· I have been a Roon subscriber for several years. In the past year I have experienced numerous technical glitches when trying to use a number of devices. The really perplexing thing is that there were times when I could connect via: 1) my Yamaha RX A-1070 using AirPlay; 2) my Marantz SACD 30n; and even through 3) my Fender Tone Master Pro guitar effects system. Recently, my Roon was only able to play via my MacBook Pro, which is also my Roon Core. NOW!!! when I startup the system I get messages that Roon can't even find my Roon Server. This renders Roon completely useless to me. NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN TERMS OF MY HOME NETWORK...ALL DEVICES ARE CONNECTED TO THE SAME NETWORK! What is happening?? This is the most glitchy system I have encountered in years. In addition to all the above nuisances I have a HEGEL H190 integrated amp which is supposed to be "Roon Ready" yet Roon cannot find it as an optional Audio Zone. I would like to continue using Roon because when it works, it works great. But, if I can't resolve these technical issues I will have no choice but to abandon Roon. CAN YOU HELP ME??
Tell us about your home network
· I am on the Bell Fibe fibre-optics service using a Sagemcom Giga Hub router. From the router I have all my components connected via a tp-Link ethernet splitter. No VPN in use.
Since you’re running macOS, the behavior you’re seeing is consistent with the newer, stricter Local Network permission controls in the recent macOS releases.
Please try the following steps:
Open macOS System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network
Make sure Roon and Roon Server are both enabled
Even if they are already enabled, please toggle them off and back on
Fully quit Roon Server from the macOS menu bar / task bar
Reboot your Mac
After reboot, launch Roon again and check if the devices is avaliable again.
Once these permissions are refreshed and the system restarted, your Roon server should be up and running.
Please let us know if the issue persists after these steps, and we’ll continue from there.
In your opening post you stated everything was connected via ethernet, however, the RoonServer is not according to your latest post. Is there any other devices in the Roon ecosystem which are connected via Wifi or are the rest all connected via Ethernet?
The question is relevant because Roon needs all devices to be on the same network segment, and sometimes Routers will update themselves from the ISP and split the Wifi Network and Ethernet network into two different segments.
I would suggest checking and comparing the IP address of the server PC and the endpoints. To be in the same network segment, the first three number groups (as separated by . ) needs to be identical, the final number should be different.
I have now connected my MacBook Pro (Roon Core) to my network through a hardwired Ethernet connection. The result is that my Roon is ‘seeing’ my endpoints and is playing properly. QUESTION: Will I need to connect via hardwire every time? How can I access Roon endpoints via wifi?
It is excellent that the hardwired connection resolved the immediate visibility issues. While Roon is designed to work over a network, the Roon Server (your MacBook Pro) acts as the “brain” and traffic controller for your entire audio system, making its connection stability critical.
Do you need to connect via hardwire every time?
Technically, no, you do not have to be hardwired, but Roon Labs strongly recommends it.
Roon Server handles the heavy lifting: indexing your library, managing signal processing (DSP), and streaming high-bandwidth audio data to multiple endpoints simultaneously. Because Wi-Fi is “half-duplex” (it can’t send and receive data at the exact same moment) and prone to interference, using it for the server can lead to:
Endpoints disappearing from the "Audio" menu.
Audio dropouts or "stuttering," especially with high-resolution files.
Slow interface performance when browsing your library.
If you prefer to go wireless, you need to ensure your network settings allow Roon’s discovery protocols to pass through freely. A few things to consider around this:
If IGMP Snooping is enabled, try disabling it (or vice-versa), as some routers handle multicast traffic poorly, effectively "hiding" the endpoints from the Server.
Check and disable "Airtime Fairness" in your router’s wireless settings.
If your router uses the same name (SSID) for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz (often called "Smart Connect" or "Band Steering"), the MacBook might jump between them. This momentary handoff can cause Roon to lose its connection to the endpoints.
The Fix: If possible, connect the MacBook specifically to the 5GHz band for higher bandwidth and less interference.
Since the Server is on your Mac, the macOS firewall might be blocking the discovery pings when you switch from Ethernet to Wi-Fi.
Go to System Settings > Network > Firewall.
Ensure Roon and RAATServer are set to "Allow incoming connections."
This thread is now closing due to inactivity since it’s not seen a response in over a week at this point.
If you’d like to continue the discussion with other users but don’t require any additional official support, you can post anytime in Roon Software Discussion.
If you do require further troubleshooting/assistance with this particular issue, simply submit a new tech support here and our team will reactivate the topic thread. Thank you!