5 Simple Ways to Use AirPlay To Google Home
Are you looking for a way to stream music, videos, and photos from your iOS devices or other apple devices such as iPad or a MacBook directly to your Google Home Speakers or smart displays?
Say goodbye to wires and cables! With AirPlay to Google Home, you can connect your devices via Wi-Fi and share content with ease.
With just a few taps or voice commands, AirPlay enables you to get more out of your smart home setup – from blasting out your favourite music, playing podcasts in any room of the house to keeping up with the latest news.
To Use Apple Airplay to Google Home speakers or displays you need 3rd party devices such as the Starling Home Hub or Home Assistant. You can however get the same result by adding media and music services to the Google Home App or pairing via Bluetooth.
Whether you’re an Apple devotee or Android enthusiast (or both!), this post will show how to use AirPlay to Google Home and Google Nest devices as well as using other methods to stream music and media!
Setting up AirPlay with Google Home doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming keep reading to find out how.
AirPlay Music Services To Google Home
You can easily set up Google Home to stream from Apple Music, YouTube Music or Spotify to Google Home and Google Nest smart speakers and smart displays. This is a great way to enjoy stream your favorite tunes while lounging around your house.
With the following few steps, your Google Home smart speaker will soon be able to stream content from Apple, YouTube and Spotify.
Open the Google Home App
Tap Settings
Choose ‘Music’
Tap on the link icon next to Apple Music, YouTube or Spotify
- You will be asked to agree to to link your account
- When done you can then stream audio output from Apple or Spotify to Google nest speakers as shown below
Note that for both services you will need a paid subscription, it will not allow you to link using the free versions!
Using Google Assistant Voice Commands to Stream Music
Google Assistant makes it easy to stream media from Apple devices to Google Nest speakers or any Chromecast enabled speaker.
Make sure your Apple device and Google Nest speaker are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Once you have set up your default music streaming service as shown above, you can easily ask Google Assistant to play music from Apple Music or other services on your Google Nest speakers
For example, you can say “OK Google, play my favorite playlist on Apple Music”.
Or if you have Spotify as your default service just say “Hey Google, play some relaxing Music on Spotify”
AirPlay Using Starling Home Hub
The Starling Home Hub is a powerful and versatile device that surfaces all your Google and Nest smart home devices to Apple’s ecosystem.
It’s a simple box that plugs into your wifi router. Once configured it allows you to easily manage your Google thermostat, doorbell, security systems and cameras, as well as Google speakers from Apple HomeKit. It even lets you view your Google cameras via Apple TV.
The most important thing to note, at least for this article, is that it allows the Apple AirPlay function from any Apple device to any Google Nest smart speaker without any complicated configuration.
It also provides multi speaker audio options to allow you to group your Google speakers into a pair for stereo audio, or group multiple speakers together for whole-home audio.
At around $99, it is an additional cost but if you want native Apple ecosystem access to all your Google devices then this is the best and most cost-effective solution out there.
AirPlay Using Home Assistant and Aircast
Home Assistant is an open source home automation platform that aims to put local control and privacy first. It is designed to be a central control system for smart home devices, allowing you to monitor and manage all of your smart home devices from one platform.
Home Assistant has a plugin call AirCast (part of the AirConnect project on GitHub). AirCast essentially scans your network for Chromecast or UPnP enabled streaming devices and surfaces these as AirPlay devices.
If you already have experience with Home Assistant this may be a great solution. It’s worth noting however that this isn’t for the faint hearted! Because it’s open source it requires you to buy and setup a raspberry pi and the software configuration and maintenance is also not so simple!
That said, it does have a lot of advantages and if you are an tech tinkerer or DIY enthusiast it could be the solution for you.
Streaming Music Via Bluetooth to Google Home
If all else fails, you can still pair your apple devices to Google Home speakers or smart displays using BlueTooth.
Pairing With Google Assistant Voice Commands
To connect your iPhone or other apple device using your voice, simply say “Hey Google, Bluetooth pairing. This will put your Google speaker into pairing mode.
Next, open settings on your Apple device and choose bluetooth.
Towards the bottom of the list of devices you should see your Google Home speaker under ‘available devices’.
Once paired you will be able to play your music through your Google Home speakers from your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Pairing With the Google Home App
Another way to pair your iPhone to your Google Home speaker is using the Google Home App
Open the Google Home App on your iPhone or iPad and scroll down and tap on the device you’d like to pair with.
Tap on the settings cog in the top right corner.
Next tap on Audio.
Choose ‘Paired Bluetooth Devices’
Next you will see a list of devices that are paired. To start pairing with your iPhone or other Apple devices, tap on ‘Enable pairing mode’
Once you have enabled pairing on your Google device, you can then connect an iOS or Android device or PC/ Mac via bluetooth and start streaming your audio output to the speaker. If pairing to a Mac desktop make sure it’s unlocked (check out this quick guide on how to change mac lock screen) then go to System Settings> Bluetooth and pair to your Google device.
Top Tips and Troubleshooting
Update Your Device Software:
For starters, make sure that all of your Apple and Google devices have the latest software installed. This will ensure that you have the latest features and the best possible user experience when using AirPlay.
Use The Same Wifi network:
Make sure that all of the devices you want to connect to Google Home are connected to the same Wifi Network.
If Using Bluetooth Keep The Device In Close Proximity
But before that, you need to confirm that the devices you attempt to connect are in close proximity and that they support the same connection type – otherwise they won’t be able to communicate with each other.
Make Sure Wifi and Bluetooth are Turned On
It’s sounds obvious, but I’ve tripped up on this before. For some reason or other I turned off Wifi or Bluetooth and then later in the day or the following day tried streaming to my Google Mini speaker forgetting that I’d switched off the setting.
If your Google Home device is not showing as available, before starting any playback sessions, make sure you have their correct settings enabled, so you can communicate properly and efficiently during playback sessions.
Stop Other Streaming Services:
If any other streaming services are still running while trying to use Google Home in tandem with AirPlay, then this could cause problems in terms of buffering etc., so make sure all other services do not get in the way first before attempting a playback over Airplay.
Turn Off Power Saving Mode When Streamed Into External Speakers:
If you’re trying to stream audio from your phone into external speakers (such as those connected via Bluetooth) then make sure power saving mode is disabled as this has been know to cause stuttering/choppy sound.
Check For Obstructions Between Devices:
Whenever attempting any kind of streaming session between two physically separated devices, always check for any obstructions between them, such as walls or furniture, which could reduce signal strength and therefore impair performance during playback sessions.
Test Your Setup Regularly:
Even if things are working okay the first time you attempt to launch Google Home and AirPlay, it’s important to do regular tests to ensure everything is running smoothly and efficiently. This will help you avoid any unexpected disruptions during streaming sessions.
Conclusion
Integrating AirPlay with Google Home is a great way to seamlessly experience music and video streaming.
If you want the ‘pure’ AirPlay experience with Google Home, then you will want to check out Starling Home Hub or Home Assistant. But if you’re just looking for a way to stream media from your Apple devices to the Google Home Hub or Google Home Mini , then simply adding services like Apple Music, Spotify or YouTube to the Google Home App will get the job done. And if all else fails you can always pair your devices with BlueTooth as a catch all!
