· I'm having trouble with Roon ARC
· Other
Since iOS 18, ARC playback via Lightning port on iPhone 13 no longer works
Since iOS 18, ARC playback on Lightning port of iPhone 13 no longer works
Some added details:
Lightning port is visible and can be selected in ARC… but when selected there is NO audio, although it appears to be playing. Bluetooth works fine but is lesser desired / poorer sound quality. Lightning port worked prior to iOS 18 but was always ‘glitchy’…
Comparatively speaking… The Lightning port works perfectly fine for playback with the Qobuz app. Always has, even with latest iOS 18… The issue seems to be with ARC…?
Hi @desbiss,
Thanks for reaching out to ask us about this issue. I think the next step here is to enable some diagnostics on your account so our technical staff can get some more insight into what’s going on here.
However, before I enable this feature, I’d like to ask for your help ensuring we gather the right information.
First, can you please reproduce the issue once more and note the time at which the error occurs. Then respond here with that time, and I’ll make sure we review the diagnostics related to that timestamp.
Hi @daniel! Thanks for your help. I’ll reproduce the issue later today and will reply here with the requested timestamp and any relevant screenshots. Cheers
Unplug and replug into the lightening port. If that doesn’t help, flip the lightening plug over and try again.
Thanks for the suggestion Jim! I’ve tried that whenever the issue arises, as well as doing complete power cycles of both my iPhone and the connected device… (in my case that most often being our car). Different cables have also been tried, albeit this does not seem related as there is no issue with the Qobuz app.
In the past this sometimes helped, however since iOS 18 it has not
Hi @desbiss ,
If you try to use the lighting port at home via the Roon app does that still work as expected? Where are you plugging the lightning cable into, a car USB connection, lightning headphones or elsewhere? Please let us know the time + date + track when you next observe the behavior as well.
Hi @daniel. I have reproduced the issue as of 3:59 PM MST, and have attached related screenshots which show the Dock Connector appearing to play, but there is no actual audio in place… This was connected to my Car USB connection. Hopefully your logs can be checked.
***Please note that on first connect at this time the Dock Connector DID work. However after reconnecting the same issue commenced, with there being no audio on the Dock Connector with ARC. (This sporadic nature was actually quite normal prior to iOS18.) In this test though I was not able to get the Dock Connector working again with audible audio playback, although it appeared to be playing in ARC. Bluetooth worked perfectly fine…
I did also test at this time repeatedly with the Qobuz app, there were NO issues switching between Dock Connector and Bluetooth with their App. Audio worked fine
Hey @desbiss,
Thanks for sharing the above info! We were able to review Arc diagnostics around the timestamp you shared, but unfortunately, we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in regard to error traces.
Are you able to try this out?
Does this happen no matter the file format?
Could you provide more specific details around the steps you took from being connected, to being disconnected, to then reconnecting and experiencing the issue?
Thank you for your cooperation and continued patience!
@benjamin please see comments inline below…
I tested at home with both the Roon app and ARC, using an Apple Lightning to Headphone adapter connected to the Lightning Port on my iPhone and all worked perfectly fine. I also tested with both apps and my iPhone connected to my Oppo HA-2 SE, no issue with playback at all… I was able to disconnect / reconnect from the lighting port and simply press Play to resume where it was left off…
Yes, it happens with any file format whatsoever. Using local content from my Roon Library or streamed from Qobuz…
I tried a variety of ways. Simply disconnecting the cord from the lighting port and then reconnecting, doing the same with a power cycle (as well as hard resets) of the iPhone in between, doing the same with a full power cycle of the vehicle (and attempting again the next day upon vehicle startup). You name it, I’ve tried it…
As mentioned earlier, this same issue cannot (whatsoever) be replicated with the same dock connection setup when using the Qobuz app. There are no issues when switching between their Dock Connector setting and Bluetooth.
This issue has been consistently problematic with ARC in the last two iOS versions prior to 18, but altogether worse since iOS18. The aforementioned instance where it DID work is literally the only occasion it ever has since I installed iOS18…
Sincerest thanks for your help!
Hi @desbiss,
Thank you for your diligent reporting and reproduction steps.
We have what we need to take action on this report with development. I don’t have an exact timeline to any potential fix we might release, but we’ll share more information about our investigation as it becomes available.
Happy to help @connor! Please let me know if anything further is needed, I’d love to see this fixed… As info becomes available from Roon’s investigation, will you post details back here?
I’ll genuinely be thrilled if this can be resolved. It’s been frustrating for the longest while, as the dock connection sounds significantly better than using bluetooth in our car. At least it was sometimes usable prior to iOS18… which is no longer the case. 
Yes, we will let you know here.
Kindest thanks @daniel! Much appreciated
Hi @desbiss,
Development suspects this is a bug introduced inadvertently in a recent build. There’s a ticket in to implement a fix - please stand by an we’ll comment here as soon as a timeline is available to release. Thanks again for the report and for your patience.
Sincerest thanks @connor, appreciate the update! It has been problematic for quite some time, but completely unusable around the same time as iOS 18 rolled out.
I will be eager to test once the fix is in place. The dock connection sounds significantly better than using Bluetooth
Hi @desbiss,
Once it’s prepped, the fix will release first to Early Access for testing. We’ll ping this thread when that happens in case you’re eager to test it out, so you can migrate your RoonServer and ARC installation to the beta branch.
Thanks @connor! I’ll watch for the updates here. Not sure I’d switch to the Beta branch but can decide at that time. I anticipate the official release would not follow too long afterward? Cheers!
Also, @connor not sure it’s relevant, but I noticed the thread Title references CarPlay which I am not using… Our vehicle does not have CarPlay… This is simply playback via Dock Connector / Bluetooth in my case
Hi @desbiss,
I’ll fix the title for you. Also we had an ARC update release to production 2 days ago. Was there any improvment from that?
