How to Mirror Your iPhone to Apple TV

If you’re tired of watching videos on your iPhone, you can easily mirror them to your TV. Not only does this allow you to display videos on your flat screen, it also lets you listen to music through your TV’s speakers, present a slideshow of your photos on your TV, and more. Here’s how to mirror your iPhone to your Apple TV, and how to use AirPlay to cast videos, photos, and music.

Read More: How to mirror your iPhone to Roku devices

Note: Before you can mirror your iPhone to a TV, you’ll need to make sure AirPlay is enabled on your Apple TV device. Then, you also need to make sure that your iPhone is connected to the same WiFi network as your Apple TV device.

How to Enable AirPlay on Apple TV

Before you can mirror your iPhone to an Apple TV device, it’s important to make sure that AirPlay is enabled. To do this, press the “Menu” or “<” button on your Apple TV remote and go to Settings > AirPlay and HomeKit. Finally, make sure AirPlay is turned On.

1. Press the “Menu” or “<” button on your Apple TV remote. Depending on your Apple TV model, the remote might have different labels, but these buttons do the same thing on newer and older remotes.

   Note: You need to press this button until you see the Apple TV home screen. In some cases, you’ll need to press this button several times.

2. Then, scroll down to Settings.
3. Next, select AirPlay and HomeKit. On some Apple TV models, this might just be called AirPlay.
4. Then, make sure AirPlay is turned On. If it says Off next to AirPlay, select it to turn it On.
5. Finally, select Allow Access to see if there is a passcode required. From here, you can choose to turn off “Require Password,” which means anyone with access can instantly connect to your Apple TV.

From here, check the options under Allow Access. If you choose “Everyone,” your Apple TV device will allow any connections from AirPlay devices. If you choose “Anyone on the Same Network,” your Apple TV device will only allow connections from devices on the same WiFi network.

If your Apple TV device is connected to HomeKit, you can also choose “Only People Sharing This Home” to allow any devices connected to your Apple HomeKit account.

Connect Apple TV to the Same WiFi Network

In order to mirror your iPhone to a TV, both devices need to be connected to the same WiFi network.To check what WiFi network your Apple TV is connected to, go to Settings > Network, and you will see your WiFi network at the top of your screen.

Read More: How to find your WiFi name and password on an iPhone

From here, you should also check the “Signal Strength,” which lets you know how strong your WiFi signal is, with five dots being the strongest signal.

Read More: How to test your WiFi speed

How to Mirror Your iPhone to Apple TV

To mirror your iPhone to Apple TV, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen. Then, tap the Screen Mirroring button, which has an icon of two rectangles overlapping. Finally, choose your Apple TV device from the pop-up list and enter the AirPlay code if prompted.

1. Open the Control Center on your iPhone. To open the Control Center on an iPhone X or later, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen. If you’re using an older iPhone, you’ll need to swipe up from the bottom of your screen instead.
2. Then tap Screen Mirroring. This is the icon looks like two rectangles on top of each other.
3. Next, select your Apple TV device.

   Note: To find out whether your smart TV will work with AirPlay, check this list of AirPlay 2-enabled smart TVs.

4. Finally, enter the AirPlay passcode. If you don’t see a 4-digit code appear on your screen, use your Apple TV remote to go to Settings > AirPlay and HomeKit > Allow Access and you might see a code there.

Once you enter the AirPlay passcode, your phone’s screen will appear on your TV, and your phone’s audio will play through your TV’s speakers. Depending on which app you are using, you can turn your phone sideways to see a fullscreen landscape image.

While mirroring your iPhone is great for some things, it won’t give you the highest-quality image. If you want to stream movies or music from your iPhone to your TV, you might want to “cast” content using AirPlay instead. Here’s how:

How to AirPlay Photos and Videos from iPhone to Apple TV

To cast photos and videos to Apple TV, open the Photos app on your iPhone. Then, choose a photo or video and tap the “Share” icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Next, scroll down and select AirPlay. Finally, choose your Apple TV device and enter the code if prompted.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Then, select the photo or video you want to cast. It’s easy to find photos and videos by selecting the “Search” button in the bottom-right corner of your screen. You can search for photos by subject, location, date, and more.
3. Next, tap the “Share” icon. You will see this in the bottom-left corner of your screen. It looks like a box with an arrow pointing up. You might need to tap the center of your screen in order to make these icons appear.  

