Q: Mountain Lion AirPlay Mirroring (iMac to AppleTV) Not Working

@sahile

May I remind you that OS X Mountain Lion is a polished version of Lion. It's not like a major leap. Not like Snow Leapord to Lion. This is just a polished version of Lion. Making the bad parts of lion better, fixing up bugs, adding some small features that Lion did not have.

For anyone else reading this, please before buying Apple TV or Mountain Lion just check if the requirements fit in. Right now you just have to have a 2011 or newer computer.

Sure... but if it is just a touch up, it should be part of the regular updates that I was getting for Lion. I paid $20 to incrementally get the new features of Mountain Lion, not to get bug fixes. I didn't buy a new Apple TV for this... I already own one it has been relegated to my bedroom as it does not do everything I want it to do... I was hoping Mountain Lion would be the answer, unfortunately I got tricked by the hardware requirements.

Also if I am not mistaken, Apple is charging customers the same $20 update price if they upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. Whereas suckers like us who are coming from Lion had to first buy Lion for $30 and now ML for another $20 bucks. it's amazing how often Apple screws it's early adopters like that....

Might I also remind people that I paid $2400 for my machine less than 2 years ago.... And apple says it will only support machines purchased in the last 9 months???? You've got to be kidding me.....

Well, that's life bro. Not fair, just cruel. Who knows, next year my computer I paid $2500 for won't be supported either. But look at the bright side, at least your computer works, you won't get viruses like the PC computers, and you can still surf at great speed. As long as you can use your computer its all good.

if we don't voice our concerns you can bet your bottom dollar you would be at this forum crying about some minor update that you didn't get because you are out of the range next year....

I love Apple love using their products, but that doesn't mean I won't voice my concerns... I can't stomach the fact that apple expects it's custoemrs to update their 2/3K machines every year almost? That's ridiculous. If you really want to be fair charge me a full price for an OS but make it compatible with older machines. Hardware upgrades are far more expensive and Apple has to be a little more realistic with their strategy.

People upgrade phones every 2 years typically in the US, mostly due to the contracts. Some, like myself, upgrade sooner than that, yet apple supports (again with limited functionality) upto 3 year old iPhones. I would argue I should at least get 3 years out of an expensive machine.... with full enhancements to software.. That you are charging me for.....iOS updates are FREE...

Give me Mountain Lion for Free and I won't say a word... but if you are charging me and publishing new features... I want them all or you can have your product back and I'll take my money!

I think the only reason they're not refunding people is because of the OS. It's like Windows Vista to 7. You can not downgrade from a newer OS. Also, I agree with you on the fact this shouldn't be priced but at least its not the $30. To me the $20 was worth it, too older mac's its a rip off. Right now it seems Apple is getting the idea that if every year people are updating their phones, they'll do the same with computers. Problem is phones are much cheaper then computers.

If Apple are not intelligent enough to allow airplay to work with all mac devices then they need to think seriously about who they are employing!

My first forray into apple was this Imac (purcahsed mid 2011) with my hard saved cash over a period of YEARS. Thankfully APM is supported for me, but I would imagine a host of next years features wont be. To my untrained eye Apple's strategy is either that of unashamed greed or shocking incompetance.

My over-cynical mind drives me not to update my Imac in future for fear of system shutdown (3g iPhone anyone?). God forbid if I have to speak to another "genius" in store.

So I DID get a reply to my App store complaint on Mac OS X Mountain Lion, as a result of this unadvertised limitation on AirPlay Mirroring. So they are refunding what they term as my "unintentional" purchase of Mountain Lion.

SO HERE'S THE RUB.... It disappears from your App Store purchases, so I'm guessing you won't receive any updates/fixes for Mountain Lion if you leave it installed. So it's either purchase it again for the $20 OR spend the next weekend restoring back to Lion uner assumption that I'll receive continued OS software support for that.

That is indeed the LAST time I'll be an early adopter with an Apple product.

You can check out http://airparrot.com/ ... not too shabby

Internet phone on the issue here

We are really thinking only about ourselves and not the third-party developers and the money these people make from apple...to develop apps people need that one can't get from Apple....(sort of)

I agree when you buy a new car it's  good idea to test drive it and investigate or research  what's included with the features that you need on a car of your choice

I agree trust was broken here or assumptions were made without investigating

However, I want to make a point that Tim Cook is NO Steve Jobs and therein lies the problem

Steve understood the consumer, he wanted to build the best MAGICAL product for everyone to desire

Cook is all about numbers & wall street analysts I am sure have his ego working over time to get numbers better than Steve did...that's what analysts do

We as Applefans and have together Cook to understand this is not just about inventory and product strategy, but keeping your base happy.....maybe he needs to read a little more about Netflix & blackberry

Go to the social media I say!!

I also felt compelled to voice my displeasure -- albeit being my first post in the Community.

I, too, was anticipating buying Mountain Lion the moment it was released for the sake of using AirPlay Mirroring; but I have not yet had the opportunity to pick up an iTunes gift card...

Maybe luck saved me from spending twenty dollars on this.

I do not mean any arrogance, but I want to thank all of you from saving me from wasting my cash on this. As a college student, it is not every day I can shell out twenty dollars so easily. That is why I have been saving up since last year! -- so I can finish my iWork collection for both iMac and iPad before school starts back up. That is, until I found out about Mountain Lion a few months ago. I was saving up for twenty more dollars mostly because of the added AirPlay feature.

