[APP][Pro] Apple TV & HomePod

Hi Bas

I installed version 1.7, and after that my HomePod (1st generation) was no longer accessible. Once I deleted it and added it again, it started working again.

  • play / pause
  • Volume

However, there is no visual indication of what is currently playing.

@Asterix Thanks for testing! Can you use the diagnostics tool and run “Web Diagnostics”? Then follow these steps:

If media playback is visible there, it’s probably just a hicup…

So, I found a new case that I should handle in the app. This morning I got a companion link failed notification, and immediately went investigating. Appears that my Apple TV upgraded to tvOS 26.4 and went offline too long. I think I should increase the backoff strategy and allow a bit more fails before giving up.

Hi Bas

Yesterday, after a while, it started working again, but I’ll keep an eye on it :wink:

It was working for a few days, but then stopped again. @BasMilius is the app expecting a static IP or something?

I partially implemented mac address resolving aparently, I think that is going wrong. I just released 1.7.2 with some improvements.

Apple TV & HomePod 1.7.2

  • Improvements to device discovery. Note: If you had 1.7.0 or 1.7.1 installed and devices were migrated to mac address resolving, you might need to re-pair. Sorry about that.
  • Improvements to metadata and artwork handling.
  • Updated Apple Protocols SDK.

Apple Protocols

  • MAC address device discovery.
  • Unified Device API, previously consumers needed to handle a lot themselves.
  • Improved error handling and connection recovery.
  • Code cleanup and removed some experiments.
  • AirPlay version negotiation.
  • AirPlay feature negotiation.
  • Improvements to (Multi-Room) Audio Streaming.
  • Improvements to the timing server.
  • Added AES encryption for pairing on older devices. Not tested.

Memory usage is also improved, this is with four devices paired.

The update above has just been released to production :slight_smile: Let’s see how this goes!

Next thing on my todo for this app now is cleaning, both the Homey-app and the apple protocols libraries. There’s a lot of unneeded leftover code from experiments and tinkering.

Had to re-add the device. It was unresponsive. So had to fix my flows, which weren’t too many. I see the new app has a maintenance option… (I was on yesterday’s prod version 1.5.3)

After the update, the Apple TV (4k, ethernet) tvos 26.4, was continuously struggling with F1TV as well as Plex. (I did not play anything else). After removal of the Homey device, everything is playing smoothly. Am I correct in assuming this was the case? Has anyone else had similar experiences?

@jurjen74 Ah, bummer. I thought that I covered every case, but clearly not. How is it running since re-adding?

And about F1TV and Plex, I have F1TV which works, doesn’t lag or anything. Plex I don’t have, so I don’t know. The app is using AirPlay and presenting itself as an iPhone, just to rule everything out, on your iPhone, you have a media playback widget in Control Center with an AirPlay Icon. If something is playing on your Apple TV, you should see that below the list of available devices. If you connect that way, it’s the same as if this app connects. Is it also lagging then?

Apple TV & HomePod 1.7.4

  • Fixed a migration issue.
  • Fixed a mac address check.

I’ve re added it again. After that no stuttering issues, maybe it’s because I streamed F1 from the iPad pro. I don’t know. I’ll keep an eye on it.

But… after watching a a movie, the title/cover art did not update anymore. So, I’ve tried restarting the app. Now it lost connection. The maintenance options cannot be found in the settings btw.

Re added it again. I’ll keep an eye on it.

Ah, I see you added a new version again. Not updated on my Homey yet. We’ll see tomorrow.

“Lekker bezig”!

Odd issue after the newest release. My devices are showing offline even though I can control them

But having On as a trigger isn’t working right now

I currently have none of the issues anymore. The last update from 1.7.2 to 1.7.4 went very smoothly too. Thanks!

@Mikem2104 Are you on the latest version (1.7.4)? The issue here is that one of the two protocols is connected and the power state of the device is a feature of the second not-connected protocol. If you still have issues on 1.7.4, please try to re-add the device as it might be a migration issue.

@jurjen74 Glad to hear that everything is working fine now! :slight_smile:

@BasMilius Yes I am running the latest version. I went ahead and deleted the devices, readded but the issue persists. the devices always show Off and flows dont trigger based on On/Off. The buttons on the device in Homey work, except for the On/Off toggle. it has no impact on the device.

@Mikem2104 Can you restart the app and after about a minute send a diagnostics report? The fact that one of the protocols is connecting correctly is weird, so I wonder if there’s an error somewhere :slight_smile:

Apple TV & HomePod 1.7.6

  • Improved connection backoff and reconnect strategy.
  • Add volume slider to Apple TV when absolute volume control is enabled. This will for example not be visible if you have an Apple TV setup with Sonos speakers.
  • Update dependencies.

Apple TV & HomePod 1.7.7

  • Introduce new Homey-style driver icons. Thanks @Emile & Athom!

https://homey.app/a/com.basmilius.apple/