay
This link has some information on using visual effects in Music on Mac, which may help as well: Turn on visual effects in Music on Mac
1. In the Music appon your Mac, do any of the following to play music:
• Stream songs from Apple Music
• Play songs from your library
• Play Apple Music radio
• Listen to an internet broadcast
• Play CDs
Note: A song needs to be playing before you can use the visualizer.
2. Do one of the following:
• Turn on visual effects: Choose Window > Visualizer.
To change visualizer options, choose Window > Visualizer Settings > [option]. For example, to show or hide music videos, choose Window > Visualizer Settings > Play Videos. A checkmark means that videos will play. (Not all visualizers support options, so Options may be dimmed.)
Tip: To show or hide a list of commands you can use to control the visualizer, press the Question Mark key (?) on your keyboard while the visualizer is on.
• Turn off visual effects: Choose Window > Visualizer (to remove the checkmark), or press the Esc key.
Thanks!
Thanks for getting back to us M(a)tt,
We’d like to isolate the issue a bit. Let’s see if it works as expected in a new User or Administrator account. In case you need help setting up a new account, here are the steps: Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support You’ll want to log out of your own account before logging into the new one. Also, be sure to sign in with the same Apple ID.
If you’re using an Apple Music subscription, simply sign into the Music app with the same Apple ID. If you have purchased songs, redownload them to the Music app in this new account: Redownload music - Apple Support
Please let us know the results when you're able.
All the best.
Hello!
Answers to those questions:
I created a Standard test account and an Administrator test account on the Mini. I logged in to each account and opened Music. I downloaded some songs and started playing them.
In both of the fresh test accounts, engaging the Visualizer disconnects Airplay in exactly the same way it does when I am logged in to my everyday account. That is, Airplay connections and the local headphone output are immediately stopped when the Visualizer is engaged. At that point the Visualizer display appears to be 'stalled' i.e. not responsive to musical cues, even though the audio meter icon next to the song playing is active and the progress bar under the song title is advancing.
Once sound output is dropped, only the headphone connection can be reconnected without restarting Music.
This behavior seems to be consistent whether the audio file is local (downloaded) or streamed (Apple Music Radio e.g.)
When I was closing Music in preparation of switching to a test account, Music did throw a 'quit unexpectedly' error.
Thanks,
M@
Thanks. I have contacted Apple Support. Following some clarifications and settings checks with Support, they had me re-install the OS. Following re-install, the problem persisted exactly as before. I also found that I can not boot into safe mode. Apple Support was in the process of escalating me to another department when the call dropped and I have not heard back from them.
I did test with Safe Mode (I had trouble booting into safe mode before but that was because I got the key sequence wrong) and the issue persisted. I got Support back on the line and they are recommending a system reset. I am considering doing that but I am not sure it is worth the trouble.
Hello M(a)tt,
Thanks for that detailed info. Since it's occurring system wide, it's time to get this info over to Apple Support to investigate more with you.
Thanks.
Apple Music Visualizer on Mac breaks Airplay
