Mac cannot use HomePod as audio output, but Music.app and iPhone can

Question

Mac cannot use HomePod as audio output, but Music.app and iPhone can

Macbook M1 (Tahoe 26.0.1), Homepod OS 26.0.1.

When I try to select Homepod as Audio Output (AirPlay), I get "Could not connect to <Living Room>" (Living Room is the name I set up for the Homepod).

However, I can play songs from Music.app (from my Mac) and I can connect my iPhone to it (play Spotify songs from iPhone via Homepod).

I tried resetting the Homepod, booting up my Mac in Safe Mode, but nothing works.

After 2 hours with Grok, ChatGPT and Perplexity, I decided to come here. I am also attaching the logs captured using the Console.app.

AirPlay/Homepod logs

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Oct 4, 2025 1:07 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

gianmarcoaversano Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 5, 2025 9:06 AM in response to gianmarcoaversano

The issue was solved on a call with Apple Support.

First of all, thanks a lot to Apple Support who spent over an hour on the phone with me (very useful, with Screen Sharing!).

In the end, the problem was VPN configurations. When we uninstalled all VPNs and configs, it worked.

Do not worry, it is possible to have a VPN and still connect to Homepod. I installed NordVPN again, it's got a Kill Switch option. If you just toggled that option off, it still works, but toggling that on will interfere and Mac won't be able to connect to Homepod.

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