I have the same issue. Two HomePods Mini as group recently stopped working. Newest Roon Core, newest iPad/iPhone app. Wi-Fi network based on UniFi AP. I have restarted everything. When HomePods are ungrouped, each HomePod separately is working fine.
PasteBin with recent RoonServer_log: Roon 1.8 grouped HomePods error log - Pastebin.com
So we can better assist you, please provide a brief description of your current setup using this link as a guide.
Make sure to describe your network configuration/topology, including any networking hardware currently in use, so we can have a clear understanding of how your devices are communicating.
Please also note the exact local time + date when this issue next occurs and the name of the track that was playing and upload your Roon Logs by using these instructions. The best way to get them over to me would be via Dropbox / Google Drive, but if you don’t have either service please let me know and I can provide alternate upload instructions.
Hi @dylan
please look here: Roon 1.8 grouped HomePods error log - Pastebin.com - this is the recent Roon Core log from my machine.
Roon Core latest version on Windows 10 (latest version too)
HW: iPadOS 15 as control unit or iPhone with iOS 15
Two HomePods Mini
Music on external Synology NAS + Tidal
Networking: 3 x Unifi NanoHD, Mikrotik CloudRouter Switch as router and switch.
HomePods are groupped also in Apple Music - working fine there.
Thanks for the details, @Pawel_Chmielewski. I looked at the logs but I think we might need a bit more info here. Can you zip up the entire Logs folder both for Roon and RAATServer? I’ll get these logs to our QA team for analysis ASAP. Thanks!
Ok, i will zip the logs and send via Google Drive.
Latest RAATServer log is here: Roon RAATServer log - Pastebin.com
And all logs:
Roon - Google Drive
We’ve done some testing on our end but we haven’t been able to reproduce this on our side. When we try to group HomePods they’re working okay, so there’s likely an extra factor that we aren’t aware of just yet that we need to identify.
First, can you confirm the firmware version that your HomePods are running? Are they fully up to date?
Additionally, we’ve enabled some additional Airplay logging on your account that will help us learn more about what’s happening. I’m hoping you can do the following:
Please reproduce the issue and note the exact local time + date when this occurs and the name of the track that was playing and upload your Roon Logs by using these instructions. The best way to get them over to me would be via Dropbox / Google Drive, but if you don’t have either service please let me know and I can provide alternate upload instructions.
I spoke with the team about this. In our testing we were able to successfully group two standard HomePods, but what we think might be happening here is related to differences between HomePods and HomePod Minis.
Do you have both HomePods and HomePod Minis? If you group just HomePods does it work? Similarly, does group just HomePod Minis work? Could you try doing this and let us know the times and track names for these tests? We’ve left the additional AirPlay logging enabled so we can take a look at the logs for both of these attempts.
Thanks!
I have both HomePods, one pair “normal size” and one pair Mini. Software version 15.0, in both pairs. HomePods (standard and mini) works only when aren’t in group.
I will send you the newest logs within an hour.
Hi @dylan,
Date: today, 19.10 GMT+2
Track: Traffic Thom Yorke (from local NAS)
Group name: Sypialnia (pair of HomePods Mini)
Date: today, 19.11 GMT+2
Track: Traffic Thom Yorke (from local NAS)
Group name: Salon (pair of HomePods)
Logs attached via Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N_Pv2Z3GcBBWee0oJfoCZ72qHqo7orIk/view?usp=sharing
Hi @Pawel_Chmielewski, One last questions — If you group a single HomePod and a HomePod Mini, does that work?
Yes. If I mix standard and mini - its work.
I’m having the same problem. I had 2 HomePod mini’s in a group with a Procedural EQ to try and simulated a Stereo pair.
Outside I Roon I had them linked as a Stereo pair in the Home app.
It used to work perfectly but no longer works.
It could be iOS 15 or the latest version of Roon - or both?
One other thing I have also noticed. If I ungroup them in Roon - so both show as separate zones / end points - I can only play to one of them at a time. If I play music on one HomePod/Zone and then try to play music on the other HomePod/Zone, the first zone HomePod/Zone playback.
Hi
I can confirm I’m having the exact same issue.
HomePods are on software version 15.1.1.
Audio plays fine when the devices are isolated. The moment you try and group the devices Roon refuses to playback audio.
Can we please get an update from Roon on this or at least confirm what software versions the HomePods are on in your testing environments?
Many thanks
Pete
I would also be curious to learn of any progress on HomePod grouping. A temporary workaround is just that, a temporary workaround. And a poor one at that.
Apple devices are ubiquitous. Ignoring them is perilous. HomePods are cool. And really convenient. The audio quality, although not high-end, is excellent. I use my HomePods as my fallback default grouped zone in Roon. They are always ready and available and the sound quality is more than good enough for most playback.
I do hope that this issue is being addressed and in the pipeline for an upcoming release. It would be great if the Roon community were kept well informed on this important shortcoming in the current release and when we might see a fix.
Thanks for listening.
I would like to add that Apple is very cautious with what and how they expose interfaces and design. It’s often very difficult for 3rd party developers to integrate new features and compatibility with Apple products or there is a significant lag before that is possible. This may be the case for HomePod grouping after Apple’s most recent updates. That is, this might be either difficult or impossible at this time.
Since we as a community have very little insight into either Apple or Roon’s source code, we are constrained quite a bit in our ability to intelligently inform and suggest.
All we can do is plead and wait. Open Source software projects are a lot more fun to work with and Open Source has the ability to adapt and integrate at a much faster rate and in ways that proprietary software cannot or will not. But, open source has its pitfalls as well. In general I lean toward and encourage transparency and collaboration. Let’s work together to make things better.
Same problem with 2 HomePod Minis on 15.2 as a stereo pair. Roon will not play on them. Airplaying outside Roon works fine … not what I was aiming for.
Any update on this?
Have mostly been using Apple Music due to the issue and am missing Roon.
I hope this gets fixed soon.
Guy
I think this issue cannot be fixed without implementing Airplay 2.
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