Soundtouch 20 and AirPlay 2

Airplay on my Soundtouch 20

 

I know this has been covered elsewhere, but I can’t find a clear answer in the confused threads. I think Bose should publish some definitive guidance: How to get AirPlay 2 on a Soundtouch 20. If that guidance exists, I can’t find it.

 

I am in the UK. I have 2 Soundtouch 10s and a Wireless Link that offer AirPlay. My Soundtouch 20 doesn’t. What do I need to do to get AirPlay on it? 

 

It is running 26.0.1, so it is up to date. 

Its serial number is U5160003601720048000140.

No idea if this is  a Soundtouch 20 ll or a lll, or what difference that would make.

 

Is there anything I can do? Can I fix this myself? Do I need to return the 20 to Bose? Can I get any support from a shop?

 

Any advice welcomed.

 

Rob

 

 

 

Hello robred147, 

 

Thanks for posting. 

 

The key thing to be aware of is, Airplay 2 is only supported on SoundTouch 20 III, not 20 I or 20 II. 

 

You can check which version of SoundTouch 20 you have by visiting this link and entering your serial. Do not post your serial here.

 

Please note, the serial number you listed is not a serial number. Our serial numbers have a format that start with S/N: then a '0'. It'll end with 'AE'.

 

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the speedy reply. I have checked the serial number: it seems I own a Soundtouch 20 lll - so there is some chance of getting this to work?

 

Any suggestions? It seems fully updated. Thanks.

 

Rob

Thanks for confirming robred147. 

 

This is correct, you should be able to use Airplay with your SoundTouch 20 III. Let's start by following these steps here, for how to use Airplay with your speaker.

 

If you aren't able to do this please follow these troubleshooting steps here

 

Please do let us know how you get on.

Hi

Thanks again for quick reply. I have done all of the things in the ‘how to’ and in the troubleshooting over the last 8 months or so. My two SoundTouch 10s and my Wireless Adapter show up reliably as available for AirPlay. The ST20 doesn’t. 

 

In the Bose app, in speaker properties, I don’t have the AirPlay icon showing for the ST20, along with the Bose, Bluetooth and AUX icons, so I think my trouble starts there. The others do show the AirPlay icon. The ST20 just isn’t offering AirPlay connectivity.

 

I need a hardware upgrade? This is what one other thread on here seems to suggest. Again, any advice appreciated.

 

Rob


 wrote:

Airplay on my Soundtouch 20

 

I know this has been covered elsewhere, but I can’t find a clear answer in the confused threads. I think Bose should publish some definitive guidance: How to get AirPlay 2 on a Soundtouch 20. If that guidance exists, I can’t find it.

 

I am in the UK. I have 2 Soundtouch 10s and a Wireless Link that offer AirPlay. My Soundtouch 20 doesn’t. What do I need to do to get AirPlay on it? 

 

It is running 26.0.1, so it is up to date. 

Its serial number is U5160003601720048000140.

No idea if this is  a Soundtouch 20 ll or a lll, or what difference that would make.

 

Is there anything I can do? Can I fix this myself? Do I need to return the 20 to Bose? Can I get any support from a shop?

 

Any advice welcomed.

 

Rob

 

 

 


Contact Bose directly, speak or text with an agent. They will confirm that your speaker qualifies, based on your serial number. The speaker must be able to do BlueTooth. If your speaker qualifies, Bose will send you a shipping label, free of charge. Follow the shipping instructions.

 

 


When replying to a topic, make sure your reply is relevant and keeps the conversation productive. Please be respectful of other community member's opinions. If you are experiencing the issue reported in a thread, the more details you can include the easier it will be for others to try and help.

