Multi-Room Audio with AirPlay

[sthall]

I have two Apple TV 4K's, one in my living room, the other in the master bedroom. On either Apple TV, when I attempt to stream Pandora audio to both the originating Apple TV where Pandora is running and the other Apple TV in the other room, the audio only works in the other room and not on the originating Apple TV. Both are on tvOS 14.3 (18K561) and version 1911.1 of Pandora.

I have tried the following steps on both Apple TV's with no success:

• Restarting the Apple TV (both via Settings > System > Restart and removing and reinserting the power cable).
• Uninstalling and reinstalling the Pandora app.
• Resetting the Apple TV via Settings > System > Reset (which also requires a new login to Pandora).

This was not an issue last year but I have not attempted to use this feature since then so I don't know exactly when it would have started.

[cjh_dc]

We have the same issue, even when selecting “TV Speakers”: audio only on airplay targets and not on tv in front of me. 

Edit: correcting typo

[ShadesJeff]

We also have the same issue - Pandora on AppleTV will not play on the "TV Speakers" and an AirPlay 2 target at the same time.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @ShadesJeff, @sthall and @cjh_dc! Thanks for posting your experience. Sorry for any trouble!

I’ve enabled a trace on your account to help us better understand what’s happening. We'll need you to try and use Pandora as you normally would.

In the meantime, I've passed your info along to our engineers so they can take a closer look at what may be happening.  

@ShadesJeff Can you let me know the model of your Apple TV, the OS and Pandora versions?

@cjh_dc  Is this happening on an Apple TV as well or another device? If it's another device can you let me know the make and model.

If this is happening on your Apple TV, can you let me know the OS and Pandora versions?

@sthall Thanks for providing that info!

Thanks for your patience in the meantime and happy holidays!

[ShadesJeff]

We have experienced this issue using an AppleTV 4K, running tvOS 14.3 and Pandora version 1911.1.  The desired use case is to have sync'd Pandora between the AppleTV "TV Speaker" audio (HDMI output to a Denon Receiver and then distributed to a 7.1 system) and AirPlay 2 to a stereo pair of HomePods (the originals, not the minis).

Interestingly, the reverse setup (Pandora on HomePod and AirPlay to the AppleTV) does work.

[WetMtnDryDesert]

We are having the same issue with an Apple TV 4K and a regular Apple TV. No issue when I multicast via Apple Music. 

[TannerPandora]

Thanks for the info @sthall! I've updated the report to our engineers. 

[TannerPandora]

Hi @WetMtnDryDesert! Thanks for posting. 

I've included your info on our ticket for this. Can you let me know the OS and Pandora version on your Apple TV. 

Thanks!

[cjh_dc]

Happens on all of our Apple TVs (1 4K, 2 HDs) as @ShadesJeff describes. tvOS 14.3 on all of them.

Our desired use case is to play Pandora throughout the house:

(1) Launch Pandora app on an Apple TV

(2) Select that TV's speakers and various other AirPlay 2 targets (Apple TVs, AirPlay 2 speakers) as outputs.

(3) Synchronized music throughout the house.

What ends up happening is that the music plays everywhere but the TV speakers from which we initiated music. The Pandora app otherwise functions normally, displaying currently playing song, playhead progress, etc. 

Latest Pandora apps on all. @TannerPandora 

mod edit: format

[AlyssaPandora]

@cjh_dc Thank you for posting that info. I've updated the internal ticket @TannerPandora created with our engineering team with the additional feedback you've provided.

Appreciate your patience while they investigate. 🎧

[sthall]

@AlyssaPandora @TannerPandora is there anything else you need to troubleshoot this? And does your engineering team have a rough ETA?

[AlyssaPandora]

@sthall No, we've shared this thread and the reports with our iOS engineers on an internal ticket. Unfortunately, we do not have an ETA for a fix. However, all updates we receive will be posted on this thread.

Thanks again for your patience during this process! 🎧

[martd001]

I also have this issue.

running TVios 14.3  when i try to play music with airplay and my sonos speakers i can only get either my tv speakers to play OR my sonos speakers.  they will not play at the same time anymore.  I think this started when TVios 14 was released but not sure.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @martd001! Thanks for posting your experience. Sorry for any inconvenience. 

I've included your info on our ticket. Thanks for calling out that the TV OS release. I've highlighted this on the ticket so someone can take a closer look. 

Thanks for your patience in the meantime. 

[martd001]

i just tried LiveXLive on my apple TV, all speakers on Air play 2 work fine.  i am a paying premium member of Pandora and i am thinking about canceling because of this issue.  Its been some time now and i don't seeing any progress or it being addressed.  The whole point to go premium is to have whole house music, and right now that is not possible.  3.99 for what i get on pandora for 5.99

[BluePony]

I have the same problem. I don’t think the problem is with Pandora though. Sirius XM App does the same thing. When I play music through Apple Music, however, it works fine on multiple speakers (including the source ATV). I think it’s a problem on Apple’s end. TvOS 14.4 did nothing to fix it unfortunately. 

[martd001]

well i have canceled my premium account in pandora, i am moving to LiveXLive now.  That app works fine

[BluePony]

I tried LiveXLive as well but I’m still having the same problem. Only difference is music will play on the source tv for a few minutes and then stop again but still continue on the other airplay speakers. Have you had this issue too?

[sthall]

I haven't tried LiveXLive because I've been using Pandora for at least 11 years and I don't want to switch. This should just work.

[sthall]

@AlyssaPandora @TannerPandora how has there been no updates in the two months since I've opened this? Has your engineering team even looked at the ticket? If so have they identified the problem? Other non-Apple apps do not have this issue. I've been with Pandora for over 11 years now and I can't express how frustrating it is for what should be a functional feature to even be addressed.