Mac mini M2 Pro AirPlay crash

[pollti]

Hello,

since the last update on monday, Ventura 13.2.1, my Mac Mini M2 Pro crashes after setting up system sound output to an AirPlay speaker.
I am using two HomePod mini in a stereo setup for the sound output of my Mac, but it does not work anymore.
Even if I want to select another AirPlay speaker, as other HomePods, the system crashes.

After selecting an AirPlay speaker it takes a few seconds until the screen freezes and a pink screen shows up - then the Mac restarts.

Does anybody get the same issue by doing this? Or does anybody know how I can fix it?

Thanks
pollti

 

[sirbryan]

I'm seeing this too on my Studio but haven't updated to 13.2.1 yet.

On another thread from last year, @HobeSoundDarryl also had this problem on a Studio running 12.4.

Looks like it was partially resolved by unplugging the Ethernet cable and connecting over WiFi. I just tried that (unplugged Ethernet, connected via WiFi) and it worked. I switched back to Ethernet only.... and down it went.

So there's something about going over Ethernet that M1/M2 devices apparently don't handle well. Mine is 10Gbps into a MikroTik CRS312 switch with a MikroTik CCR2116 router. WiFi is a bunch of UniFi WiFi6 AP's throughout the house.

Makes me wonder if there's a networking issue that causes the kernel panic.

 

[pollti]

Thank you for your reply, I solved the problem.
I also had Ethernet problems with my Mac Mini M2 Pro at first, as in this post, fortunately it worked again without problems after the update 13.2.1. Following your tip, I simply deleted the Ethernet service and created it again and now Ethernet and AirPlay works without problems.

Thanks
pollti

 

[sirbryan]

So I haven't noticed packet loss, just the kernel panic with AirPlay. I deleted and added the Ethernet interface, tried a combination of automatic and manual settings. I'll try using different Ethernet adapters to see if it's a driver issue with the Aquanta NICs.

 

[sirbryan]

Confirmed: if I use an Apple Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter, it works just fine. If I use an OWC (Aquantia) adapter, it doesn't crash it, but it doesn't work (apparently it's been an issue for three years).

 

[fcracer]

Thank you for your reply, I solved the problem.
I also had Ethernet problems with my Mac Mini M2 Pro at first, as in this post, fortunately it worked again without problems after the update 13.2.1. Following your tip, I simply deleted the Ethernet service and created it again and now Ethernet and AirPlay works without problems.

Thanks
pollti

I just spent an hour reinstalling MacOS. Wish I had seen your post before. Thanks for the fix. I tried it, but it doesn't seem to fix my issue The only thing that works is to use WiFi instead of Ethernet for AirPlay. Hope Apple issues a fix soon. Was working fine with previous versions of Ventura.

 

[fcracer]

I'm seeing this too on my Studio but haven't updated to 13.2.1 yet.

On another thread from last year, @HobeSoundDarryl also had this problem on a Studio running 12.4.

Looks like it was partially resolved by unplugging the Ethernet cable and connecting over WiFi. I just tried that (unplugged Ethernet, connected via WiFi) and it worked. I switched back to Ethernet only.... and down it went.

So there's something about going over Ethernet that M1/M2 devices apparently don't handle well. Mine is 10Gbps into a MikroTik CRS312 switch with a MikroTik CCR2116 router. WiFi is a bunch of UniFi WiFi6 AP's throughout the house.

Makes me wonder if there's a networking issue that causes the kernel panic.

I'm also running to a 10Gbps switch and also have this issue over Ethernet. As soon as I make Ethernet inactive, Airplay works fine. Over Ethernet, it goes into a sound loop for a few seconds, then pink screen and then reboot. I'm confident this was working over Ethernet before the latest Ventura.

 

[bogchop]

I am experiencing this on my Mac Mini M1 (10GbE) without fail every time I AirPlay via Apple Music. Could be to an ATV, soundbar, Smart TV, etc. Will pink screen immediately without fail.

