AirPlay no longer works for third party devices

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Level 1

8 points

AirPlay no longer works for third party devices

I am using iTunes on a Windows 10 PC. My AirPlay device is a Denon DNP-720AE which has worked well for several years streaming my ALAC music out of iTunes to the Denon streamer using my iPad 4 and the Apple Remote App. With the recent release of the latest itunes 12.9, I no longer can stream my music as before. I have checked for firmware updates from Denon and none are available. When contacted Denon support they point the finger back to Apple. When trying to connect to the Denon unit I receive the following iTunes error message:

"An error occurred while connecting to the airplay device “DENON:[DNP-720AE]”. An unknown error occurred (20)"

Is Apple now blocking third party hardware from using AirPlay to promote it's own products? Has Apple stopped supporting third party hardware for use with iTunes and AirPlay? Did Apple make AirPlay incompatible with legacy devices. Is AirPlay2 backward compatible with legacy non-Apple devices?

Please advise a solution or confirm my thoughts above.

Windows 10, Windows iTunes 12.9 AirPlay

Posted on Oct 22, 2018 10:11 AM

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Answer 1

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jrheff Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 12, 2018 7:35 AM in response to jrheff

OK, over the last several weeks I have been working with Apple Support and the engineers on this issue (All very helpful). I am currently running iTunes 12.9.1.4 on a Windows 10 PC. By changing the PC system date to Sept 22, 2018 or earlier, I can access the Denon DNP-720AE using AirPlay out of iTunes. For me, using an earlier version of iTunes does not cure the problem. They agree it's an issue and will be addressing it with the next release of iTunes. No release date has been set. So keep an eye out for updates to iTunes and report back if the update cures the issue. I will do the same.

Best

John

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Oct 23, 2018 10:26 AM in response to jrheff

Send feedback to both Apple and Denon. It seems likely that Apple either need to improve backwards compatibility or third parties need to update their firmware.

tt2

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Answer 3

Oct 27, 2018 6:59 AM in response to turingtest2

I have the same issue with the Pioneer VSX-1021. I've been working this issue since Aug 2018. I've sent feedback to Apple and Pioneer and received no response. Now using Airparrot2 at a cost of $12.99 to stream. Works reasonably well. My iPhone works perfectly with Pioneer Airplay - I don't understand why iTunes can't work also. I'm concerned about upgrading my iPhone to IOS 12.0.1, and breaking the iPhone/Airplay 1 compatibility.

Apple has become the status quo, they don't care about customers who don't buy all Apple products. They certainly don't care about backward compatibility with non-Apple products (at least it seems that way).

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Answer 4

jrheff Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 3, 2018 4:08 AM in response to jrheff

I just posted a follow-up response and Apple deleted it because they did not like what I wrote... So let me just tell you that iTunes authorizes Airplay devices by using the computer system date. Change the system date backwards and the device will work. Your system date/time will be wrong and may cause other issues.

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Answer 5

jrheff Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 3, 2018 11:37 AM in response to johnfromt

Yes you are correct. It is a license issue and for our devices the license expired as of a certain date. iTunes bricks the device.

Contact the manufacturer and Apple to fix. Careful with the censors. Enjoy the fix

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Answer 6

Nov 12, 2018 11:06 AM in response to jrheff

Thanks for working this, much appreciated. I've been working this issue since August also. As you stated, moving to a previous version of ITunes does not fix the problem. Only changing the computer date/time to a date before September 1, 2018 works for me. For ITunes Version 12.9 and greater, I get the message, "... your Airplay device is not compatible with the current version of ITunes". On ITunes 12.4, if I turn the date back to August 2018, I get the message "ITunes can't verify the identity of the server 'upp.iTunes.apple.com'. The certificate for this server has expired".

I have a Pioneer VSX-1021, with Windows 10 Professional.

I've sent messages to both Apple and Pioneer regarding this problem in August and September. I didn't receive a response.

My Iphone works fine with Airplay on the VSX-1021. I'm concerned that updating to IOS 12 will break my Iphone/Airplay functionality.

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Answer 7

jrheff Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 27, 2018 7:04 AM in response to johnfromt

Thanks. I am running iOS 12.0.1 on my 5s and can stream to the Denon unit which tells me that it is definitely an Apple iTunes issue. Let’s get more people contacting Apple to fix.

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Answer 8

Nov 3, 2018 6:57 AM in response to jrheff

Thanks for posting this message. Your solution worked for me.

Apple blocked my previous message.

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Answer 9

Nov 25, 2018 12:46 PM in response to jrheff

You probably know that iTunes 12.9.1.4 doesn't fix the Airplay compatibility problem. Windows 10 Prof,, Pioneer VSX-1021. "The Airplay device "VSX-1021" is not compatible with this version of iTunes". Apple please fix the problem, waiting since August 2018.

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AirPlay no longer works for third party devices

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