HomePod Sonos and HomePods latency issue with AirPlay 2

[954248]

I was extremely excited to update my Sonos system today after I read that the new 9.0 update was bringing AirPlay to Sonos finally!

I currently own two Ones, two Play:1s, a Playbar, a Sub, and three HomePods. This update meant I could finally use my HomePods and Sonos system as one, cohesive experience.

It turned out that not only could I not use my Ones as rear channels for my Playbar/Sub (if I want AirPlay support), but for whatever reason, when I try and play music from Apple Music on my iPhone, my Sonos Speakers and Homepods refuse to stay in sync.

No matter what I do, the speakers only stay synced for 20-40 seconds before they start losing their place in the song. I’ll give it a few seconds to fix itself, but they refuse to stay synced together, with the speakers jumping all over the place. They’ll only stay synced if I stick to one speaker manufacturer at a time. (So only HomePod or only Sonos).

I’ve invested thousands of dollars in these speakers over the years, I only bought the Ones with the expectation that they would finally bridge the gap between Apple and Sonos with AirPlay 2, and so far the whole setup has been janky and half baked.

Anybody have any tips or recommendations on how to get these speakers to play nice?

 

[Donar]

I had no issues playing songs on a HomePod and stereo paired Sonos One‘s as long as i did not pause and then resume again. After that they sometimes got out of sync.

 

[954248]

I noticed that when I was moving around in my space was when I noticed the most latency between the speakers. So I changed a couple things, I positioned a few of the antennas on my router towards the area where my speakers reside, and I changed to "Compressed" rather than "Uncompressed" for Compression settings in the advanced settings of the Sonos app. Not sure if the latter actually did anything, but I was trying to troubleshoot on my own, and those two things made a huge difference in the speakers cutting out.

Now they're not cutting out nearly as much when I walk around my place, and if they do lose their sync, it's only for a quick second, then it fixes itself.

 

[liquidiq]

Can you start the music from an AppleTV or hardwired iTunes machine? Something that's stationary. The big advantage of the "pure" Sonos experience is that all the speakers connect directly to the music service instead of going through a intermediary like an iPhone/iPad.

 

[cynics]

Are you AirPlaying from the iPhone and selecting speakers? If so open the AirPlay options and scroll down to the HomePod and from there AirPlay to the Sonos. Basically exclude the iPhone and see if that makes any difference. You can try reversing it too if Sonos works that way so from Sonos > HomePod.



I have the best syncing and reliability if playing from the HomePod. Although for me the iPhone works fine (my Sonos don't qualify for AirPlay 2 yay) my iMac doesn't sync too well to the AppleTV's.

 

[Brookzy]

After taking delivery of my Sonos Beam today I am also disappointed in AirPlay 2.

First, it is not true AirPlay 2: Sonos devices do not appear as standalone cards in the Control Centre like a HomePod or Apple TV does, so you're still required to stream from a specific app to the Sonos device - which is no different to AirPlay 1!

When grouping together two HomePods and the Beam, the Beam is slightly out of sync with the HomePods.

What an overhyped, underdelivered feature.

 

[Tarantularock]

I was hoping the beam setup would work, bummer.

After taking delivery of my Sonos Beam today I am also disappointed in AirPlay 2.

First, it is not true AirPlay 2: Sonos devices do not appear as standalone cards in the Control Centre like a HomePod or Apple TV does, so you're still required to stream from a specific app to the Sonos device - which is no different to AirPlay 1!

When grouping together two HomePods and the Beam, the Beam is slightly out of sync with the HomePods.

What an overhyped, underdelivered feature.

 

[chrfr]

First, it is not true AirPlay 2: Sonos devices do not appear as standalone cards in the Control Centre like a HomePod or Apple TV does, so you're still required to stream from a specific app to the Sonos device - which is no different to AirPlay 1!

My Sonos One appears in the control center along with my Apple TVs (I don't have a HomePod). Are you sure you've updated your Sonos device and iOS to support it?

 

[Brookzy]

My Sonos One appears in the control center along with my Apple TVs (I don't have a HomePod). Are you sure you've updated your Sonos device and iOS to support it?

Your Sonos One appears as its own card?

 

[Brookzy]

To better explain what I mean...

AirPlay 2 devices like HomePod and Apple TV appear as a dedicated 'card' (Apple's wording) in Control Centre:



This means that each device can play content independently - your iPhone is basically acting as a remote control for them. For example I can get my living room HomePod to play something while my phone plays something totally different:



For Sonos, however, there is no standalone card, and that means you have to stream music to it from something else. For example I can group the living room HomePod and the Sonos Beam together...



...but that is not what AirPlay 2 is supposed to be! Doing what the Sonos can do is no different to AirPlay 1.

Hopefully a future update makes it work properly. My Apple Music account is connected to the Sonos so there is no reason why it shouldn't be able to act just like a HomePod in this regard.

 

[tvOStoday]

Just tried the beam ourselves and got to say, Brookzy, the disappointment is shared. Sending back and waiting on a midrange AirPlay 2 AVR instead.

 

[Brookzy]

Just tried the beam ourselves and got to say, Brookzy, the disappointment is shared. Sending back and waiting on a midrange AirPlay 2 AVR instead.

I'm impressed with it as a speaker, I'm just so disappointed with this AirPlay situation, and can't believe none of the (very thorough) reviews have highlighted it. It is for all intents and purposes an AirPlay 1 device.

