All audio output from your Mac, including system sounds, will play from the HomePod. Once connected, the HomePod basically replaces your Mac’s speakers.

In short, this process works so keep trying if you have trouble. Trying again generally fixed it, although there was one occasion where we had to try four times in a row to get a successful connection. Note that the connection process from the Mac to the HomePod is still a bit buggy, and we had the connection fail a few times during testing. In our example screenshot, our HomePod is named “Office.”Īfter a second or two, any audio that may have been playing via your Mac’s speakers or other default audio device will stop and will then start playing on the HomePod. Find your HomePod by the name you gave it during setup and click on it to select it. Your own list of devices may be different depending on the number and type of audio devices connected to your Mac. With the volume icon now in your menu bar, click on it to see a list of output devices.

As a bonus tip, you can hold the Command key on your keyboard and then click and hold on the volume icon to drag and reposition it in your menu bar layout. You should now see the volume icon in your menu bar. There, check the box at the bottom of the window labeled Show volume in menu bar. If it’s not, head to System Preferences > Sound > Output. This is most easily accomplished via the Volume widget in your Mac’s menu bar at the top of the screen.Ĭheck to see if the Volume widget (a speaker icon) is already present in your menu bar.

But to do so, we first need a way to tell your Mac to use AirPlay for audio output instead of your Mac’s built-in speakers. We’re going to use your Mac’s built-in AirPlay functionality to send audio to your HomePod. In fact, if you have a Mac, you can stream all of your Mac’s audio output to your HomePod via AirPlay, letting you listen to alternate music services such as Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, or even your own collection with something like Plex. This means that you can’t connect any device you’d like to the HomePod, but it doesn’t mean you’re stuck with Apple’s own music service for your entertainment. It instead relies on either its built-in access to Apple Music or AirPlay functionality from your Apple device. How to Send Audio From Your Mac to HomePod via AirPlayĪpple’s new HomePod doesn’t work like a standard Bluetooth speaker.

How to airplay from mac to homepod