Please try to restart your network setup by unplugging, waiting 30 seconds and then replugging in your networking gear.
· No, the issue remains the same
Please select how you've connected your Roon Server to the internet
· Roon Server is connected by *Ethernet*
Have you checked your firewall settings to ensure that Roon is allowed through?
· Roon still won't connect even after checking this aspect
Have you verified that Roon Server is on the same subnet as your Remotes?
· My Remotes and Server are on the same subnet and I still can't connect
Sometimes the issues can be resolved with a reinstall of your Roon Remote app. Let's try to perform a reinstall and see if it helps.
· I've reinstalled the Roon Remote but it did not help
What is the operating system of your Roon Server host machine?
· *MacOS*
Select any of the following components that are present in your local network setup
· *Mesh networks*
You mentioned a mesh network in your setup. Certain common mesh networks might require slight reconfiguration to support Roon.
· Google Nest
Click below for next steps with an Google Nest mesh network.
· I still need help.
Describe the issue
I am trying to set-up Roon on a new Mac running the latest release of MacOS 26. While I am logged in to my user account, all of my remote devices can access the server and select an audio zone. When I log out of my user account or another user uses their account on the MAC, the server and audio devices are no longer found. I have toggled off/on the network access for Roon Servere multiple times. This does not seem to be the issue. I have to be actively logged in to the user account Roon has been installed on for it to work.
Describe your network setup
Roon Server is on a LAN. All audio devices are on the same LAN and subnet. Remotes are mostly on WiFi. (iPad and iPhones)
RoonServer runs as a per-user process on MacOS, and when the owning user account logs out, it terminates as a background process. There’s no way to install it as a launchdaemon process, unfortunately, because MacOS blocks this for security reasons.
In practice, this means whichever Mac user has RoonServer installed will need to remain signed in for RoonServer to use the MacOS network interface. Most users in this position rely on Fast User Switching as a workaround; this allows MacOS to switch between active users without actually terminating the original user session.
Please let us know if you’ve tried this already and if it helps.
I am using fast user switching. How would you avoid a log out/lock screen? After x number of minutes of inactivity the screen is locked or when I step away I’ll hit command+control+Q. I have used Roon for years and never had this issue.
After more experimentation, I can confirm that Roon server becomes unavailable after the screen is locked on the host Mac. Simple to test. I unlock and the Roon library is available as are all audio devices. I lock the screen and all audio devices disappear.
I have just tried to test it on my own Mac and it seem to be working okay if you switch users without logging out the user which was running Roon Server.
When you switch the users, can you please open Activity monitor and check if Roon Server app is still running ?
RoonServer requires the network interface to be active on the Mac at the user-level. When the screen is locked, background processes that aren’t operating at the root level are restricted from the network interface.
MacOS is restricting software access to the WiFi antenna during periods of inactivity; you’ll need to tweak this in Privacy & Security and your energy saver settings.
Try changing/disabling“log out after inactivity” in Privacy & Security → Log Out After. This will prevent the active user from getting logged out when the screen locks.
Try experimenting with different settings for “Wake for network access” as well. Some users turn to third-party apps like Amphetamine that keep the operating system awake.
I was unable to find the Log out after settings but I did find “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off” in the energy settings. That seems to have changed things. I can now browse the library and select audio devices but the play button has no action. I press it and nothing happens. I killed the app in iOS and reopened. Still no play button action.
As an additional data point, i unlocked the screen on the host Mac and the play button action still has not come back. Looks like I will have to stop and restart Roon server.
Thanks for the update! We’re happy to keep troubleshooting with you. Longer term, though, you might want to consider trying a completely separate machine as your server, it can really help you get the smoothest, most enjoyable Roon experience.
Let us know if completely rebooting Roon Server as well as the mac running Roon Server helps.
Over several days of testing I can confirm that enabling “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off” in the energy settings has resolved the problem. I am guessing that in MacOS Tahoe, the wake on network access only partially wakes all of the Roon components. Preventing sleep seems to leave Roon fully available for access.
Thank you for taking the time to test this thoroughly and for reporting back with your findings.
Based on your latest update, it looks like enabling “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off” has resolved the issue, and Roon Server now remains accessible even when the screen is locked. This aligns with what we expect on recent macOS releases, where sleep and power-management behavior can restrict user-level network access when the system enters certain idle states.
To summarize for future reference:
Roon Server on macOS runs as a per-user process
If macOS partially sleeps or restricts network access while the screen is locked, Roon Server may become unreachable
Preventing system sleep keeps the network interface and background services fully available
With that setting enabled, your system is now behaving as expected
Since the issue is resolved, we’ll go ahead and mark this thread as solved.
If you run into anything else or decide to explore a dedicated/headless server setup in the future, feel free to reach out — we’re always happy to help.
Thanks again for your patience and detailed testing, and enjoy your listening!
