Listening to paired Homepods (1st gen) using MacBook Pro.

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Level 1

26 points

Listening to paired Homepods (1st gen) using MacBook Pro.

Hi... I just bought another Homepod, in order to have a stereo pair (both 1st Gen.)

I managed to pair them using my iPhone & they did both function in stereo from my iphone. But I don't listen to stuff on my iPhone normally, I play off my MacBook Pro. Not just iTunes, but also radio such as BBC Sounds/Radio or Global Player radio (in Safari.)

The problem is I can't get them to both play from my MacBook. Where I change the sound output (internal/ bluetooth Soundsticks or Homepod,) both Homepods appear individually. And only one works at a time!

It made me rename them when pairing, so "HomePod 1" is my original one & "HomePod paired" is the 2nd one I just got.

My objective is to play them as a pair, but might be relevant to say "HomePod 1" alone is playing ok (on its own) from my MBP. But 2hen I select the 2nd one in the sound menu - "HomePod paired" - it plays alone for a few seconds, then reverts back to MacBookPro internal speakers.

When pairing them, I did software updates.

Could anyone help me get my MBP to recognise them as a pair in the Sound menu/prefs please?

HomePod

Posted on Apr 12, 2023 12:53 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

j.7 Author

Level 1

26 points

Apr 13, 2023 6:37 AM in response to Vancouver22

Thank you for the advice. Sounds like my Mac update is the problem. I came across the below, and haven't got OS 11.3 yet. I'm still on 10.14 (from when I bought the Macbook in 2019.)

https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/use-stereo-paired-homepods-with-mac/

"[stereo pair]...In previous versions of macOS, such a setup had a glaring limitation: HomePods set up as a stereo pair could only be used in the Music app and other apps that support AirPlay. In other words, it was only possible to select separate ‌HomePod‌ speakers from the menu bar on a Mac, which meant using stereo-paired ‌‌HomePod‌‌ speakers as your Mac's audio output device was a non-starter.

Fortunately, Apple fixed this omission in macOS Big Sur 11.3, and it's now possible to use a ‌HomePod‌ stereo pair as you default audio output on a Mac."

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Answer 2

Vancouver22

Level 8

37,790 points

Apr 12, 2023 3:42 PM in response to j.7

Start by updating all software. HomePod has 16.4.1 to install today. See if your Mac needs an update.

force quit the app you’re using and restart your Mac.

try restarting HomePods.

you could also try signing out of iCloud on your Mac and signing back in.

As a last resort you might need to reset HomePods and set up again . Be sure to ungroup them first.

Reset HomePod or HomePod mini - Apple Support

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Listening to paired Homepods (1st gen) using MacBook Pro.

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