Common AirPlay Problems & Solutions

If you have ever given presentations or shown tutorials to your audience, you have likely used AirPlay on your Apple devices, like Airplay on your Mac. The feature basically allows you to mirror the content of your iPhone or iPad onto your smart TV or monitor. It is really a boon for those of you who love viewing your content on large screens.

While the feature works fine most of the time, it has its own share of issues. If you have been using it for some time, chances are you have faced at least one of the following issues with the feature on your devices. Luckily, fixing these common AirPlay issues is pretty easy and can be done by following a few simple steps.

1. AirPlay Not Working

The first mentioned AirPlay problem is AirPlay not working. If you can’t stream content, or find that there is no device name in the AirPlay list, there might be some problems with your device settings. The following tips will help you out when AirPlay won’t work and you do not get any specific error message on your device’s screen. These are general tips to be followed.

Tip 1. Restart Your Devices

The first thing you will want to do is restart all of your devices. This ensures that any minor glitches are resolved on your devices.

Restart your iPhone X or later:

Step 1: Press and hold the Side button and either volume button until the power off slider appears on the screen.

Step 2: Drag the slider to turn your device completely off.

Step 3: After your device turns off, press and hold the Side button again until you see the Apple logo.

Restart your iPhone 8 or earlier or iPod touch:

Step 1: Press and hold the Top (or Side) button until the power off slider appears.

Step 2: Drag the slider to turn your device completely off.

Step 3: After your device turns off, press and hold the Top (or Side) button again until you see the Apple logo.

Tip 2. Reset Network Settings to the Defaults

Since AirPlay utilizes your network, it is a must that your network settings are properly configured. If you are not sure of that, you may reset all the settings to the factory defaults. On your iOS device, open Settings and tap on General followed by Reset. Tap on Reset Network Settings to do the task.

Tip 3. Update the iOS Version

If your device runs an old version of iOS, it may be the culprit here. And in this case, your best bet is to get your iOS version upgraded to a newer one.

You do not need to use a third-party app to do it as it can be done right from your device. Head into Settings > General > Software Update and tap on Download and Install to download and install the iOS updates on your iPhone or iPad.

Tip 4. Awake the Apple TV

If you do not use your Apple TV for a while, it tends to go into sleep mode just like your computers. When you are using AirPlay, you must make sure the TV is not sleeping.

Wake the TV up by pressing any button on the Apple TV remote. You may then try connecting your device to your TV using AirPlay.

Tip 5. Reboot Your Router

The AirPlay data is transmitted from your device to your TV via your router. If the router has an issue, there will be issues transferring the data.

The most you can do about it, unless you are a network technician, is to reboot the router. This will refresh all the IP addresses and other settings to enable the use of AirPlay.

2. AirPlay Not Showing up

Another problem is AirPlay not showing up. This problem usually shows as the AirPlay icon disappears on Mac computers. Possible reasons for this problem include the AirPlay device is not enabled, the AirPlay icon option is not enabled in Mac Preferences, and there being no stable WiFi connection, etc. No matter what the reason is, the following fixes should help you get the option back in your menu.

Tip 1. Connect to the Same WiFi Network

You must make sure that both your iOS device and your AirPlay receiver are on the same WiFi network. If they are not, you will not see the AirPlay option simply because your device has not been able to find an AirPlay receiver.

Tip 2. Turn on AirPlay Receiver

You must also make sure that your AirPlay receiver is turned on. If you are using an Apple TV, ensure it is fully turned on and is connected to your WiFi network. Turned-off devices do not work with AirPlay.

Tip 3. Update Apple TV

The software on your Apple TV should also be up to date for the TV to work with AirPlay. If there is an update available for it, get it installed on your TV.

Tip 4. Use One Device

AirPlay restricts you to use one device at a time with the feature. Make sure there are not any other devices trying to use the feature or both the devices will fail to connect.

Tip 5. Reboot Apple TV

Lastly, you may try rebooting your Apple TV to fix any minor glitches it may have. Then see if your device connects to it via AirPlay.

3. AirPlay No Sound

Among all the AirPlay malfunctioning cases, the absence of sound can be the most annoying one. If you can see your device’s screen on your Apple TV but cannot hear the audio, you are only halfway there. There have been some complaints from users saying that there is no AirPlay sound when they connect their devices. Reasons are related to improper HDMI cable connection, network connection issues, problems with the hardware, etc. Follow the tips here to see how to fix AirPlay no sound problem.

Tip 1. Enable Sound on Apple TV

Ensure that the volume on your Apple TV is turned on. It may be that you or someone turned down the speakers on the TV and as a result, you cannot hear anything.

Tip 2. Unmute Your iPhone/iPad

Your iPhone or iPad must also have its volume turned on. Use the volume controllers on your device to increase the volume levels.

Tip 3. Use Supported Apps/Sites

There may be sites and/or apps that do not work very well with AirPlay. In those cases, you will not be able to hear any AirPlay audio no matter what you do. Your solution is to find an alternate option for what you are viewing on your device.

Tip 4. Choose the Correct Audio Output

If your audio still won’t connect to AirPlay, you may want to ensure that the audio output settings are proper on your devices. On a Mac, this can be done from System Preferences.

Tip 5. Disable Restrictions

Restrictions limit some of the functions of AirPlay. It is recommended you keep them turned off for as long as you use AirPlay on your devices.

Bonus Tip: AirPlay Alternative with No Barrier

AirPlay is a powerful yet vulnerable feature of Apple devices, but it also has various limitations such as it only supports screen mirrors via a WiFi connection. There are a lot of complaints about how unstable and laggy the AirPlay screen mirror is. One of the main reasons is the WiFi connection is not stable enough.

To enjoy a smooth and barrier-free screen mirror experience, you can try an AirPlay alternative – AnyMiro. It is a third-party screen mirroring tool for iPhone and Android users to mirror screens to the computer. With AnyMiro, you can not only mirror iPhone screen to Mac via USB, which is more stable, but also mirror iPhone to Windows PC at no extra cost.

The reason why you are going to like this app over any other is its simplicity of use. With a few steps, you can successfully AirPlay your iPhone or iPad to both Windows and Mac computers. If you are interested in AnyMiro, don’t hesitate and download it to have a try!

The Bottom Line

If you frequently use AirPlay, you are bound to come across a variety of issues with the feature. The above guide should help you out in those situations so you can focus on your presentations or tutorials – or whatever it is that you are trying to show to your audience using AirPlay.