Disabling Ethernet does indeed provide a workaround. This is terrible, still active on 13.3.

 

[DarkAlexiel]

same here , I have got issues too with the 10 Gbps port on my M2 pro , where at rare times ma Mac will have no connexion despite wifi working on all other devices, and ethernet will show a green dot in setting, only Istat Menus and safari would told me that I have no connexion , ( but I can see some kb/s passing ) and since this morning I have the same issue as you guys, the one different thing is that I turned off my Mac tonight , and since I've boot it this morning as soon as I airplay a video to Apple TV like every morning, sound get in a loop , and I have the pink screen and Mac crash... I have restored my Mac via Time Machine to a previous state yesterday , but it did nothing ( btw I was impressed , it took 2 seconds for Time Machine to restore to a previous point in time ) .. I've deleted the ethernet and created a new one , I"m gonna test this, but it's becoming clear that these 10 Gps ports have an issue, cos it's my second Mac mini M2 pro cos the first had the same issues too with connexion drops and wifi doesn't take the relay .
Ps, removal of the Ethernet config and creating a new one appears to work for the airplay issue , thx

 

[Jimmdean]

I guess this is still a problem? Appears to be an issue on the M2 Mac Studio as well.

 

[Ismelito]

It is still an issue, even with macOS Sonoma. If your Mac is connected to the network via a 10GB ethernet connection, it won't be able to send audio through AirPlay... I have the exact same issue. I even took my Mac Studio to the Apple Store because I thought that it might be a hardware problem but they gave it back to me saying that they weren't able to reproduce the issue. I only noticed today that if instead of connecting the Mac via the 10GB ethernet connection, I connect it to the network via WiFi, it will indeed send audio to my HomePods, but if its connected to the 10GB ethernet, the lights on the HomePods will turn on and then shortly turn off without playing any audio at all...).

It seems that removing the Ethernet config and adding it again in the System Settings does the trick as a workaround, but I don't know if it will still work after restarting the Mac for example... I also saw that someone was able to get this work with an external app (Airfoil).

 

[Jimmdean]

Anyone know what happens if you have both wired and wireless active? Does Airplay know to default to wireless, whereas your general traffic will continue to use the faster wired connection?

Edit:
n/m I guess - that’s stupid. I’m not doing that. I’d rather not use Airplay. And Airfoil is a $35 ”solution” to a problem that shouldn’t exist. How does such crappy programming (that allows a total crash instead of just an error) get into a commercial OS anyway?

 

[fcracer]

What I’ve done which seems to work around the issue is to not connect to the wifi network while leaving wifi active. This forces all traffic over the 10GbE network while still allowing for the use of airdrop. I haven’t had any pink screen of death since making this change.

 

[bogchop]

Can confirm issue still exists on 14.0. Disappointing.

(Workaround for not connecting to wifi network but leaving wifi on does not work for me )

 

[Brad7]

Not sure if this is related but I’ve been going insane lately because AirPlay from my iPhone to Ethernet-connected Apple TV has been constantly freezing. Today I tried switching it to WiFi and lo and behold, AirPlay works flawlessly. Switched back to Ethernet and again, AirPlay fails.

What is the deal with AirPlay and Ethernet?

 

[Traace]

Airplay works fine for me when using a cheap Realtek RTL8153 USB 3.0 GB-Ethernet Adapter on Mac OS 14.0 with two Homepod 2 as Stereopair.

It is a Plug and Play solution, no need to install 3rd party drivers. Just remember to keep Mac Studios (Mac Mini) Ethernet Port unplugged while using the Adapter.

Product-ID: 0x8153
Vendor-ID: 0x0bda
Chipset: RTL8153
My Device: See attached picture
Connected to: Mac Studio USB 3.0 Port

 

[bogchop]

Not sure if this is related but I’ve been going insane lately because AirPlay from my iPhone to Ethernet-connected Apple TV has been constantly freezing. Today I tried switching it to WiFi and lo and behold, AirPlay works flawlessly. Switched back to Ethernet and again, AirPlay fails.

