How to stream AirPlay from an iPhone or MacBook to your TV

There are many ways to view content on the big screen, such as using a connected streaming device or accessing a built-in Smart TV operating system. But you can also do it wirelessly using technologies like Chromecast and Apple AirPlay, which “cast” (wirelessly send) content from your mobile device or laptop to the TV. This is ideal for accessing a movie or show from your streaming subscription on a hotel room TV or listening to music through a TV’s speakers.

It’s easy to use AirPlay on an iPhone or MacBook to connect to a TV, as long as the display supports AirPlay. The process is almost identical on all iOS devices and works the same with any brand of TV.

To stream AirPlay content from your iPhone or iPad to a TV, first verify that the TV and iPhone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network and make sure AirPlay is enabled on your TV. To check, go to TV Settings menu and look under Network, Connections And Apple AirPlay and HomeKitthen enable it if you haven’t already. (Menu options may be slightly different depending on the TV brand.)

Once confirmed, open the content of a compatible app on your iOS device, such as Prime Video or Disney+, and select the AirPlay icon in the top right. It will look like a small rectangle with an upward facing arrow. For services like YouTube, tap the streaming symbol (a rectangle with Wi-Fi wavelines) and select AirPlay from there. Next, choose the device you want to pair if more than one appears.

To play AirPlay images from Photos, press the button Share button first (the square with the upward-facing arrow), then choose AirPlay from that menu. This may also be the case with other applications. For music, you’ll find the AirPlay icon (an upward-pointing arrow with three arcs above it) in the music playback square in the Control Center.

It’s worth noting that if you plan to use AirPlay frequently on a specific TV, you can adjust the settings to make this happen automatically, provided your iPhone or iPad has the latest operating system. Go to Settingsselect General and then AirPlay and continuity. Below AirPlay automaticallyyou have three choices: Never (follow the manual steps indicated above each time), Ask (the device will suggest when it thinks you might want AirPlay and wait for your confirmation) or Automatic (your device will establish an AirPlay connection without any action on your part).

While you can’t AirPlay something like a document or Safari web browser tab in the same way, you can use a feature that’s part of AirPlay called screen mirroring. To do this, swipe up from the top right corner of your iPhone screen to open the Control center window. You will see various icons, including one with two overlapping squares. (If not, press the “+” sign at the top left, select Add a control from the bottom, find that Screen mirroring icon and add it to the home view.)

Tap on it, select your TV and you may see a pairing password if this is your first time doing this. If so, confirm and voilà, everything displayed on your phone, including your real-time browsing movements, will be reflected on the TV. Select the screen mirroring button again to stop when you’re done.

You can also use this option to stream videos if the site you’re using doesn’t have AirPlay. Flip the phone horizontally and expand or look for a full-screen mode button (usually looks like a square outline with four corners or four arrows pointing outwards). You may need to adjust the display settings to get the correct appearance, and the process may vary depending on the application.

To stream AirPlay from your MacBook to your TV, confirm that AirPlay is enabled on your TV and that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, then go to System Settings on the MacBook, General And AirDrop and continuity (we can call it AirDrop and transfer). Make sure that AirPlay receiver is placed in the “on” position.

Open the content you want to cast on your MacBook’s big screen and select the same rectangular icon with an upward-facing arrow, or the Share icon if you don’t see it in the playback controls options. Select your TV from the list. Like an iPhone, you may need to enter a pairing password.

For screen mirroring from a MacBook, tap the icon Control center at the top right of your MacBook’s menu bar (it looks like two overlapping toggle switches) and select the icon Screen mirroring icon. Choose your TV from the list and the content will appear on the big screen almost immediately.

You have additional options with MacBook and screen mirroring. Open it Screen mirroring menu on your MacBook while it is in action and select Change. From here, you can choose to cast the entire screen to the TV, show just an active window or app on the TV, or extend the display so the TV can be used as an additional screen. If you play a video using screen mirroring, you may also need to adjust your Mac’s audio output settings to switch to the TV. Select the Control center icon, the three-arc triangle to the right of Sound and choose your TV as the output source.

Although Apple AirPlay generally works well, you may sometimes encounter errors. I use AirPlay daily to display workouts from a fitness app on my phone on a big screen TV. It works perfectly 95% of the time, but sometimes it refuses to connect or the connection drops. The simplest solution is to stop everything and try again. Turn Wi-Fi off and on again on the TV and phone, which can also resolve connection sync issues.

Some apps do not allow screen mirroring due to copyright protection or if they contain secure and private information. You might find this with some banking apps, for example. If so, you will simply see a black screen. The simplest workaround is to connect the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook directly to the TV via an HDMI cable. You can also try accessing the app from a streaming device like an Apple TV or from the Smart TV interface itself.

Note that Netflix does not support AirPlay. You can use streaming with a compatible TV, although the streamer recently ended streaming support for newer TV models. For TVs that this still works on, it only works if you have a Standard or Premium plan.