Thanks. That seems to be sound generic advice. I will do what you suggest and contact Bose directly. In the meantime, it would still be useful to me, and I’m sure to others if someone from Bose could come to the Forum and say either:

’Yes, you are right, some SoundTouch 20 lll speakers will not work with Airplay, and here’s how we can help to fix that for you’.

or

‘No, there is no known problem that applies to a number of SoundTouch 20 lll speakers regarding AirPlay. You clearly have a faulty set up or a faulty unit and here’s how we can help fix that for you’.

 

So, one faulty speaker / set up or a known issue with some ST20 llls - what have I got here?

 

Thanks for your advice - I will raise it directly with them, but I was hoping the forum would know.

 

Rob

 

 

  The moderator’s posted a message and link some time ago on what procedure to follow. There was also a manufacturing date, I believe Nov 2014 referenced than even drew down the models to a tighter confirmation. 
I believe an Airplay chip is installed for the Series iii models made before that date.

At any rate you should get some joy following the procedure I outlined. Good luck.


 wrote:

Thanks. That seems to be sound generic advice. I will do what you suggest and contact Bose directly. In the meantime, it would still be useful to me, and I’m sure to others if someone from Bose could come to the Forum and say either:

’Yes, you are right, some SoundTouch 20 lll speakers will not work with Airplay, and here’s how we can help to fix that for you’.

or

‘No, there is no known problem that applies to a number of SoundTouch 20 lll speakers regarding AirPlay. You clearly have a faulty set up or a faulty unit and here’s how we can help fix that for you’.

 

So, one faulty speaker / set up or a known issue with some ST20 llls - what have I got here?

 

Thanks for your advice - I will raise it directly with them, but I was hoping the forum would know.

 

Rob


Well, it's actually none of the issues you listed here. Bose added the Airplay 2 chip to their Bluetooth SoundTouch systems sometime after October 2015. so any system sold before then doesn't have the needed hardware to make this work. 

Here's what they said in their post back when the update for Airplay 2 was released:

If you are having issues using Airplay 2 with a Bose SoundTouch supported product:

  • Please make sure your devices meet the latest requirements from Apple found here. You’ll want to make sure your Airplay 2-compatible speakers are on and nearby, connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your device and are updated to the latest software version.
  • Try the ‘Difficulty selecting your SoundTouch system on an Airplay device' steps.
  • While we strive to continuously offer new software features and updates to make your speakers improve over time, certain older products simply do not have the hardware components to support these features. For your SoundTouch product(s) purchased before October 2015, it may be one of the devices built without the appropriate Apple authentication chip to support Airplay 2. If you have a speaker that supports AP2, have the update, tried the troubleshooting steps above and still cannot connect to Airplay, please reach out to one of our customer representatives here and we’d be happy to assist further.

So contact Bose directly and they will let you know what you need to do from there. I hope that helps 🙂

Hi

Thanks for taking the time to answer so comprehensively. Thanks to , too, for trying to help me through the dense undergrowth of support advice.

 

It seems clear that I have an ST20 lll that doesn’t have the hardware for Airplay. I will proceed on that basis and as advised. It would have been a lot more straightforward for me if the original Bose announcement and guidance had said:

 

Airplay will not work with ST20 l & ST20 ll, and some ST20 llls will require a hardware update (check your Serial Number here).

 

....instead of losing this simple fact  and getting me to attempt set up, troubleshoot, get lost in forums, give up, come back 8 months later, find no clear statement or route to a fix, waste everyone’s time, and still be at square one where I need to initiate contact with Bose for a fix! Come on, Bose, this is a known situation. Really own it by amending guidance to say: Your ST20 lll might be incapable of working with AirPlay - here’s what to do if you reckon you have the missing hardware problem.

 

Thanks for the help. Much appreciated, but I don’t feel well served by Bose. The upshot for me is to stay within fully supported Amazon Music / Spotify and not dabble with Apple Music as I had hoped to do. The world faces bigger problems than this, and, on balance, I won’t be dispatching my ST20 anywhere with the transport chaos of a pandemic and Brexit about to consume the nation!

 

Thanks again!

 

Rob