iOS Screen Mirroring: How to Mirror Apple Devices to PC and TV

Written by Kaylee Wood | Last update: June 01, 2020

It is great to see that screen mirroring overcomes the inability to get directly content view from one device to another, and makes screen sharing widely used in many fields like education, business, entertainment, etc. Fast forward a few years, Apple has now honed AirPlay 2 that supports screen mirroring between iOS devices, and been building to make it smarter. Here is the ultimate guide on how to use iOS screen mirroring depending on the different devices you use, and helps to easily implement iOS screen mirroring.

What Is iOS Screen Mirroring?

iOS screen mirroring is realized based on AirPlay protocol stack or its own cable developed by Apple Inc. that allows wireless streaming between idevices. But different from streaming media, screen mirroring is the thing like its name, reflecting the whole screen on the sender to the receiver. Streaming only transferring media like video and audio, but screen mirroring has less limitation on content, anything can be shown on the screen of sender device is allowed to be mirrored, so you can use iOS screen mirror tech to share recorded video, display your photo library, present a slideshow, show off gaming skills and so on.

How to Enable Screen Mirror on iPhone or iPad?

For iPhone:
iPhone X or later: open "Control Center" by swiping down from the upper-right corner of the screen, tap “Screen Mirroring” icon.
For iPhone 8 or earlier, iOS 11 or earlier: swipe up from the bottom edge to call out “Control Center”, tap “Screen Mirroring” icon.

For iPad:
For iPad with iOS 12 or later: swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen to call out "Control Center", tap "Screen Mirroring" icon.

How to Mirror iPhone iPad Screen to Mac?

1. Directly connecting your iPhone or iPad to Mac by using a Lightning Cable.
2. Launch QuickTime on Mac, and then selecting "File > New Movie Recording".
3. Click on the drop down arrow next to the recording button, and you can see the name of your iPhone or iPad here. Click to select your devices and get screen mirroring start.

QuickTime is the default media player installed on Mac, if you do not have it, just go to the Apple official site to download. AirPlay does not natively support screen mirror iPhone or iPad to Mac, if you want to enable wireless streaming, finding a software to help.

How to Turn on AirPlay on Mac?

1. Click on the TV icon in the menu bar on the upper of the Mac screen.
2. Go to choose Mirror Built-in Display.

If you cannot find the TV icon on your Mac Screen, go to Apple menu and open "System Preferences > Displays", and then select the "Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available" checkbox. 

How to Mirror MacBook Screen to Smart TV?

Not only Apple TV has natively support AirPlay, but also Samsung, LG, and Sony integrate AirPlay function directly into their TVs. Just enable AirPlay on the devices and you can easily start screen mirroring from Mac to the TV.

1. Connect MacBook and smart TV with the same Wi-Fi.
2. Enable AirPlay feature on TV. Go to the Settings of your smart TV, find "AirPlay", "Apple AirPlay Settings", or something the like, and select it, and turn on it.
3. Choose "AirPlay & Home Kit Settings" or something the like to require a code if it is the first time to set the connection between Mac and TV.
4. Back to MacBook, click on the TV icon on the very top of the screen, and choose to find your TV, and then enter the code on your TV.

How to Mirror iPhone iPad Screen to Smart TV?

1. Make sure that you have connected iPhone/iPad and the Smart TV with the same network.
2. Enable AirPlay feature on TV. Go to the Settings of your smart TV, find "AirPlay", "Apple AirPlay Settings", or something the like, and select it, and turn on it.
3. Then, choose "AirPlay & HomeKit Settings" option or something the like to require a code if it is the first time to set the connection between iPhone/iPad and TV.
4. Call out “Control Center” on your iPhone or iPad, tap "Screen Mirroring" icon. After searching, select your TV and enter the code.

Does iOS Screen Mirror Work with Windows PC?

To achieve iOS screen mirroring, idevices like iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV all natively support AirPlay protocol stack, just enable the AirPlay service on them, and you can mirror the whole display to on the bigger screen. But Windows PC does not support AirPlay, it uses Miracast instead.

But this does not mean that it is impossible to screen mirroring iOS devices to Windows PC. To break platform limitation, you need the assistance of a software that has a built-in AirPlay feature. 5KPlayer, the free AirPlay server on your Mac or Windows PC will get you out any screen mirroring problem.

How to Screen Mirroring iOS devices to Windows PC with 5KPlayer?

If you failed to get screen mirroring start, please check:
1. Connected the devices with the same Wi-Fi.
2. Both the devices support AirPlay or have AirPlay-enabled software installed.
3. Bluetooth is off on both the devices.
4. Media streaming option or AirPlay option is turned on.