Level 1 (18 points)

Mac mini M6: AirPlay to HomePod fails over built-in Ethernet (works over Wi-Fi/USB) – PTP clock never syncs

Setup

- Mac mini (M6, 2026), macOS 27.2, built-in 2.5GbE port (Realtek RTL8125, driver com.apple.driver.AppleEthernetRL, "AVB Support: Yes")

- HomePod mini stereo pair, HomePod Software 27.2

Problem

When the Mac uses its built-in Ethernet port, AirPlay audio to the HomePods fails: the HomePods light up, no sound plays, and after ~6 seconds the output falls back to the Mac speakers.

What works

- Same Mac over Wi-Fi: works

- Same Mac with a USB 2.5GbE adapter (Realtek RTL8156, "AVB Support: No"): works

- A MacBook on the same cable and switch port: works

- Everything else over the built-in port (internet, file sharing, Screen Sharing) works fine. Only AirPlay fails.

What I found (logs + packet capture)

- AirPlay control and audio data reach the HomePods fine. Only the PTP timing fails.

- AirPlayXPCHelper logs 50 rejected SetRateAndAnchorTime attempts per HomePod with error -71974 (kAPSNetworkClockError_InternalError), then tears down the session.

- The kernel TimeSync plugin tries to enable AVB on en0 and gets "activateAVB returned 0xe00002c7" (unsupported), but still runs the PTP port in hardware mode (en0[hw]).

- PTP counters on en0: everything sent by the Mac is transmitted, but ALL received PTP messages = 0, Delay_Resp sent = 0.

- A packet capture on en0 shows the HomePods sending ~8 Delay_Req per second to the Mac. They arrive at the interface but are never processed or answered, so the HomePods can never sync to the Mac's clock.

- Disabling AVB/EAV mode in System Settings > Network > Ethernet > Details > Hardware and rebooting makes no difference.

Reported to Apple as FBxxxxxxxx (with sysdiagnose, logs and packet capture).

Can anyone with a Mac mini M6 / M5 Pro (or Mac Studio M5) check?

1. Run in Terminal: system_profiler SPEthernetDataType

and look for "Driver: com.apple.driver.AppleEthernetRL" and "AVB Support: Yes"

2. Turn Wi-Fi off, use only the built-in Ethernet, and try AirPlay audio to a HomePod.

If it fails for you too, please file your own report in Feedback Assistant and mention FBxxxxxxxx. Duplicate reports help Apple prioritize the fix.

Workaround for now: a USB Ethernet adapter without AVB support, or Wi-Fi.

Posted on Nov 8, 2026 2:13 PM

2 replies

Churria Author

Level 1 (18 points)

Nov 10, 2026 5:27 AM in response to Rudegar

Thanks,

that's a fair point and a common cause of AirPlay problems, but it isn't the case here. Wired and Wi-Fi are bridged into the same network on my router, and the logs confirm it. Some excerpts (addresses masked):

1) AirPlay control traffic from the HomePod arrives on the built-in Ethernet over IPv6 link-local, which can't be routed:

[com.apple.airplay:APTransportConnectionHTTP] Event message received from [fe80::xxxx:xxxx%en0]:49981

[com.apple.airplay:APEndpoint] Processing 'updateTimingPeerInfo' command

2) The audio stream works over that port (RTT and receiver feedback):

[APSAudioProtocolDriverSenderHoseControllerAPAT] (Despacho-D) RTPTxPacketCount: 100, ReTxPacketCount: 0, RTT Estimate: 4 ms, CCFBReceived: 15

3) Packet capture on en0 (decoded): the HomePods send PTP Delay_Req to the Mac about 8 times per second. The packets reach the interface:

fe80::xxxx:9367 -> fe80::xxxx:17f7 udp 319->319 PTPv2 Delay_Req seq=1

fe80::xxxx:e486 -> fe80::xxxx:17f7 udp 319->319 PTPv2 Delay_Req seq=2

(about 100 Delay_Req in 7 seconds, none answered)

4) But the kernel's PTP port on en0 never receives any of them:

(IOgPTPPlugin) ControllerAdapter activateAVB returned 0xe00002c7

(IOgPTPPlugin) IOTimeSyncUnicastUDPv6EtEPort(en0[hw]_fe80:...): Sync TX: 46/46 (100%), RX: 0/0 (0%)

(IOgPTPPlugin) IOTimeSyncUnicastUDPv6EtEPort(en0[hw]_fe80:...): Delay Req TX: 0/0 (0%), RX: 0/0 (0%)

(IOgPTPPlugin) IOTimeSyncUnicastUDPv6EtEPort(en0[hw]_fe80:...): Delay Resp TX: 0/0 (0%), RX: 0/0 (0%)

5) So the HomePods can't sync their clock to the Mac's and reject playback:

[APAudioEngineBuffered] SetRate 1 FAILURE for hose (Despacho-D) err = -71974

[APEndpoint] Notifying about endpoint failure -71974 kAPSNetworkClockError_InternalError

On the same cable and switch port, AirPlay works with a USB Ethernet adapter, from a MacBook, and from the built-in port itself once IPv6 is disabled on it (AirPlay then uses IPv4 for the clock sync). The failure is inside the Mac: PTP over IPv6 on the built-in Realtek port (AppleEthernetRL driver) is not delivered to the kernel's clock-sync service.

That said, I've noticed that, although it almost never works, occasionally it does work with IPv6 enabled, but the stream eventually drops.

Rudegar

Level 10 (187,102 points)

Nov 10, 2026 3:33 AM in response to Churria

not all routers bridge wired ethernet / 2.4Ghz wifi / 5Ghz wifi as 1 network

so if yours is not configured to do so then the wired connection would not be on the same network as the homepod

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256391014