Apple TV will not stay synched with Home Pods via AirPlay 2

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Level 1

8 points

Apple TV will not stay synched with Home Pods via AirPlay 2

My Home Pods will not stay synched with my Apple TV 2nd Gen 1080p. It happens with Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Prime.

Sometimes I can binge watch for hours on end with no problems. Other times the audio will drop out mid-movie. Then I have to unplug my Home Pods and / or TV before they'll see each other again.

I won't claim to be an expert but I'm not exactly a novice. I have tried restoring and updating the TV, resetting the Home Pods, and changing device and Room names.

Sometimes the Home Pods will still appear to be available (under Apple TV as an option in AirPlay using TV OS) but will not connect to the TV to play audio. Sometimes they will be appear in AirPlay on TV OS to the right of Apple TV but do not appear under Apple TV.

The last few days I've had to unplug the silly things after roughly an hour and a half of run time. I have 3 total (a stereo pair in the living room and one in the kitchen so I can hear while I cook). I think they're fantastic but this is frustrating.

Bonus: It seems like if I speak to Siri to play music or ask a question, I may as well unplug them because they won't be available when I go to watch something.

Bonus #2: Sometimes I can use my iPhone or my iMac to reconnect them but it doesn't always work.

Bonus #3: I think I set my iPad up as a Home Hub when I first got the TV but have never used it to control anything Home-related.

Help?

HomePod

Posted on Nov 4, 2020 6:09 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 9, 2020 12:01 PM in response to steed_z

Hey there steed_z,

We'd like to help get your audio to work correctly between your HomePods and Apple TV. Let's start with ruling out some possible causes:

You mentioned already restarting all devices, along with updating the tvOS on your Apple TV. We did notice that you mentioned having an Apple TV 2nd gen, which is now considered an obsolete model. For more details, check out: Vintage and obsolete products Please let us know if you've been able to test another Apple TV, or if this one is the only one you have currently.
Please test your HomePods with the other devices you mentioned having currently.
If the issue remains afterwards, we recommend reaching out to Apple main support here: Get Support

Take care!

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Answer 2

steed_z Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 28, 2020 8:51 PM in response to Michael Paine

I think I fixed it. After unpairing, resetting, and removing everything from Home Hub again, they went right back to dropping connection.

On a lark, I went to settings and turned AirPlay off in TV OS for 5-10 seconds and turned it back on. It worked.

I've had to do it 3 times since then, but that's 3 times I haven't had to pause the show, get up, and unplug my HomePods. Until I can budget a new Apple TV, I am ecstatically happy to find this.

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Answer 3

steed_z Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 11, 2020 4:32 PM in response to Nicholas_B2

Hi Nicholas,

I wrote a response and thought I posted it but the session must have timed out. Thanks for your response!

I don't believe the TV is vintage (as it was still available for purchase within the last 5 years) but who knows. It might be.
I'll try pairing them to another device as you suggested.
I called and the representative was very helpful, but we didn't get it resolved before I had to move on to other things.
As a result of that phone call, I may have identified a problem child. One of the stereo pair doesn't like to play well with others. I'll keep at it.

Thanks again!

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Answer 4

Nov 11, 2020 6:27 PM in response to steed_z

Apple seems to have sorted out audio issues with ATV 4K and Homepods with the recent tvOS/Homepod 14.2 update but there are numerous reports of users with earlier model ATV having problems. So I suspect there is no easy way to resolve your issue, other than buying a new ATV 4K. Note I am not endorsing this solution, which is very frustrating, I have a spare ATV 3rd gen and am now not prepared to gift it to a friend and cause them problems.

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Apple TV will not stay synched with Home Pods via AirPlay 2

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