How to Connect Apple HomePod to a TV

This article explains how to connect an Apple HomePod to an Apple TV using two methods that require an Apple TV 4 or newer. It includes a few limitations of the process and a list of requirements.

Play Apple TV Audio Through the HomePod

The Apple HomePod is a voice-controlled smart speaker designed to easily deliver clear, room-filling sound, just like its competitors Google Home and Amazon Echo. As a standalone speaker, the HomePod can be the audio output for a digital television.

The HomePod, however, cannot be connected directly to a TV. As a wireless Bluetooth device, the HomePod must connect to an Apple TV device via AirPlay to play audio from a television.

After you set up your HomePod, you can make it the audio output source for the Apple TV in a couple of ways. This allows audio from Apple TV content to play on your HomePod instead of your television. The first method involves the Apple TV Settings.

1. On the Apple TV, open Settings.

2. Select Video and Audio.

3. Select Audio Output.

4. Select the name of your HomePod. A check mark appears next to it, indicating that audio from the Apple TV is being sent to the HomePod.

Shortcut for Playing Apple TV Through HomePod

There's another, easier way to send audio to the HomePod, although not every Apple TV app supports this shortcut.

1. Start playing content on a compatible app in the Apple TV.

2. Swipe down on the Apple TV remote to reveal the Info Subtitles Audio menu. (If you don't see this menu when you swipe down, the app is not compatible with this method, and you should use the other instructions.)

3. Select Audio.

4. In the Speaker menu, select the name of your HomePod so that the check mark appears next to it. The audio starts playing through the HomePod.

What You Need to Connect HomePod and a TV

In order to connect HomePod to a TV, you need the following:

• An Apple HomePod.
• A 4th Generation Apple TV or Apple TV 4K with Bluetooth enabled.
• Both devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Both devices using the same Apple ID/Apple Account.

The Limitations of HomePod and Apple TV

While connecting a HomePod to a TV is fairly easy, it is not ideal for home theater sound. That's because HomePod is designed primarily for audio and does not support surround sound features.

For the best audio experience with TV and movies, you want a speaker arrangement that offers surround sound or multi-channel audio that can play audio from multiple directions. This delivers a more immersive audio experience, with sound moving in all directions like in a movie theater. This can usually be accomplished with a speaker on each side of the TV, or with a soundbar that has independent left and right speakers.

HomePod does not support multichannel audio, but with AirPlay 2 it does support stereo sound. That means it can deliver two channels of audio (left and right). This is great for music but is still not ideal for a home theater system, which should have at the least a 5.1 channel system.