Remember HA is a server. It’s intended to control other things and normally servers don’t have perhipherals connected. They typically stand somewhere in a rack.
What you need is to install software on HA that will be presented as a media player to HA. If you’re running on Linux, then something like this would be the integration to use: PulseAudio Loopback - Home Assistant.
No need to install Software and i would rather not install stuff via cli on the linuxmachine itself. (Normally you dont install Software on HA OS in which I think you use)
Look for alternatives that can be installed as a Addon or even do your own Addons for the sake of stability and restoreability (from a backup).
Otherwise you are doing your super personal premium high maintenance custom stuff that noone helps you out and even which might make your system unstable, which might discourage you in your HA-Experience…
If you know what you do: feel free but id personally rather not…
But, since OP is running HAOS, an add-on is an option, but it doesn’t change the fact that you need a middleman to get the audio to the output device. The Spotify add-on will rely on PulseAudio or its successor PipeWire.
I think you missed my point, which was to say: This is not a typical out-of-the box feature you get with HA. You need the right software for HA to know it can speak with a device (an integration) and the software that actually plays the audio (whether it’s through a raw PulseAudio stack, some 3rd party software or an add-on).
That OP was running HAOS wasn’t known at the time of my post. Installing an add-on is installing software, albeit not via the command line.
Not bad advice, but some personal preference too – and it would depend on one’s level of skill. I’m not sure whether you intended all of this for me. Perhaps it was for the OP. Either way, I’m sufficiently skilled to be comfortable running my own things on a server with HA.
@mick2025
If you are running HA OS, you might try the following if you are wanting to use Spotify with your device.
install the SpotifyConnect AddOn via Settings \ Add-ons. Click the Add-on Store button in the lower right, and search for SpotifyConnect.
prior to starting the add-on, select the Configuration tab to adjust the following settings:
change general options name value to your desired name (e.g. HA-Tablet). This is the device name that will appear in your Spotify device list.
click the Save button (on the general options section) to save your changes.
change audio options output value to Built-in Audio Digital Stereo (HDMI) value. It should be in the list, based upon your ha audio info details.
click the Save button (on the audio options section) to save your changes.
start / restart the addon fully apply the changes.
bring up the Spotify App on your phone (or desktop), and click the connect to a device button. This should bring up a list of Spotify Connect devices that you can select from, and your HA-Tablet (value you specified in step 2) name should be in the list. Click it to transfer play to the device.
If it starts playing, then you should be able to use the HA Spotify integration to transfer play the same way.
I am the author of the SpotifyPlus Integration and SpotifyPlus Card, and use the above method to test with my HA instance running on a VM machine.
You might also consider the SpotifyPlus Integration and SpotifyPlus Card, which provide a more robust experience with Spotify.
SpotifyPlus Sales Pitch
Check out the SpotifyPlus Integration; it can do everything that the HA Spotify integration can do, supports Spotify Connect enabled devices (Bose, Sonos, Google Chromecast, Amazon Alexa, Denon, JBL, and more), and provides 95+ custom services that can be used in HA automations and scripts.
There is also a SpotifyPlus Card user-interface that allows you to control the player, manage your Spotify favorites, as well as search the Spotify catalog. You have to install the SpotifyPlus integration first though, and get it configured before you can use the SpotifyPlus Card.
They just released a new version of SpotifyConnect addon a few days ago; fixed the underlying librespot issue. The authentication stuff seems to be working fine for me.
Hi.
I have maybe a similar or same situation. I installed the Spotify connect addon and can play through the 3.5mm jack music.
Through built in audio (HDMI 1 and 2) no sound comes out.
I am running on a pi 4.
The hardware is working. Would anybody help me to activate sound over hdmi?
Thank you.
@Florian1234
You may just need to change the Spotify Connect AddOn configuration options to select the appropriate output.
Try this, from Settings \ AddOns \ SpotifyConnect options:
select the Configuration tab.
change audio options output value to the HDMI 1 or 2 value.
click the Save button (on the audio options section) to save your changes.
start / restart the addon fully apply the changes.
If there are no HDMI audio options in the output value list, then issue the following command from a Terminal or SSH session to list your audio properties:
Thank you so much. I changed as you said but without any luck. This is the output of ha Audio Info.
I am a little bit lost what I can do with this information. Can you maybe gives hint on this? What to try now?
@Florian1234
Per the audio info output, it seems that only the stereo audio output is enabled. It looks like you need to change the Raspberry Pi 4 config to enable the HDMI Audio output. Once you do that, it should then show up in the ha audio info output.
A quick search of how to enable RPi4 HDMI Audio yielded this:
Troubleshooting Tips
Port: Always use the HDMI0 port (the one closest to the USB-C power port) for reliable audio on the Pi 4.
Monitor: Ensure your TV or monitor has speakers and is set to the correct input.
Volume: If no sound, right-click the speaker icon and check volume levels or click “Select Controls” to unmute.
Force Analog: If you hear static or nothing, you might need to force it off analog by setting amixer cset numid=3 2 in the terminal, then reboot.
