Stream Video From Your iPad to Apple TV

Watch movies on the biggest screen in your house

By
Daniel Nations
Daniel Nations
Daniel Nations
Writer
  • University of Texas at Arlington
Daniel Nations has been a tech journalist since 1994. His work has appeared in Computer Currents, The Examiner, and other publications. He is a developer who has published apps in the Apple App Store, Google Play marketplace and Amazon Appstore; he also has worked as a data analyst and DB administrator.
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Updated on January 1, 2021

Streaming from an iPad to Apple TV is possible thanks to Apple AirPlay. Even if the app doesn't support streaming, you can mirror your mobile device's display on your television. With screen mirroring, you can watch videos and even play games on a bigger screen.

Instructions in this article apply to all iOS devices including iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.

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What is Screen Mirroring?

How to Stream Video From Your iPad to Apple TV With AirPlay

Some iOS apps offer native support for AirPlay. While playing a video, look for the AirPlay icon (a screen with an up-arrow). Tap it, then choose your smart TV to start casting. To stop streaming, tap your iPad, then select your mobile device from the list.

AirPlay options on an iPhone

How to Mirror Your iPad's Screen to Apple TV

If you can’t use AirPlay with an app, your other option is screen mirroring. Your iPad and Apple TV must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network for this feature to work. To mirror the display of your iOS device on your Apple TV:


  1. Turn on your Apple TV.

  2. Open the iPad app you want to stream from.

  3. Open the iPad Control Center by swiping down from the upper-right corner of the screen.

    A screenshot of an iPad with an arrow indicating swiping to open the Control Center

  4. Tap Screen Mirroring.

    A screenshot of an iPad's Control Center with the Screen Mirroring button highlighted

  5. Tap the name of your Apple TV in the menu that appears.

    A screenshot of an iPad's Screen Mirroring menu with the Apple TV option highlighted

  6. Your iPad screen will appear on your TV. To stop streaming, go back into the Screen Mirroring menu in the Control Center and tap Stop Mirroring.

    A screenshot of the iPad's Screen Mirroring screen with the Stop Mirroring button highlighted

    You can mirror your iPad screen in both landscape (horizontal) and portrait (vertical) orientations by rotating the tablet.

How to Troubleshoot Screen Mirroring

If the Apple TV option is grayed out in the Screen Mirroring window, the iPad can't see it on the network. The most common reason is that the iPad and Apple TV aren't on the same Wi-Fi network. If you have an iPad with a data connection, make sure the iPad is connected to Wi-Fi, and then check to see that both devices are connected to your home network.

If both devices are connected to the same network but screen mirroring isn't working, try rebooting your Apple TV and your iPad. To reboot an Apple TV, go to Settings > System > Restart. Reboot the iPad by holding down the wake/suspend button until you get the command to shut down.

If the screen mirrors properly, but it goes blank when you start your app, the app may have the feature disabled. Some streaming apps don't support screen mirroring to prevent users from distributing protected content.

Press and hold the wake/suspend and Home buttons for a few seconds to perform a hard restart if the usual method doesn't work.

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