What is the deal with AirPlay and Ethernet?

No idea, it's been driving me insane. You don't happen to use Unifi-based hardware, do you?

 

[Brad7]

No idea, it's been driving me insane. You don't happen to use Unifi-based hardware, do you?

I don’t, no.

 

[bogchop]

Folks - my issue has been resolved. I'm not sure what has done it, but I have a suspicion its a specific configuration issue between hardware and software.

FYI, running my Mac Mini M1 with 10GbE inbuilt + Apple TV 4K (2022):
Latest macOS update: 14.2.1
Latest tvOS update: 17.2

Here's what I believe may have 'fixed' it, if it wasn't the software updates above. I suspect it's one of the options below, as WiFi does not incur this 'pink screen of death' reboot.

On ALL of my routers/switches (Unifi Hardware FYI), I have enabled the following options:
1. Flow Control (on)
2. Jumbo Frames (~9000 bytes). FYI Default MTU is usually 1500

In macOS, Settings > Network > Ethernet > Details > Hardware:
1. Manually configure
2. Speed: 10GBase-T
3. Duplex: full-duplex
4. MTU: Jumbo (9000) (FYI default is 1500 for gig ethernet)

I rebooted everything, and can now air-play directly to the Apple-TV again. Not sure what caused this to go haywire, maybe it was an ethernet driver update, and you needed to force your network hardware to play nicely with Frame Sizing / Flow Control. It wasn't an issue until maybe 1-2 OS revisions ago.

On a side note, I turned off IPv6 (Link-Local Only) in the TCP/IP settings area - was already off previously due avoid any issues. Was also turned off on my networking gear to avoid any further issue.

Lastly, there was some audio de-sync on the Apple-TV side. On the ATV: Settings > Video and Audio > Wireless Audio Sync. Ran that, and everything was good.

Happy holidays all.

CC: @Brad7 @Traace @fcracer @Jimmdean @Ismelito @DarkAlexiel @sirbryan @pollti

 

[MBAir2010]

I rebooted everything, and can now air-play directly to the Apple-TV again. Not sure what caused this to go haywire, maybe it was an ethernet driver update, and you needed to force your network hardware to play nicely with Frame Sizing / Flow Control. It wasn't an issue until maybe 1-2 OS revisions ago.

sorry, im still waking up....im groggier than most days now.

did you get airplay (music, TB) to work with a internet chord (ethernet) plugged in the macMini m1?
my set up does not work s o figured that was a "part of the game" now.

the 2012 mini worked with airplay and ethernet in Monterey-Mojave fine.

 

[bogchop]

sorry, im still waking up....im groggier than most days now.

did you get airplay (music, TB) to work with a internet chord (ethernet) plugged in the macMini m1?
my set up does not work s o figured that was a "part of the game" now.

the 2012 mini worked with airplay and ethernet in Monterey-Mojave fine.

Correct, working with ethernet (specifically 10GbE port on my Mac Mini M1). It worked fine on 1Gbit ethernet (which doesn't really require jumbo frames/flow control).

 

[MBAir2010]

Correct, working with ethernet (specifically 10GbE port on my Mac Mini M1). It worked fine on 1Gbit ethernet (which doesn't really require jumbo frames/flow control).

thank you!

 

[Dom.S]

On a side note, I turned off IPv6 (Link-Local Only)

Thanks for this – I’ve been gradually working my way through every possible suggestion and, in my case at least, this was change that was needed. I tried deleting the ethernet service, reenabling wifi without connecting to a network, faffing with the hardware config and MTU settings and in the end it was just a question of selecting link-local only for IPv6 in the TCP/IP tab.

How have we got to the point where wired connections are buggier and more error prone than wireless ones.

Also, for Google’s sake: this is a Mac Studio airplay kernel panic fix (I’ve been looking for one on and off for ages and hadn’t managed to find this thread).