Mac mini M6: AirPlay to HomePod fails over built-in Ethernet (works over Wi-Fi/USB) – PTP clock never syncs

Question

Level 1

18 points

Mac mini M6: AirPlay to HomePod fails over built-in Ethernet (works over Wi-Fi/USB) – PTP clock never syncs

Setup

- Mac mini (M6, 2026), macOS 27.2, built-in 2.5GbE port (Realtek RTL8125, driver com.apple.driver.AppleEthernetRL, "AVB Support: Yes")

- HomePod mini stereo pair, HomePod Software 27.2

Problem

When the Mac uses its built-in Ethernet port, AirPlay audio to the HomePods fails: the HomePods light up, no sound plays, and after ~6 seconds the output falls back to the Mac speakers.

What works

- Same Mac over Wi-Fi: works

- Same Mac with a USB 2.5GbE adapter (Realtek RTL8156, "AVB Support: No"): works

- A MacBook on the same cable and switch port: works

- Everything else over the built-in port (internet, file sharing, Screen Sharing) works fine. Only AirPlay fails.

What I found (logs + packet capture)

- AirPlay control and audio data reach the HomePods fine. Only the PTP timing fails.

- AirPlayXPCHelper logs 50 rejected SetRateAndAnchorTime attempts per HomePod with error -71974 (kAPSNetworkClockError_InternalError), then tears down the session.

- The kernel TimeSync plugin tries to enable AVB on en0 and gets "activateAVB returned 0xe00002c7" (unsupported), but still runs the PTP port in hardware mode (en0[hw]).

- PTP counters on en0: everything sent by the Mac is transmitted, but ALL received PTP messages = 0, Delay_Resp sent = 0.

- A packet capture on en0 shows the HomePods sending ~8 Delay_Req per second to the Mac. They arrive at the interface but are never processed or answered, so the HomePods can never sync to the Mac's clock.

- Disabling AVB/EAV mode in System Settings > Network > Ethernet > Details > Hardware and rebooting makes no difference.

Reported to Apple as FBxxxxxxxx (with sysdiagnose, logs and packet capture).

Can anyone with a Mac mini M6 / M5 Pro (or Mac Studio M5) check?

1. Run in Terminal: system_profiler SPEthernetDataType

and look for "Driver: com.apple.driver.AppleEthernetRL" and "AVB Support: Yes"

2. Turn Wi-Fi off, use only the built-in Ethernet, and try AirPlay audio to a HomePod.

If it fails for you too, please file your own report in Feedback Assistant and mention FBxxxxxxxx. Duplicate reports help Apple prioritize the fix.

Workaround for now: a USB Ethernet adapter without AVB support, or Wi-Fi.

Mac mini (M6, 2026)

Posted on Nov 8, 2026 2:13 PM

Answer 1

Churria Author

Level 1

18 points

Nov 10, 2026 5:27 AM in response to Rudegar

Thanks,

that's a fair point and a common cause of AirPlay problems, but it isn't the case here. Wired and Wi-Fi are bridged into the same network on my router, and the logs confirm it. Some excerpts (addresses masked):

1) AirPlay control traffic from the HomePod arrives on the built-in Ethernet over IPv6 link-local, which can't be routed:

[com.apple.airplay:APTransportConnectionHTTP] Event message received from [fe80::xxxx:xxxx%en0]:49981

[com.apple.airplay:APEndpoint] Processing 'updateTimingPeerInfo' command

2) The audio stream works over that port (RTT and receiver feedback):

[APSAudioProtocolDriverSenderHoseControllerAPAT] (Despacho-D) RTPTxPacketCount: 100, ReTxPacketCount: 0, RTT Estimate: 4 ms, CCFBReceived: 15

3) Packet capture on en0 (decoded): the HomePods send PTP Delay_Req to the Mac about 8 times per second. The packets reach the interface:

fe80::xxxx:9367 -> fe80::xxxx:17f7 udp 319->319 PTPv2 Delay_Req seq=1

fe80::xxxx:e486 -> fe80::xxxx:17f7 udp 319->319 PTPv2 Delay_Req seq=2

(about 100 Delay_Req in 7 seconds, none answered)

4) But the kernel's PTP port on en0 never receives any of them:

(IOgPTPPlugin) ControllerAdapter activateAVB returned 0xe00002c7

(IOgPTPPlugin) IOTimeSyncUnicastUDPv6EtEPort(en0[hw]_fe80:...): Sync TX: 46/46 (100%), RX: 0/0 (0%)

(IOgPTPPlugin) IOTimeSyncUnicastUDPv6EtEPort(en0[hw]_fe80:...): Delay Req TX: 0/0 (0%), RX: 0/0 (0%)

(IOgPTPPlugin) IOTimeSyncUnicastUDPv6EtEPort(en0[hw]_fe80:...): Delay Resp TX: 0/0 (0%), RX: 0/0 (0%)

5) So the HomePods can't sync their clock to the Mac's and reject playback:

[APAudioEngineBuffered] SetRate 1 FAILURE for hose (Despacho-D) err = -71974

[APEndpoint] Notifying about endpoint failure -71974 kAPSNetworkClockError_InternalError

On the same cable and switch port, AirPlay works with a USB Ethernet adapter, from a MacBook, and from the built-in port itself once IPv6 is disabled on it (AirPlay then uses IPv4 for the clock sync). The failure is inside the Mac: PTP over IPv6 on the built-in Realtek port (AppleEthernetRL driver) is not delivered to the kernel's clock-sync service.

That said, I've noticed that, although it almost never works, occasionally it does work with IPv6 enabled, but the stream eventually drops.

Answer 2

Rudegar

Level 10

187,102 points

Nov 10, 2026 3:33 AM in response to Churria

not all routers bridge wired ethernet / 2.4Ghz wifi / 5Ghz wifi as 1 network

so if yours is not configured to do so then the wired connection would not be on the same network as the homepod