macOS Catalina Tip: How To Turn On Home Sharing In Music, TV Apps

Although iTunes can no longer be found in macOS Catalina, its features are spread out across various apps tailored for specific purposes. One of iTunes’ useful features, Home Sharing, allowed users to stream music, videos and TV to other Apple devices around the home without the need for AirPlay. Here’s how to turn it on and use it in macOS Catalina.

Locating the feature and turning it on

First, go to System Preferences, then click on “Sharing” followed by “Media Sharing.” A slew of Home Sharing settings will then appear, including an option to change the Library name. While the Library will be called by the owner’s Mac’s name, giving it another name will help users identify it easily, Apple Insider noted.

Second, within the same settings window, users will need to specify what they want to share. After ticking on desired options, users will need to authenticate using their Apple ID account and password.

Users can also share their media with guests. All they need to do is click on the “Share media with guests” button, choose what media to share with others, and tick on the “require password” box for added security.

Using Home Sharing on other devices

Now that the feature is turned on, here’s what users need to do to enjoy their media on other Apple devices:

First, users need to sign in to Home Sharing on the device they want to use for playback - whether it’s a Mac, MacBook, iPhone or iPad - using the same Apple ID they used to authenticate Home Sharing on the Mac.

• Mac, MacBook

For those who want to use another Mac for playback: Make sure the Mac is in the same network as the first Mac, open the new Music app, and go to “Library” on the column on the left side. Macs logged on the same Apple ID will see the same library when Home Sharing is turned on.

• iPhone or iPad

Those who want to use an iPhone or iPad, on the other hand, will need to go to Settings>Music. There, users will need to look for and tap on “Home Sharing,” then log in using an Apple ID.

After this, users will to launch the new Music, TV or Podcasts apps, and tap on Library. The Library on the Mac used to enable Home Sharing on Catalina will be listed there if the steps are done correctly.