 

[bbednarz]

Can't you just treat the iPhone as the sole device for controlling what is sent to that speaker? Just AirPlay from the phone to the Beam and everything would work out the same as far as I can tell. Are you really playing that many different things independently at the same time that this is an issue that makes you want to return the Beam?

 

[Brookzy]

Can't you just treat the iPhone as the sole device for controlling what is sent to that speaker? Just AirPlay from the phone to the Beam and everything would work out the same as far as I can tell. Are you really playing that many different things independently at the same time that this is an issue that makes you want to return the Beam?

One of the features of AirPlay 2 is supposed to be independent streaming. If I host a party, I don’t want to worry about the music stopping if I get a phone call or go outside, or its battery dies, etc. In this regard, the Beam becomes barely better than a Bluetooth speaker.

In regards to returning it - I’m keeping it because it’s first and foremost a sound bar for my TV.

But its implementation of AirPlay 2 is not as described.

Until (and unless) this is fixed I will just group it with a HomePod as a workaround.

 

[Alhagar]

One of the features of AirPlay 2 is supposed to be independent streaming. If I host a party, I don’t want to worry about the music stopping if I get a phone call or go outside, or its battery dies, etc. In this regard, the Beam becomes barely better than a Bluetooth speaker.

In regards to returning it - I’m keeping it because it’s first and foremost a sound bar for my TV.

But its implementation of AirPlay 2 is not as described.

Until (and unless) this is fixed I will just group it with a HomePod as a workaround.

I just tested it. Airplay 2 from iPhone to Beam. Then had someone call me. I could answer the call without the music being interrupted.

 

[Brookzy]

I just tested it. Airplay 2 from iPhone to Beam. Then had someone call me. I could answer the call without the music being interrupted.

That’s good to hear... hopefully the rest of the AirPlay 2 features can be added in a software update.

I’ve just noticed that when you ungroup the Beam from another speaker, it momentarily appears in its own card in Control Centre before disappearaing... almost as if it’s a design choice rather than an omission, which is quite bizarre.

 

[Alhagar]

I just noticed that when playing to HomePod in Kitchen and Beam in the living rooom via Apple TV, there is latency. When I play to the HP in the kitchen and directly to the Sonos, no latency. This is very good news. Hopefully they can figure out the issue between HomePod and ATV.

 

[Brookzy]

So many people were confused/displeased over the issue that this retailer felt the need to make a video clarifying the disappointing reality of AirPlay 2 on the Sonos Beam. The conclusion, as we've said here: "unfortunately the iPhone remains the source of the sound... the sound will not hand off to the device like Alexa or a HomePod".

 

[Solver]

So many people were confused/displeased over the issue that this retailer felt the need to make a video clarifying the disappointing reality of AirPlay 2 on the Sonos Beam. The conclusion, as we've said here: "unfortunately the iPhone remains the source of the sound... the sound will not hand off to the device like Alexa or a HomePod".

This seems mostly normal. Even though the Apple TV has a “card,” you can’t select what song is playing nor even the volume on the Apple TV from that card on the iPhone. You can only remote control the Apple TV iTunes app through the iPhone. From the iPhone “card,” the Apple TV is just a speaker. Turn off Wi-Fi on the phone and the Apple TVs will stop playing, shortly.
Maybe a future update will add a Sonos card for remote control. Maybe there is some security option to enable it.

iOS 12 beta 4

 

[Donar]

If you tap the AppleTV card and then tap it again in the upper third and there where the cover Art and Name of the AppleTV is you can start a Playlist playing on the Apple TV. Do not tap the icon on the right, that will stream Music from your iPhone to the AppleTV. Then Music will not stop playing if you turn of WiFi on your iPhone. As i now learned you can not set the volume on the AppleTV though.

 

[Nikhil72]

I’m not getting latency with my homepod and my beam 5.1 setup luckily. An additional trick for those who have a homepod, is to start playback from the homepod and send to th sonos and it works independent of your phone.

 

[Solver]

If you tap the AppleTV card and then tap it again in the upper third and there where the cover Art and Name of the AppleTV is you can start a Playlist playing on the Apple TV. Do not tap the icon on the right, that will stream Music from your iPhone to the AppleTV. Then Music will not stop playing if you turn of WiFi on your iPhone. As i now learned you can not set the volume on the AppleTV though.

View attachment 772434View attachment 772433

When I tap on the upper third of the Apple TV card, it collapses back into the control panel. No chance to select any specific music. This happens on two devices.
It may be due to not having a Apple Music subscription. Only purchased songs are available to be played on the Apple TV using the music app. I can’t even make a playlist.

iOS/tvOS 12 beta 4

 

[Brookzy]

When I tap on the upper third of the Apple TV card, it collapses back into the control panel. No chance to select any specific music. This happens on two devices.

iOS 12 beta 4

Have you got an Apple Music subscription? Because you should be able to do what @Donar described.

 

[Solver]

Have you got an Apple Music subscription? Because you should be able to do what @Donar described.

I edited my post just five minutes later. I do not have an Apple Music subscription. But I do have a number of purchased songs.

 

[Donar]

I edited my post just five minutes later. I do not have an Apple Music subscription. But I do have a number of purchased songs.

Hi, i am subscribed to AppleMusic. I have just tried it on my iPad Air 2 with the current iOS 12 beta and had no problems. Can anybody who is not subscribed to AppleMusic chime in and try out the thing i described above from a device with iOS 11.4 and post his findings?