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Can't stream from iTunes on iMac to Sonos speaker


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High Sierra 10.13.6. I can see the speaker (One SL) in iTunes and it seems like there is a connection between them, but when i start playing a song it shows in a Sonos Controller app, like the info is loading, with the cover art, etc. but there is no sound and after like 2-3 second it drops like there is nothing to play. How can i fix this?

 

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Best answer by John B 7 March 2020, 10:10

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I am a little confused about what you are doing here, but you can only play from iTunes using Airplay 2, which does not involve the Sonos app.

To play the music stored on your Mac using the Sonos app you would need to set up a Sonos music library linked to the folder where your music is stored for iTunes.  Have you done that?

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/257?language=en_US

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Yes, i’ve set up the Sonos app as well and it works great. However, i can’t stream directly from iTunes and that’s what i would prefer to be doing. The Airplay connection itself seems fine, but it just won’t stream, it says “connection lost” when i hit play (or something similar, i’m not using the english interface).

Maybe there’s some sort of interference between the Sonos app and iTunes?

No it won't be that. The Sonos app is just a remote control. Airplay 2 'should' work. 10.13.6 was the minimum requirement for Airplay 2 at launch and I am not aware of that having changed. But I am not an Airplay user and so I am not the best person to advise further.

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The trouble is only when i try to stream directly from iTunes. I can stream from my iPhone to the Sonos speaker and LG webOS TV just fine, but not from iTunes.

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Ok, so i don’t know why, but now the Airplay connection itself seems stable and the song doesn’t stop in iTunes when i select Sonos as an audio output, however, the sound still ain’t coming from the Sonos speaker. It’s like everything is perfect, just in the “mute” mode (but it’s not)… Anyone can help?

Looks like Apple may have moved the goalposts

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208728

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I’m not sure if this is a Sonos issue or an iTunes / iMac one… Airplay obviously “works”, but for some strange reason there’s just no audio coming out from the Sonos speaker, like i muted it.

It doesn’t obviously work.  It looks like you need a more recent OS now than you have, unless i am misinterpreting the article I linked.  It may be trying to use original Airplay and failing.

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My iMac is mid 2010. Maybe it doesn’t have Airplay 2 at all? I didn’t find a clear answer. Also, the article that you have posted says that Catalina is required, but there are other articles on the web saying that High Sierra has Airplay 2 as well... And even if my iMac is THAT old, why can’t Sonos One SL just work with Airplay 1, are they totally different things?

AirPlay 1 and AirPlay 2 are indeed two separate things. Sonos has never been capable of dealing with AirPlay 1.

My iMac is mid 2010. Maybe it doesn’t have Airplay 2 at all? I didn’t find a clear answer. Also, the article that you have posted says that Catalina is required, but there are other articles on the web saying that High Sierra has Airplay 2 as well... And even if my iMac is THAT old, why can’t Sonos One SL just work with Airplay 1, are they totally different things?

I am fairly sure Airplay 2 was originally usable with High Sierra, but it is in the nature of these things for older OS to not be able to keep up with developments.  So you may be reading out-of-date info.  But as I said, I am not an Apple user.

You might see if you can upgrade your OS but if it is a 2010 machine it may not be able to upgrade far enough.

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Yeah, High Sierra is the newest i can get… Well, seems like Airplay 2 is not available for my iMac. That’s a shame, cause i definitely didn’t think about getting a Sonos speaker and then not being able to pair it with my iMac just like a regular Bluetooth speaker (but via Airplay). The Sonos app just can’t compete with iTunes interface and functionality, so that leaves me with not really what i wanted… But that’s not a Sonos fault i guess.

I am having similar issues using my iMac Pro 2017 with Catalina 10.15.4.

Never had problems until a couple of months ago or so. When audio doesn’t come through my speakers, seems like the only fix is to switch back to iMac speakers and then Airplay back to Sonos. I installed the Sonos app and it didn’t make a difference.  I think this is another example of Apple making things difficult for everyone.