macOS 27.2: AirPlay to HomePod mini connects, then sound output fails with error -15481 (iPhone works)

Question

stone515 Author

Level 1

4 points

macOS 27.2: AirPlay to HomePod mini connects, then sound output fails with error -15481 (iPhone works)

Setup

Mac: MacBook Pro (Mac16,8, M4 Pro), macOS 27.2 (26B123)
Speaker: HomePod mini (AudioAccessory5,1), software 27.2
Network: university WPA2-Enterprise Wi-Fi. The Mac finds no other AirPlay devices on the LAN, so it connects to the HomePod over AWDL.

Steps to reproduce

Open Sound in Control Center.
Select the HomePod as the output.
Wait about a minute.

Expected: system sound plays on the HomePod.

Actual: the selection stays on connecting for about a minute, then fails. Sound stays on the MacBook Pro speakers. This started after I updated to macOS 27.

Still works

AirPlay from my iPhone to the same HomePod
HomePod controls in the Home app on the Mac, such as alarms

Logs

Same result on 14 of 14 attempts. The AirPlay connection succeeds, then creating the audio device fails:

AirPlayXPCHelper: Activation succeeded over AWDL for HomePod. Duration: 218 ms

AirPlayXPCHelper: Creating audio HAL device (type: Audio) 'HomePod' for Audio stream. Actual transport=AWDL

AirPlayXPCHelper: endpoint_createAudioEngine:235: false condition

AirPlayXPCHelper: audioStream_CopyProperty:1868: got error -15481/0xFFFFC387

AirPlayXPCHelper: APHALAudioDeviceCreateForEndpointStream:2148: got error -15481/0xFFFFC387

AirPlayXPCHelper: endpoint_createAudioHALDevice:3833: got error -15481/0xFFFFC387

About 64 seconds later:

ControlCenter: AVAudioController set output failed: 3

Tried, no change

Restarting the Mac
Removing the third-party audio driver (Rogue Amoeba ARK, used by SoundSource), including across that restart
Quitting all VPN clients (GlobalProtect, WireGuard, Tailscale). None was connected and no kill switch is enabled. The VPN configurations stayed installed.
The macOS firewall is off

Other tests

Music.app AirPlay to the same HomePod: not possible, the HomePod is not listed in Music's AirPlay menu (only this Mac appears), although Control Center lists it
Restarting the HomePod: no change
Same Mac and HomePod on an ordinary home network: not tested yet

Is anyone else seeing error -15481 or this failure on macOS 27.2? Does it also fail on your home network?

HomePod mini, 27

Posted on Nov 6, 2026 2:20 AM

Answer 1

tillu_code

Level 4

2,112 points

Nov 6, 2026 2:37 AM in response to stone515

Try a quick test off the university Wi-Fi, like a phone hotspot for both the Mac and HomePod, to see if the network is the cause. Also unplug the HomePod for 10 seconds, restart the Mac, then in the Home app remove the HomePod and add it again. If it works on the hotspot, the campus network is blocking AirPlay and you can stay on iPhone for now.

Answer 2

stone515 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 6, 2026 2:45 AM in response to tillu_code

Thanks for the suggestions. This setup used to work and stopped after I updated to macOS 27, so I don't think the campus network is the cause.

The logs also point away from the network. On every attempt, the Mac connects to the HomePod over peer-to-peer AWDL in under 3 seconds, so the connection isn't being blocked. It fails right after that, when macOS tries to create the audio device, with error -15481.

Even if the campus Wi-Fi blocks device discovery, AirPlay should still work over that peer-to-peer connection, and my iPhone still plays to the same HomePod. That's why I think this is a macOS bug.