Apple TV FaceTime Continuity Camera Breaks When HomePods Route Traffic via Apple TV

I’ve been having issues with Continuity Camera in the FaceTime app on Apple TV, which never worked for me since it was introduced. After approving the connection on my iPhone, I would always end up with a blank screen.

My setup for clarity:

• Apple TV 4K
• 2× HomePod (2nd generation)
• iPhone 15 Pro

Recently, while migrating my home network to UniFi, I noticed something interesting. When the Apple TV is connected via Ethernet, the HomePods don’t connect directly over Wi-Fi. Instead, they seem to route their connection through the Apple TV and its wired LAN connection.

In this state, Continuity Camera does not work.

However, as soon as I unplug the Ethernet cable from the Apple TV and wait for all three devices (Apple TV + both HomePods) to connect directly over Wi-Fi, Continuity Camera starts working flawlessly.

Hopefully this helps someone else—and maybe Apple will finally fix this.