Stuttering music and losing connection to Apple HomePod mini through Airplay

[shrimp_sandwich]

Plan

Premium

Country

Sweden

Device

iPhone Xs Max

Operating System

iOS 16.2

My Question or Issue

When I play music on my Apple HomePod Mini (Brand new, updated to iOS 16.2) through my iPhone, via Airplay, the music stutters a lot and I can't play for more than 5 minutes, before the connection to the HomePod mini drops out. Apple Music or podcasts works great.

I have good Wifi-coverage and a good connection (speed test with my phone next to the HomePod is >500Mbps with Speedtest).

I've tried different quality settings of the music, and also downloading it to my phone.

Turning off WMM on my router as this thread suggested:

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Mac/Stuttering-Audio-Streaming-To-Apple-TV-Via-AirPlay/td-p...

but unfortunately that didn't solve it either.

Anyone else with these issues? Ideas?

[shrimp_sandwich]

Hey folks,

Thank you all for the info you've posted in this thread.

You can check out this article by Apple - If HomePod or HomePod mini isn't responding to see if any of the mentioned steps would make any difference.

However if you're still experiencing the same issue afterwards, we recommend getting directly in touch with Apple Support here. 

Cheers!

[Shonza9]

just to add yet another up-to-date current Voice complaining about this same thing. I have a new iPhone 16, a brand new HomePod, everything is updated, I can play from every other app on the iPhone Apple Music, YouTube, the only music source that cannot reliably play to the HomePod is Spotify where it stutterd and skips

[kandreasyan]

Make sure your phone and HomePod use the same DNS. AirPlay relies on multicast DNS (Bonjour). 

The stream is unstable when I use Google or Cloudflare DNS.

[Shonza9]

Ok. Fascinating. Could I trouble you to post here how to do that? Many
thanks.

Also fyi I spent an hour on the home with Apple who not surprisingly came
to the conclusion that this is an a Spotify issue as the stuttering is only
a Spotify issue and not found with YouTube / Apple music or other sound
sources.

Frustratingly I have now taken up Apple Music’s offer and joined Apple
Music for the three month trial and it does work perfectly …

But hoping I can solve the connection issue as my kids are all users of the
family Spotify subscription though I guess they will learn Apple if they
have to

[hayden21]

Hey, I noticed its been almost two years and it seems no solution has been figured out yet? It is currently november 27th 2024 and I am also having this issue with a brand new homepod mini on a stable wifi. As I am in a bachelors apartment I only have one router so I'm not sure the issue is related to devices changing routers or wifi in general. If anyone has a solution please lmk!

[alizbazar]

I’m experiencing the exact same issue. I’m now only using YouTube Music for listening off my HomePod Mini. I’m wondering if it’s worth it paying for the Spotify subscription anymore. Is Spotify acknowledging that they’re having this issue?

[dsantana]

I have bought a new Homepod v2 and have this issues. I am about to cancel spotify because this drives me crazy. There is no solution!?

[MBart]

Hi Spotify Team,

I am writing to express my frustration regarding an ongoing issue I have been experiencing with your service. Whenever I use my Apple HomePod and HomePod Mini to stream music via Spotify, the audio repeatedly stutters, significantly disrupting my listening experience.

I have followed several troubleshooting steps and have even engaged in online threads discussing this issue, yet there has been no satisfactory resolution. This persistent problem not only wastes my time but also detracts from the quality I expect from Spotify.

Could you please prioritize an investigation into this matter and provide any updates on a solution or workaround? I would appreciate your prompt attention and support to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

• There is no issues with Apple Music or sound cloud steaming to same home pods never ever 
• there is no isseds with home pods ever acted weird with any devices specifically 
• it is only observed when streaming spotify from iPhones Ipad , not other streaming services, 

Thank you for your understanding and assistance.

[Kvurf]

Whenever I connect to my HomePod the music stutter and often the device just disconnects from Spotify. It works well with Apple Music so it’s not a WiFi issue. Does anyone have the same problem and managed to fix it?

[Jacec]

Still same issue here. Stutters after a few seconds and is unplayable. Tried everything above. Guess I’ll have to cancel Spotify and go to Apple Music.