How To Turn On Airplay

Airplay is Apple’s built-in way to stream video and music from an Apple device to your TV via Apple TV, but it’s not entirely intuitive to figure out. We’ll show you how to easily turn on Airplay from any device so you can start streaming immediately.

Airplay From an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

You can Airplay content directly from an iOS device to an Apple TV (2nd gen) or later.

• First, make sure you have the latest iOS installed on your device.
• Make sure your device and the device you want to Airplay to are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Center.
• Then swipe to the left for the Now Playing screen.
• On an iPhone or iPod touch the Airplay icon (three spirals with a triangle at the base) to see a list of Airplay devices on the network.
• On an iPad, a list of connected Airplay devices will appear for you to choose from.

Mirror an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Follow these steps if you want to mirror your iPhone, iPad, or iPod’s screen on an Apple TV.

• Make sure your device and the device you want to Airplay to are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Center.
• Tap the Airplay Mirroring icon (a TV with a triangle), then select your Apple TV.
• You may need to enter your Airplay password on your iOS device to continue.
• On your TV, you can adjust the aspect ratio to fit the mirrored device.

Stream iTunes Content

You can also stream iTunes content from your computer to an Apple TV, Airport Express, or Airplay-enabled device.

• Make sure your computer and Apple TV, Airport Express, or Airplay-enabled device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Open iTunes on your computer.
• Select the Airplay icon (it will only appear if there is an Airplay-enabled device connected to the same Wi-Fi).
• Select the device that you want to stream to.

Airplay video from a Mac to an HDTV

With OS X El Capitan or later you can now stream Safari or QuickTime videos from your computer to an Apple TV.

• Select the Airplay Mirroring icon whenever it’s available from a Safari or QuickTime menu bar.
• Select your Apple TV to begin streaming.

You can also use your TV as a Mac display.

• Make sure your Mac and Apple TV are on.
• Select your TV from the Airplay status menu on your Mac.
• You can either mirror your Mac display, thereby creating two separate displays.