[Ticket In] Unable to Stream Audio to Roku via Airplay from Roon Server on MacBook Air (ref#RF28ER)

Support
1

What best describes your playback issue?

· Music doesn't start when I press "Play"

What type of Zone is affected by this problem?

· *Network Zones* are affected.

Is the affected network Zone connected with Ethernet or WiFi?

· WiFi

Does the issue affect all file formats?

· The issue affects *multiple/all* file formats.

Does the issue happen with local library music, streaming service music, or both?

· *Both streaming and local* *library* music are affected.

Do you encounter any playback errors with the "System Output" Zone?

· The System Output has *no problem*, it's only my other Zone.

How is the affected Zone connected to your RoonServer machine?

· Network - WiFi

Which network audio protocol is the Zone using with Roon?

· Airplay

Since this is an Airplay Zone, have you tried toggling Airplay Compatibility Mode for this Zone in the Device Setup window?

· There is no change in behavior.

Does the device show up at all in Roon Settings -> Audio?

· Yes, it shows up there, but it isn't Enabled

Does the "Enable" button unlock the Zone?

· I pressed Enable, but the Zone remains disabled

Does the device play audio from another source when using the same connection?

· The device has no problems with another audio source

Have you checked that Roon is whitelisted in any firewalls?

· I've checked the firewall and the issue remains

Is the device using the latest firmware as per the manufacturer?

· Firmware is up-to-date but the issue remains

What are the make and model of the affected audio device(s) and the connection type?

· Roku stick via Airplay2

Describe the issue

I just installed Roon Server on a MacBook Air (M1, latest OS). I'm trying to stream to a Roku stick via Airplay (both are on the same wi-fi network). The Roku stick shows up under "other network devices" under Settings -> Audio (along with several other Airplay devices on my network). When I enable it, Roon asks for the PIN and seems happy, but the Roku doesn't seem to be getting the message. When I then try to play audio through the Roku source, the Signal Path lights up and shows me the path to the Roku, but no audio plays, and after 5 or 10 seconds it seems to give up. I saw some other posts suggesting that I have to set up an alphanumeric Airplay password on my Roku, so I tried that, but the results are the same.

I've tried Airplaying from Roon to other devices (including the Macbook Roon is running on), but no joy. I can Airplay from my iPhone to the Roku stick, no problem.

Any thoughts? This is my first experience with Roon, and it's pretty frustrating. My hope was to give it a test drive to decide whether I want to invest in a nice Roon Ready preamp, but the fact that I'm stuck on such a basic feature as connecting to Airplay isn't very encouraging...

Describe your network setup

all-in-one modem/router provided by Astound Broadband

2

@roontrial, can you try adding your Roku to Apple Home?

3

Thank you for the reply!

Okay, I’ve successfully added my Roku stick to my Apple Home (note that I don’t own any Home Hub devices, but I was able to add the Roku to my Home via my iPhone).

I’m not sure if this is a quirk of Roku’s OS, but upon adding the Roku stick to my Apple Home, I no longer have the option to set a personalized Airplay password – it has reverted to requiring a 4-digit PIN, and the selection is grayed-out and can’t be changed unless I revoke the HomeKit connection. (I also have a TCL TV running the Roku OS, and it had the same behavior when I tried adding it to Apple Home.)

In any case, I’m still having the same problem when I try to enable the device in Roon – the Roku displays the 4-digit PIN, I enter the PIN into Roon, but the Roku doesn’t seem to accept the connection. If I then try to play music to the Roku stick, the onscreen PIN changes, like the Roku is getting a new request to connect. If I disable the Roku in Roon and try to reenable it, the onscreen PIN just changes again. Again, no option to set a personalized Airplay password while remaining connected to Apple Home.

Any other thoughts?

Thank you!
Tim

4

In your Apple Home app, what is the setting for Speakers & TV? I have mine set for “Anyone On the Same Network” with Require Password set to On, with a password PIN.

5

Ah, I see. Okay, I’ve configured those settings in the Apple Home app, but still no luck. The Roku no longer displays a 4-digit PIN when I enable the device, so it seems to be honoring the password setting in Home. But Roon still doesn’t play through the device. The “play” icon in Roon changes to a “pause” icon, but the time never advances past 0:00, and after 5-10 seconds the icon reverts back to “play”.

Are there any requirements for the password I’m setting in the Home app? Should it be a certain number/mix of characters? It’s really strange, because Roon obviously sees the device – it just can’t seem to complete the Airplay authentication handshake.

6

Roon updated its support for AirPlay 2 over the summer, and there were many teething pains as they mature the code. What you are experiencing is similar to what many users (me included) experienced, which is why I recommended the Home App approach (it worked for me with some devices that were not originally connected in the Home App).

There may be other items to try. After adding to the Home App, have you rebooted everything, the TV, the Roku, and Roon Server? Under the Settings for the Roku, there is an AirPlay Compatibility option to try, by turning it on (moving the slider to the left). Also, what version of Roon Server are you running, and what version of Roon Remote?

8

Hello @roontrial ,

Thanks for reaching out. I’ll check with the team to see if we have any Roku devices to try to reproduce this behavior, but in the meantime, can you please try to enable Airplay compatibility mode in Device Setup for your Roku and check to see if that helps?

1 Like
9

Thank you – I tried rebooting everything (modem/router, Macbook running Roon Server, iPhone running Roon remote, Roku stick, TV) – no effect. Tried enabling Compatibility Mode under the device setup in Roon – when I click “Play”, it shows the “Pause” icon but then reverts back to “Play” almost immediately (as opposed to showing the “Pause” icon for several seconds when not in Compatibility Mode). Also tried playing directly to my Roku TV via Airplay 2 – same results. The Macbook on which I’m running Roon Server also shows up as an Airplay 2 option under “other network devices” – tried selecting that as the output, but again no luck.

Fwiw, while using Roon Remote on my iPhone, I can select “This phone” as the output and then route the iPhone’s audio to the Roku stick via Airplay. I guess that al least allows me to play around and evaluate the app, but it seems like it might lead to limitations down the line, like not being able to take advantage of the zone grouping feature.

I just downloaded and installed Roon Server and Roon Remote, so I believe I’m using the latest versions:
M1 Macbook Air running macOS 14.6.1 – Roon v2.0 build 1462 production (both server and remote)
iPhone SE 2 running iOS 18.0 – Roon Remote v2.0 build 1462 production

10

Thank you – I tried enabling Compatibility Mode, but I’m afraid that didn’t help (see my previous reply for details). Also tried various combinations of the Volume Control and Multichannel mixing options.

My Roku stick is a model 3800X running software v13.1.4
The Roku TV I’ve also been experimenting with is a TCL 43S525 running the same version

I don’t think I currently have any other Airplay devices to experiment with.

12

Thanks for giving that a try @roontrial! Our team is actively investigating this issue, and we should have more information to share soon.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime! :raised_hands:

14

Hello @roontrial ,

I wanted to touch base with some good news, which is that our team has been able to reproduce this behavior in-house and we’ve opened up a bug report with our developers. While I can’t say for certain when this bug will be fixed, getting things reproduced in-house is a critical first step.

There aren’t any additional details needed at this time, so we will go ahead and close the thread for the time being, and if any other questions arise, we will re-open the thread and reach out once more.

Thanks again for your report, and thank you in advance for your patience as the ticket progresses through the development queue!