AirPlay can't connect to device for sound mirroring when Fusion is running

[s0lution123]

Hello,

on my Macbook Pro I can't connect to any AirPlay devices for sound mirroring output when Fusion is running. Is this a known issue? AirPlay is trying to connect for a while and ends up with a message saying that it can't connect to the target device. If I start Fusion after the AirPlay connection is successfully established, AirPlay will continue to work. If I switch the sound output back to internal speakers and try to connect the AirPlay device it will fail again.

macOs Monterey 2.2.1
Fusion 12.2.3

[Technogeezer]

It's possible you may have another issue. 

Neither Fusion 13 or the 2023 Tech Preview should not have required you to do anything relating to kextcache because Fusion 13 does NOT use any kexts - there should be nothing to get rid of for staged kernel extensions.

This may sound like a stupid request, but we've had a rash of people thinking they've installed the 2023 Tech Preview when in fact they have installed the old 22H2 Tech Preview from last year - that's due to an incorrect download link in VMware's 2023 Tech Preview Testing Guide. The 22H2 Tech Preview from last year still had the AirPlay bug.

Can you verify (using VMware Fusion -> About VMware Fusion) that the installed version you have is Professional Version e.x.p (22068932)?

[HostaHost]

I've had a few years worth of Fusion installs on this computer, and the kext stuff was several years old, so it was probably left over from prior versions.  I was just trying to do as thorough a removal as possible, so anything related to vmware that I could find in ~/Library and /Library I tried to eliminate before the final reboot.  I'm on up to date Ventura currently.

The one they sent me to download is showing that build:

[HostaHost]

I was able to resolve it.  Turns out it's a macOS bug in addition to the Fusion issue, I just don't know which originally broke my AirPlay as it's been a year or two.

• Long ago, AirPlay worked.
• I begin using Fusion at some point.
• After beginning the use of Fusion, I switched to using VLAN tagged interfaces so I could put VM's on different networks directly.
• I upgrade Fusion whenever there are updates, minor or major.
• AirPlay breaks at some point.

Anyway, this remaining issue was that AirPlay is apparently broken if a Mac is using a VLAN interface for the network where the AirPlay devices exist, which I was.  If I moved back to the root ethernet interface being on that network, AirPlay works.  Wifi on that network, Airplay works.  Turn VLANs back on, AirPlay breaks.

What I had to end up doing is set my switch to have a native VLAN of the AirPlay network on my switchport, and re-address my native gigE interface on the Mac for that network.  Now I'm still able to be on that VLAN without a VLAN interface, AirPlay works, and all my other VLAN interfaces continue to work as well for my VM's.  It just means that I'm going to have to go edit all my VM profiles that had been using the AirPlay network VLAN interfaces to flip them over to being bridged with the native ethernet interface.

[ColoradoMarmot]

It's fixed without any of that if you upgrade to the tech preview.

[Technogeezer]

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@ColoradoMarmot wrote:

It's fixed without any of that if you upgrade to the tech preview.

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The poster is stating that he's running the 2023 Tech Preview.

My suggestion would be to contact the beta team using the email in the TP Testing Guide to make sure they see this issue even though the poster seems to have been able to work around this.

[jbellanca]

This is not a bug with VM Ware - this is a known bug in macOS 14 Sonoma (and possible later builds of macOS 13 Ventura.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255160713

[ColoradoMarmot]

It sounds like it may be both - but it requires the tech preview to fix the fusion side.

Haven't tried it since I upgraded to Sonoma.

[ColoradoMarmot]

And I just did - tech preview works fine with sonoma and airplay, both wired and wireless.

[agathezol2097]

Looks like the update to Fusion 13.5 has solved this problem. Ridiculous we had to wait over a year for a non-preview fix, but there you have it. I'm on Ventura 13.6.1.

[Technogeezer]

@agathezol2097 I do agree with you. VMware does have an annoyingly slow release cadence for update of the desktop virtualization products, except when there's a security vulnerability that needs to be patched.  Bugs seem to linger forever. It took them 5 months to figure out the last official support request that I submitted.