[AppleTV] No sound on Apple TV when streaming to other devices over AirPlay2 - Take 2

[Eric83]

Plan

Free

Country

UK

Device

Apple TV 4K (2019)

Operating System

tvOS 14.7 (18M60)

My Question or Issue

Hi Spotify

You have been ignoring this issue for over a year and in particular this thread that I've started for the past two and a half months even though MULTIPLE USERS ARE FRUSTRATED AND ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE:

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Ongoing-Issues/AppleTV-No-sound-on-Apple-TV-when-streaming-to-other...

PLEASE DO NOT CLOSE THE ORIGINAL THREAD AS IT'S NOT BEEN SOLVED.

I've raised this Technical Issues - Spotify app / feature isn’t working [ ref:_00DD0pxIW._5002o2mp5Mo:ref ] as well, and again no progress.

THE ISSUE:

I have 4 Apple TVs in 4 different rooms. All updated and the Spotify app reinstalled.

Spotify Apple TV Version: 1.23.17

Apple TV OS Version: tvOS 14.7 (18M60)

Streaming Spotify over AirPlay2 from any one of the 4 Apple TVs to any of the other 3 stops the sound on the source Apple TV. I.e. The speakers connected via HDMI to the the source AppleTV.  The sound only comes out of the other target TVs. The number of the target TVs doesn't matter 1,2 or 3. In each case the sound only comes out on the target TVs and there's no sound on the source TV. It also doesn't matter which of the 4 TVs I use as the source. The situation is 100% reproducible with any of them.

AirPlaying from any of the 4 Apple TVs to any of the other 3 works with any other app (Netflix, Disney+, BBC, etc...).

Please could you fix this?

It's clearly been a problem for over a year now. See original issue here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Ongoing-Issues/Apple-TV-TvOS-14-Multiple-Audio-Output-not-working/i...

And a 2nd thread that bumped it up again here:

https://community.spotify.com/t5/iOS-iPhone-iPad/Apple-TV-TVOS-14-Multiple-Audio-Output-Not-Working/...

And then a 3rd thread here, which is simply been ignored for two and a half months now:

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Ongoing-Issues/AppleTV-No-sound-on-Apple-TV-when-streaming-to-other...

And a technical issue: Spotify app / feature isn’t working [ ref:_00DD0pxIW._5002o2mp5Mo:ref ].

How many times does one need to raise this to get this addressed?

Regards,

Eric

[Eni]

Hey @Eric83, 

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community.

We understand where you're coming from and that it can be frustrating when an issue takes longer than expected to be fixed. However, we can assure you that this is still being looked into by the right teams.

Although we can't commit to a timeframe for when this will be fixed, make sure to keep the app updated and Subscribe to the ongoing issue thread, since we'll be posting any news about it there as soon as there are any. 

If you need help with anything else, the Community will be here. 

[Eric83]

Dear @Eni,

Let's not try to whitewash what's happening here with phrases like: 'We understand where you're coming from and that it can be frustrating when an issue takes longer than expected to be fixed'.

Let's be very clear about what's happening here.

*FACT 1* - Even ignoring the fact that the problem has been ongoing for over a year now, you are ignoring the thread I've opened. Despite repeated attempts spanning *21* MESSAGES, over a period of *2 and a half months* on what was the *3rd* thread opened on the issue, you are simply *IGNORING* your customers and all the legitimate attempts to get you to acknowledge the bug, let alone fix it.

*FACT 2* - 'Being looked at' is not an update. To resolve any bug 3 things need to happen:

A) You need to reproduce it on your side and acknowledge it is happening.

B) Then you need to understand WHY it's happening.

C) And need to understand HOW to fix it and fix it.

So far you have not even acknowledged that you can reproduce the problem on your side, let alone the WHY or HOW to fix it.

Can we agree that 'looking at a problem' FOR OVER A YEAR, without being able to reproduce it and acknowledge it to the customers that are complaining about it is simply INCOMPETENT?

