HomePod mini stereo pair not detected in Roon (ref#QM9DAG)

[Joel_Vallette]

What’s happening?

· Something else

How can we help?

· None of the above

Other options

· Other

Describe the issue

When I configure my HomePod minis as a stereo pair, it works fine from all Apple devices. It's even seen as a pair in Mac OS on the Mac mini (Late 2014, Monterey 12.7.6) Roon server (build 1455) runs on, but in Roon settings, it initially appears as a pair, I enable it and while giving a name, the Roon Remote crashes. On starting again, they are seen as two single HomePods.
I installed Roon Server on a newer iMac (2021 M1, Sonoma 14.6.1), and they are immediately seen as a stereo pair in Roon, and work fine.

Describe your network setup

I use Wifi6 from my Sunrise (CH) Internet box (model unknown), all devices on the same SSID.

[zonurben]

It may happen that Roon no longer recognizes the HomePods in stereo mode. That’s annoying - I know.

What has worked for me is the following procedure:

Only one Homepod Mini of the stereo pair plays music

Yes, I have also had this experience (repeatedly). Including a pair of boxes that are connected to a 4k Apple TV. Removing, restarting and adding them again in the Roon app did not produce the desired result: one box remained silent. Or the paired boxes were suddenly listed in Roon as individual HomePods. I repeatedly restarted my ROCK server and the HomePods: without success. The quickest way to get all the boxes working again was as follows: Reset the HomePod Minis (factory setting) Reins…

[Stefan_Mauron]

I guess OSx Monterey does not support Airplay2

My-2-cents

[Joel_Vallette]

Thanks, I thought of that as well but if that were the case I suppose the system itself wouldn’t see the HomePods as a pair, whereas in my case it does and it can play on them.
That’s what baffles me.

One thing that Monterey doesn’t support is the new HomeKit architecture. I created the pair on my iPhone with the new architecture but I have no idea whether that impacts AirPlay.
Does anyone have experience with that setup ?

[Joel_Vallette]

Thanks for the procedure I’ll try it when I’m
back home.
Does Roon being off really change something ? I already did a couple full resets of both HomePods.

[benjamin]

Hi @Joel_Vallette,

Keeping the age of your machine in mind, have you added both homepods to your Apple Home app as well? Here’s more info on this:

Airplay Issues in Roon

See if that results in proper playback.

[zonurben]

In my case, an automatic switch socket was probably the main cause of my problems. I have 2 paired Homepods and haven’t had any problems since I stopped physically switching them off.

However, I think the information about the age of the operating system is important. This could certainly have an influence. I hadn’t even thought about that…

[Joel_Vallette]

Hi,

I’ve been off for a while, trying different things.
So turning off Roon while creating the pair didn’t work any better.
I also upgrade the Mac Mini beyond its official supported OS with OpenCore Legacy Patcher, bringing it up to Sonoma, but still no luck.
Now the Home app in Mac OS is compatible with the new HomeKit infrastructure so I can manage my home from the OS. And I can use the HomePod pair from Music, for instance like I could before.
So is it hardware-related ? It would surprise me but why not… Is it related to something that’s not properly supported by OpenCore Legacy Patcher ? possible.

I think my next step is to reinstall Roon from scratch (fresh database)
And then format the mac and reinstall everything from scratch.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

[noris]

Hi @Joel_Vallette ,

Thanks for the update. It is strange that the factory reset of the HomePods did not help in your case, it seemed like it helped in the other threads I’ve seen. You can try the Roon reinstall, sure, you can use the below steps to do so:

Let’s try a fresh database and see if your issues persist:

• Create a Backup of your current database
• Exit out of Roon + RoonServer (from taskbar area)
• Navigate to your Roon Database Location
• Find the folder that says “Roon Server” and “Roon”
• Rename the “RoonServer” folder to “RoonServer_old” and “Roon” to “Roon_old”
• Reinstall the Roon App from our Downloads Page to generate a new Roon folder
• Verify if the issue persists on a fresh database before restoring the backup

[Joel_Vallette]

Thanks I’ll do that and keep you posted.

That same pair worked fine right out of the box on the server I freshly installed on a different mac, but that’s the day-to-day iMac that the family shares, with multiple accounts, so it’s not as convenient. The Mac Mini has only one account it auto-logs onto and runs quietly on its own.

[Joel_Vallette]

I don’t turn them off.

[noris]

Hi @Joel_Vallette ,

If the pair worked fine from another Mac, I would suggest the reinstallation I mentioned above. Let us know how it goes!

[Joel_Vallette]

Hi,
I did a fresh install of Roon this morning (also renamed the RoonGoer folder to RoonGoer_old) and I still have the same issue. When I leave the window open, every 30 seconds, the two homepods will briefly (talking milliseconds) appear as one then back to two then one then two again.
Is there any way to pull out the logs to see what’s happening ?

[noris]

Hi @Joel_Vallette ,

Can you please reproduce the issue and let us know the exact local time + date when you notice this behavior? We’ll enable diagnostics after to see if we can gather more information from logs.

@Joel_Vallette

When I leave the window open, every 30 seconds, the two homepods will briefly (talking milliseconds) appear as one then back to two then one then two again.

@Joel_Vallette

Is there any way to pull out the logs to see what’s happening ?

Yes, you’re welcome to also look at the logs yourself, you can access them by following the instructions listed in this guide:

Logs