Every time I unlock my phone from my house it pops up "join this Apple TV". Please tell me how to stop this it's very annoying. I have searched all of the previous posts about this that have been closed without an answer.
iPhone 15 Plus, iOS 18
This setting does not exist in ios26. Typical Apple, if it is not brothers fix it. Worst IOS release ever.
Turn OFF AirPlay “Automatically AirPlay to TVs” (Main Fix)
This setting is what triggers the pop-up when your iPhone detects an Apple TV nearby.
Go to:
Settings → AirPlay & Handoff → Automatically AirPlay to TVs → OFF
This stops your iPhone from offering to join ANY Apple TV automatically.
Same for me. Airplay = never, airdrop = receiving off. Message occurs every time iPad is unlocked.
I have 3 AppleTV, all off or standby.
The message should have the AppleTV name, maybe network info, to allow user to determine if it is my AppleTV and which one.
I'll start hunting through AppleTV settings next.
Same issue here running up to date software on my iPhone. Turned out to be an AppleTV issue for me. I fixed this by updating my AppleTV software, forgetting all the devices in the AppleTV (remotes and devices—remote app and devices) and disabling the automatic profile in the AppleTV (settings—profiles and accounts—choose profile on wake).
Dmb3rd wrote:
This setting does not exist in ios26. Typical Apple, if it is not brothers fix it. Worst IOS release ever.
It has nothing to do with iOS, you need to update your TVOS to 26.2. It is waiting to be downloaded on your Apple TV and has been available since December 12th, you just need to do it.
I’m seeing this too, and unfortunately the usual fixes haven’t worked for me.
On iOS 26.2 my path is Settings → General → AirPlay & Continuity → Automatically AirPlay, and even when I set that to Never I still get the full‑screen:
“Join This Apple TV?
Add yourself as a new profile on this Apple TV.”
It appears on multiple iPhones and iPads in my household, across different Apple IDs, every time we unlock our devices.
I also tried changing settings on our own Apple TV:
The prompts still show up on our phones and iPads even when our own Apple TV is turned off.
The key clue:
If I turn Bluetooth OFF on my devices, the pop‑ups stop entirely.
As soon as I turn Bluetooth ON again, they come back.
That strongly suggests the pop‑up is actually being triggered by a neighbor’s Apple TV in my apartment building, not by my own Apple TV or my Wi‑Fi network. In that situation, the “Automatically AirPlay” setting and changing options on my Apple TV are not enough, because I don’t control the neighbor’s box.
At this point it really feels like iOS needs either:
I tried everything. Turned off airplay and airdrop and pop up continues!
This must be for an ancient iOS. iOS 26 does not face this format
I’m running iOS 26.1 on my iPad and latest version on my iPhone. I have 4 Apple TVs in my house. Every single time my wife or I unlock iPad or iPhone the message pops up.
[Edited by Moderator]
I have ipad OS 18.6.2, TV OS 26.2
After a few days it stopped happening. Changed nothing.
Makes me wonder if it was a neighbour's device ?
Mystery. All's well that ends.
Updated Apple TV Software, nothing else, and finally the popup stopped on iPhone and iPads.
Thanks Teds20
Stop "Join this Apple TV" pop up
