How to Use Your HomePod as a Speaker for Your Apple TV - MacRumors
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How to Use Your HomePod as a Speaker for Your Apple TV

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The HomePod offers great sound, and with AirPlay connectivity, you can set the ‌HomePod‌ up to function as a speaker for your Apple TV, routing ‌Apple TV‌ sound through the ‌HomePod‌.

You can use ‌Apple TV‌ and ‌HomePod‌ together as long as you have a third, fourth, or fifth-generation ‌Apple TV‌

homepodappletv

Pairing Apple TV and HomePod

  1. Open the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌.
  2. Scroll down to the Video and Audio section and select it. appletvaudiovideo
  3. Choose "Audio Output." audiooutputappletv
  4. Select the ‌HomePod‌ icon from the list of available devices.homepodappletvaudiooutput

Once the ‌Apple TV‌ is paired with the ‌HomePod‌, TV sound will be routed through your ‌HomePod‌ instead of through your TV. Using the ‌HomePod‌'s physical controls, you can change the volume of the ‌Apple TV‌, or you can ask Siri to do so. You can also play/pause content through the top of the ‌HomePod‌ or through ‌Siri‌.

Unpairing Apple TV and HomePod

You'll presumably want to use your ‌HomePod‌ for purposes beyond playing audio from the ‌Apple TV‌, and unpairing is done through the same settings you used to pair the ‌HomePod‌ and ‌Apple TV‌ in the first place.

  1. Open the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌.
  2. Scroll down to the Video and Audio section and select it.
  3. Choose "Audio Output."
  4. Click on the ‌HomePod‌ icon from the list of available devices to deselect it.

Choosing Audio Output Device with the Apple TV Remote

You can also choose your ‌HomePod‌ as your audio output device using your ‌Apple TV‌ Remote, which is a quicker way to swap between devices.

  1. Go to the Home screen of the ‌Apple TV‌.
  2. Hold down the Play/Pause button on the ‌Apple TV‌ Remote.
  3. In the menu that comes up, select the ‌HomePod‌ option. homebuttonaudioinput

To go back to using the ‌Apple TV‌ audio, you can repeat the same steps above, but this time select your ‌Apple TV‌ instead of the ‌HomePod‌.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, HomePod, HomePod mini

Top Rated Comments

Cankoda Avatar
110 months ago
Why is it you have to keep the HomePod plugged in for it to work I just don’t get it couldn’t it have been rechargeable or something I don’t like leaving things plugged in when I’m off to work
So when you leave the house you unplug your tv, stove, microwave, lights, furnace, etc, etc. It’s a good quality speaker with bass and a lot of output, speakers like that almost never have battery’s because they need more power than a battery can give, and leaving it plugged in or anything doesn’t really matter, power draw from anything is very minimal if its off, it’s actually more likley for a battery to combusted than an electrical fire
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robgreene Avatar
110 months ago
Can someone please confirm something. I want to know if you can control the volume output on the HomePod with the Siri remote the same way you can control the volume when using AirPods on the Apple TV?
Yes. Pull one of your HomePods out of your ear and it will pause the Apple TV.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rshev Avatar
110 months ago
There is a much faster way - just hold play/pause button on the home screen, and then select audio output.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
110 months ago
The audio volume is so low using when using apps in Apple TV. I crank the volume up to max, and it's not really very loud. This is my one disappointment with homepod. Not sure why this is the case. Grrr. :(
They need to put out an update for the Apple TV so the output isn’t so low when using the HomePod. I’ve noticed having it cranked all the way up is still significantly lower volume than when I’m using the speaker on it’s own.
FWIW, now that I think about it, when I use my AirPods with the Apple TV I do the same thing - have the sound nearly at 100%
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ike1707 Avatar
110 months ago
My only ultimate disappointment with this product thus far is 2 home pods are explicitly not designed to work as stereo TV speakers together. If I could replace a set of traditional tower speakers with these puppies, it would be an instant sale.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
110 months ago
Why is it you have to keep the HomePod plugged in for it to work I just don’t get it couldn’t it have been rechargeable or something I don’t like leaving things plugged in when I’m off to work
do you unplug your refrigerator?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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