How to Pair a HomePod with Apple TV

A great use for the Apple HomePod is to use the smart speaker with your Apple TV. You can quickly and easily set one or two HomePod speakers as your default audio output.

With the right setup, you can even enjoy Dolby Atmos support through your speakers. Let’s explain how to pair a homepod with apple tv.

Why should you pair a HomePod with Apple TV?

Although you could pair your Apple TV with other standalone speakers, such as Bluetooth, there’s a distinct advantage to using a HomePod instead. Other speakers may support AirPlay 2 for latency-free audio, but Apple TV will only deliver a true home theater sound experience using the HomePod’s speakers.

When you set HomePod as the default audio output, this also allows all sounds from your Apple TV, whether it’s navigation clicks or game audio, to go directly to the HomePod speakers. No more navigating through menus to change audio output.

How to set HomePod as default audio on Apple TV

If you have a single HomePod or HomePod mini that you want to use for your Apple TV audio, the process is simple.

Assign your devices to the same room

First, make sure your HomePod and Apple TV are assigned to the same room in the app House. For it:

1. On your iPhone, open the app House.
2. Hold down the HomePod.
3. Scroll down past alarms and Timers, until you reach the HomePod settings; there you will see Bedroom and you can change the assigned room.
   
4. On Apple TV, go to Settings > AirPlay & HomeKit > Home, and make sure the device is assigned to the same room.

How to pair HomePod with an Apple TV

Once you’ve made sure all devices are assigned to the same room, you can pair HomePod with Apple TV. If you restart the Apple TV, it may offer to pair the smart speaker for you. If not, don’t worry. There is a manual way to do it:

1. On your Apple TV, go to Settings > Video and audio > Audio output.
2. On Default audio outputselect the HomePod or HomePod mini you want to use.

How to use iPhone or iPad to pair a HomePod with an Apple TV

If you want to use your iPhone or iPad to pair your HomePod with an Apple TV:

1. in the app House, press and hold Apple TV until the controls appear.
2. Scroll down until you see Default audio output and touch it.
   
3. Choose the HomePod you want for your default audio.

This will get a single HomePod or HomePod mini set up as your speaker for Apple TV. If you have two smart speakers, there are even more things you can do.

Create a stereo pair for surround sound

Two HomePod or HomePod mini speakers can be paired together for even richer, more immersive sound. In fact, if you have a pair of the original, larger HomePod speakers, you’ll even get Dolby Atmos support. The HomePod mini, unfortunately, does not support Dolby Atmos.

First, you’ll create the stereo pair:

1. Make sure both HomePod devices are assigned to the same room.
2. From the app House on iPhone, press and hold one of the HomePod speakers to access its controls.
3. Press Create stereo pair.
   
4. Choose the second HomePod speaker to pair.
   
5. Tap each HomePod icon to make sure the left and right are set correctly. If not, tap the exchange button.
   
6. Once you’re done, touch Behind and then close the controls using the X in the upper right corner.

You can now set Stereo Pair as your default audio on Apple TV, as shown above.

Using HomePod with ARC TVs

If your TV supports Audio Return Channel, also known as ARC or eARC, you can set your HomePod speakers to play all audio from the TV and its inputs through them.

1. In your Apple TV Settings, select Settings > Video and audio > Audio output.
2. Just below the options default audio outputyou will see the Audio Return Channel.
3. Just below that heading, select Play TV Audio.
4. Your TV screen will go black for a moment.
5. When it is turned on again, the option Play audio from TV I should say Activated.

That’s it. As long as you’ve used an HDMI port and an ARC-compliant cable, all of your TV’s audio will go to the HomePod’s speaker(s).

Get the most out of your home entertainment devices

There are so many more things you can do with HomePod speakers and your Apple TV. Whether it’s controlling the TV’s power and volume or pairing a Bluetooth keyboard for easy typing, you’ll find the latest Apple TV to be quite capable.