AirPlay Dolby Atmos from iPhone to HomePods

Question

AirPlay Dolby Atmos from iPhone to HomePods

Hi.

I’m trying to figure out how to correctly AirPlay music in Dolby Atmos from my iPhone to my stereo pair of HomePods. Is it even possible? It only shows up as lossless in the Music app while streaming.

I have two different setups:

Apple TV 4K + 2 HomePods as Home Theater
2 Homepods paired as stereo speakers

Using the Music app on my Apple TV streams Dolby Atmos to the connected HomePods without issue.

Using my iPhone to AirPlay to either of the setups only outputs as lossless, not Dolby Atmos.

Listening to music on the phone itself without connecting to the speakers, it plays in Dolby Atmos as expected, but as soon as I choose to Airplay to my speakers it changes output to Lossless.

HomePod

Posted on Oct 25, 2023 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mariusmorkhansen Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 26, 2023 1:08 PM in response to ryane77

Hi.

Just to verify. Is it even possible to AirPlay from Apple Music on my iPhone to my 1st gen HomePods paired in stereo?

While listening to music on my phone (shows up as playing in Dolby Atmos, see frist image). I press the AirPlay button at the bottom of the screen and choose the HomePods as my output device. This then changes from Dolby Atmos to lossless, see second image.

Is this the "correct" way to stream music? Because if I go into my control center and choose to control my HomePods from the AirPlay menu (not using AirPlay from my phone, but controlling the HomePod directly) I do get Dolby Atmos. Is the problem when the phone is the "source" of the music? Because it seems to work if the HomePod itself is the source and I only *control* it from my phone, not *stream* from my phone.

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Answer 2

Oct 26, 2023 12:37 PM in response to faith185

Hi.

Thanks for the reply. The settings you suggested are already turned on. I’ve even tried turning the settings off and then on again. All of my devices are running iOS 17.1.

I’m still not able to AirPlay to my HomePods and get the output as Dolby Atmos. Only lossless shows up as output, see image below. This is streaming directly from my iPhone to my dining room HomePods.

The only way for this to work is to AirPlay music from my TV to the HomePods (I have two different pairs). It will not allow me to stream Dolby Atmos directly from my iPhone to the HomePods, it needs to go via the TV as shown in the image below. This is streaming from my Apple TV + HomePods setup to my dining room HomePods and then "controlled" from my iPhone again. This is the only way I can get the HomePods to output Dolby Atmos.

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Answer 3

faith185

Community Specialist

Oct 26, 2023 11:51 AM in response to Mariusmorkhansen

Hello Mariusmorkhansen,

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. These steps from About Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos in Apple Music - Apple Support should help get Dolby Atmos working on your HomePod.

"How to listen to Dolby Atmos on your HomePod

Update your HomePod to the latest software version.
You need the Home app on the iPhone or iPad that you used to set up your HomePod.

Turn Dolby Atmos on or off

On your iPhone or iPad, open the Home app.
Tap the Home button .
Tap Home Settings.
Under People, tap your name.
Tap Apple Music.
Turn Dolby Atmos on or off."

Kind regards.

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Answer 4

ryane77

Community Specialist

Oct 26, 2023 12:48 PM in response to Mariusmorkhansen

Hi Mariusmorkhansen,

Thanks for following up! Since this is only happening when you play content from your iPhone, it might be worth checking your iPhone-specific settings along with the ones mentioned above. About Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos in Apple Music - Apple Support

"Choose how to listen to Dolby Atmos on your iPhone or iPad

Update your iPhone or iPad to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.
Go to Settings.
Tap Music.
Under Audio, tap Dolby Atmos.
Choose Automatic, Always On, or Off.

If you choose Automatic, here’s what you need

Supported songs automatically play in Dolby Atmos when you're listening with:

Any Apple or Beats Bluetooth headphones
If you’re using headphones that support Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, you need to turn on Spatial Audio in Control Center.
The built-in speakers on an iPhone XS or later (except iPhone SE), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation or later), iPad Pro 11-inch, or iPad Air (4th generation or later)

If you choose Always On, here’s what you need

If you want to use wired headphones, choose Always On."

If this doesn't clear up the behavior, use this link to reach us directly: Get Support

Take care.

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Answer 5

jeffd55

Community Specialist

Oct 26, 2023 1:50 PM in response to Mariusmorkhansen

Hello Mariusmorkhansen,

Yes, it should be possible to stream music to your HomePods from your iPhone. You can take a look at this article for the steps to get it set up and streaming:

Play audio on HomePod using an iOS or iPadOS device

Best regards.

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Answer 6

Wisir

Level 1

8 points

May 1, 2024 11:23 AM in response to Mariusmorkhansen

Hi,

i have exactly the same problem.

I think Apple need an update because this is really annoying.

i though have a temporary solution: if you ask and start your home pod via Siri on the HomePod, then usually Dolby Atmos works even if you then take control from you iPhone afterwards.

I have no idea why but it seems to work.

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AirPlay Dolby Atmos from iPhone to HomePods

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