Spatialized Stereo not available on macOS

I just purchased a brand new set of AirPods Pro 2, and everything works perfectly when using them with my iPhone 13 Pro. I've personalized Spatial Audio using my phone and that's working fine on my phone.


On my 2021 M1 Max MacBook Pro with macOS Sonoma 14.0, however, there's a problem. While I can use Spatial Audio when running Apple TV+ or Apple Music (though I rarely use either), I'm also supposed to have the option to enable Spatialized Stereo when playing other stereo audio on my Mac (like Spotify or YouTube), which is documented in Use or turn on Spatial Audio for AirPods and Beats - Apple Support – but it is never an option that's available to me. Instead, it just says "Spatial Audio Not Available" for any normal stereo music I'm playing:



I've tried unpairing and repairing my AirPods and rebooting my Mac (which is supposed to automatically reset the PRAM), but no luck.


For the hefty price tag of CA$329 + tax, I'd expect this feature to "just work". Any help appreciated.


AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

Posted on Nov 16, 2023 12:13 PM

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Posted on Nov 23, 2023 09:12 AM

Update: Seems I can get the Spatialize Stereo option to appear if I'm playing audio through Safari, but not through Chrome. That's clearly a bug and/or false advertising. Apple advertises that Spatialize Stereo should be available "while you’re playing two-channel stereo content". They make no mention that only when the audio is coming from proprietary Apple apps.

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Nov 23, 2023 09:12 AM in response to vtowel

Update: Seems I can get the Spatialize Stereo option to appear if I'm playing audio through Safari, but not through Chrome. That's clearly a bug and/or false advertising. Apple advertises that Spatialize Stereo should be available "while you’re playing two-channel stereo content". They make no mention that only when the audio is coming from proprietary Apple apps.

Feb 9, 2024 10:22 AM in response to vtowel

I have been experiencing the same issue but with my M2 MB air. On call with Apple support for an hour and a half and searched it up myself whilst on hold.


the thing is it works absolutley fine when connected to my 14 pro when i use spotify, so where do apple draw the line hahaha.


thank you for your post it helped me out and i wont be loosing sleep over why this isnt working now!

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Spatialized Stereo not available on macOS

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