*FACT 3* - Taking it one step further, a simple bug as this one, should not take over a year to analyse and fix by any competent team of engineers. People have managed to design a vaccine to a novel virus, and distribute billions of doses of it worldwide in a year, all while you can't fix a simple issue of sound disappearing when using AirPlay.

If it's simply a bug on your side this is pure incompetence. If there's a deeper reason why the problem happens, such as some licensing issues related to AirPlay 2, or a dispute you have with Apple, then please share that information, so that your customers can understand what's happening. But you don't do either, so you're either being incompetent or dishonest. Take your pick.

GETTING BACK TO BASICS, CAN YOU FINALLY CONFIRM THAT YOU CAN REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM ON YOUR END?

Regards,

Eric

[Sergent_Mayrick]

Hi,

I have the same issue.

Spotify Apple TV Version: 1.23.17

Apple TV OS Version: tvOS 14.7

Streaming Spotify over AirPlay2 from my Apple TV to any of the other Airplay device (Homepod in my case) stops the sound on the speakers connected via HDMI to the AppleTV. The sound only comes out of the other target devices.

This is a problem known for a very long time...

I do not have a very complex installation just an Apple Tv connected to a simple TV and a homepod. I just want the sound to be broadcast on all the speakers (which works perfectly with other apps like Youtube)

Regards,

[Jeremy]

Hi @Eric83 and @Sergent_Mayrick,

Thank you for getting back in touch.

We're investigating this and will be updating the Ongoing Issue thread as soon as we have any new information. We review all Ongoing Issues on a weekly basis so as soon as we have anything to share, we'll post it there.

An audio driver or codec incompatibility between Spotify and AP2 is currently suspected to be the cause of this, but we're still performing tests to verify, so we'll update when we have clear results.

Let us know if we can help you with anything else.

Take care!

[Eric83]

@Jeremy

Thanks for the update. Appreciate it.

Looking forward to having this resolved.

Regards,

Eric

[Eric83]

@Xenia , @Eni and @Jeremy

As per this thread : Spotify won't support AirPlay 2 -  https://community.spotify.com/t5/Closed-Ideas/iOS-Airplay-2-Support-for-iOS/idc-p/5244350#M229127

And this thread: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Ongoing-Issues/AppleTV-No-sound-on-Apple-TV-when-streaming-to-other...

Please, can you confirm the above is indeed correct and that the issue stems from using AirPlay 1. Switching to AirPlay 2 will not be supported within the foreseeable future, and so any hope of fixing this issue in the foreseeable future using AirPlay 1 is in fact none existent?

Kind regards,

Eric

[Alex]

Hi @Eric83,

Thanks for the reply.

We've closed the idea as we cannot provide a timeline for full support because this indeed appears to be a very big project, caused by the current audio driver incompatibility with AirPlay 2 that Spotify uses throughout. This doesn't mean we will not continue trying to improve AirPlay 2 support, but it might take quite a long time due to the complexity and the fact we'll need to work with our partners on this as well. 

We want to assure you that we're still looking into the reported issue from our Ongoing issue thread, as we want to make sure we're not missing something regarding these reports. And we'll post updates to the OI as we receive them.

Hope you find this information helpful.

[Eric83]

@Alex

Ok, thank you for the update. Looking forward to hearing more details in due course. 

Kind regards,

Eric

[TheFordOkami]

this is still an issue almost a year after this post date, I have been having this issue since I got an apple home setup. Seems that this issue has been occurring for upwards of two and a half years now. Glad to see that Spotify’s valuable dollars are going to things like hate speech and weapons funding instead of solving long-term known user issues

[dghighfill]

I personally think this is an Apple issue.  I have an Google Chromecast on my TV and can stream Spotify from my Android phone just fine.  It's only when I switch to the Apple TV, Spotify will play, but no sound.  I can then change the target on Spotify from my phone to Chromecast and sounds fine.  The Volume Rockers for the TV doesn't work with Apple TV is playing Spotify too, it's just like Apple TV has closed off all sound streaming from Spotify.

[dresende]

That makes no sense. I have the same issue. Any other works, Apple Music, Netflix, Disney, HBO, .. it’s just that Spotify sound gets muted. Progress bar shows song playing, but no sound..