While you are casting photos or videos, you can swipe right/left to project the next/previous photos or videos to your TV. If you are playing any music on your iPhone, it also might start streaming on your TV as well, so make sure the volume isn’t turned all the way up.

Once you are done casting, tap the AirPlay button in the top-right corner of your screen, which looks like a triangle pointing up at a rectangle. Then, select Turn Off AirPlay to stop casting.

How To Cast Slideshows to Apple TV

To cast multiple photos and videos to Apple TV, open the Photos app on your iPhone and go to Albums. Then choose an album, tap the three-dot icon, and select Slideshow. Once the slideshow starts, tap the AirPlay icon in the top-right. Finally, select your Apple TV device from the pop-up.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Then, tap Albums at the bottom of your screen.
3. Next, select an album.

   Note: You can always create a new album by going to Library in the bottom-left corner of your screen and tapping Select in the top-right corner. After you choose the photos and videos you want to add to an album, tap the three-line icon in the bottom-right corner, and select Add to Album> New Album.

4. Then, tap the three-dot icon. You will see this in the top-right corner of your screen.
5. Next, choose Slideshow. This will immediately start playing a slideshow of all the photos in that album.
6. Once the slideshow starts, tap your screen. This will reveal the slideshow controls, including a play/pause button at the bottom of your screen, which you can use to control the slideshow while you are casting.
7. Next, tap the AirPlay button. You will see this in the top-right corner of your screen.
8. Finally, select your Apple TV device. You will see a list pop up at the bottom of the screen. If you don’t see your device listed, make sure your iPhone and Apple TV device are both connected to the same WiFi network.

If you don’t want multiple photos and videos appearing on screen at once, tap the Options button in the bottom-right corner of the screen and change the Theme to “Dissolve” or “Push.” From here, you can also change the music, set the speed, and repeat the slideshow.

Once you are done casting, tap the AirPlay button in the top-right corner of your screen, which looks like a triangle pointing up at a rectangle. Then, select Turn Off AirPlay to stop casting.

How to Cast YouTube Videos to Apple TV

To cast YouTube videos from an iPhone to Apple TV, connect both devices to the same WiFi network. Then, open the YouTube app on your iPhone and start playing a video. Next, tap the cast icon of a square with three curved lines. Finally, select your Apple TV device from the pop-up.

1. Open the YouTube app on your iPhone. If you don’t have the app, download it from the Apple App Store for free.
2. Then, start playing a video. Tap pause right after you start playing the video.
3. Next, tap the cast icon in the top-right portion of the video. This is the icon that looks like a square with three curved lines. You might need to tap the video again to see this icon appear.
4. Then, select AirPlay & Bluetooth devices.
5. Finally, select your Apple TV device. You should see a list pop up at the bottom of your screen with all the devices you can connect to.

How to Cast Other Videos to Apple TV

If you want to cast videos from different apps on your iPhone, like Netflix, Hulu, or Prime Video, you might have to look for a different AirPlay icon. You might also find the option to cast under the “share” button or by tapping the three-line or three-dot menu icon in the app.

How To Cast Music from iPhone to Apple TV

To cast music from your iPhone to Apple TV, open the Apple Music app and start playing a song in full screen. Then, tap the Airplay icon, which looks like a triangle pointing up at three concentric circles. Finally, select your Apple TV device and enter the code if prompted.

1. Open the Apple Music app on your iPhone. While these steps show how to cast music using the Apple Music app, you can also use different apps. However, the AirPlay/cast button might look different and be in different locations in other apps.
2. Then, start playing a song. You can pause the song right after it starts.
3. Next, tap the AirPlay icon. This icon looks like a triangle pointing to three concentric circles. You will see it at the bottom of your screen once you select a song and expand it to full screen. If you don’t see this icon, try tapping the song name at the bottom of the app.
4. Then, choose your Apple TV device. You will see a list pop up from the bottom of the screen.
5. Finally, enter the code from your Apple TV device if prompted.

If you are having problems with your Apple TV device or any devices in your home theater, HelloTech can help. We have thousands of technicians across the country, who can come to your door as soon as today to help you build the home theater of your dreams.