The thing is, I am not happy at all. I could have sworn...SWORN! I saw that my iMac Mid-2007 was compatible. It is why I was excited in the first place! Although an aging piece of technology -- and I recognize it as that -- it is only five years old and I don't appreciate AirPlay Mirroring not being the last hoorah it gives. If my iMac is compatible with my new Apple TV (which was bought for me as a gift), I know it is compatible for AirPlay Mirroring.

As a very supportive youthful fan of Apple, this does not sit well with me, and leaves an awful taste in my mouth. I am willing to still buy the software if there is an update that expands beyond the limited number of hardware required as of today; but for right now that extra twenty stays in my wallet. I was not happy to learn my *only* two year old iPad (1st Gen) cannot update to iOS 6; and I am not happy to learn my iMac  cannot simply mirror content to a device it is able to stream content to. I think it is important for Apple to know there are likely millions of us who are expressing our displeasure right now.

I rarely write reviews for apps, and I almost never voice my opinion in threads such as this, but this annoyed me. Below is the long-winded review of Mountain Lion, that I posted to the Mac store.

I am what many might call an apple "fanboy".  My houshold has two MacBooks (1 pro, with applcare), 2 iPads, an ipod touch, an iPod nano, an iPhone 4S and an apple TV.  I run iWork (not office) and I upgraded to Lion on day 1.  I am a teacher, and I recently helped sell my principle on the idea of purchasing three classroom sets of iPads for our classrooms.  Needless to say, my endorsement of their products and their customer service is rarely matched, even amongst my fellow "fanboys".  That being said, I am not happy with Apple right now.

Just to be clear, Mountain Lion is a great product.

When Mountain Lion was announced and previewed months back, I was thrilled (just as I am whenever they announce a new product).  I thought that the new features were awesome, and since I've now downloaded and used them, I can say that they are!  Notifications, Reminders and documents in the cloud (which, with the iWork upgrade companion, allows iWork documents to sync across all my devices) work seamlessly.  Twitter integration is wonderfully simple, and the facebook integration, that will come in the Fall, is sure to be just as good.  The new tab view in Safari is a nice add and the addition of messages is very convenient (and quite frankly, a bit overdue). However, like many of those who waited, with great anticipation and patience, for this OS upgrade, it was the ability to Airplay/Mirror our Mac's that was the mother of all new features.  In my home, we use aiplay with our iPads, and it's really one of the most kick-a$$ features of any of Apple's (or anyone else's) products, but the iPads inability to run flash, is what made Mountain Lion so exciting.  With this upgrade I would finally be able to Airplay/Mirror my laptop, and flash would no longer be an issue (or so I thought).  I was most excited about having the ability to use HBOgo, and the plethora of flash driven educational websites (I almost bought another apple TV for my classroom).

SO WHY THE 1 STAR?:

Simply put, I feel like I've been duped.  After downloading Mountain Lion, I assumed that my failed attempts to get Airplay/Mirroring to work was an issue with the user (me).  I searched the internet for answers, but the only thing I found was a bunch confused people, who had the same issue.  These confused people quickly turned into angry people, when the blogs started to report that Airplay/Mirroring was disabled on pre mid-2011 Macs (both of our computers are from late 2009).  These reports led people to feel that Apple had pulled a fast one, and I must agree with them.  Cook and the Apple crew sold this product at WWDC as something that would work on any device capable of running Mountain Lion, and that simply is not the case.  There was never any disclosure during the presentation, and there is nothing on their website that informs customers of the Airplay/Mirroring limitations.

Had Apple been forthcoming with this information, I would not be writing this review.  Instead, I would be writing a 5 star review that hailed this OS as the greatest thing since sliced bread.  I would also be saving money to upgrade my computer, but at least I would not feel like Apple cheated me.  Now, I know that this is most certainly a 1st world problem, and to many people, I am whining.  Why not just be happy with the other features that I just praised?  Well, I am happy with these features (and I am whining).  The truth is that, even without the ability to Airplay/Mirror, Mountain Lion is worth the $20, but that doesn't change the facts: (1) Apple could easily enable this feature for much earlier generation Mac's (my 2009 iPod touch is Airplay capable?!?) and (2) the least they could have done was be upfront about this limitation.

The internet seems to be making a big enough stink about this.  Hopefully Apple will release an update that will enable this feature on earlier generation Macs, and if they do, I'll happily change my review.  In fact, I'll use airplay to do it.

In sum, if you have a post mid-2011 mac (and especially if you have an Apple TV, stop reading reviews, and go upgrade right now.  If you have a Mac that is older than mid-2011, consider ALL of the features and the fact that (given Apple does not issue an update that enables this feature) Airplay/Mirroring will not work, and then make an educated decision.

The email I received from apple:

"Thank you for contacting iTunes Store Support. My name is Lorie, and your issue was forwarded to my desk. I see from your email that you are disappointed with your purchase of OS X Mountain Lion because AirPlay Mirroring won't function in your other iMac.

Jeremy, AirPlay Mirroring requires a second-generation Apple TV or later, and supports the following Mac models:

iMac (Mid 2011 or newer)

Mac mini (Mid 2011 or newer)

MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or newer)

MacBook Pro (Early 2011 or newer)

Jeremy, I am sorry for the frustrations that this incompatibility has caused you.

I understand that you purchased OS X Mountain Lion specifically for the AirPlay Mirroring feature, and thus my senior advisors advised me to allow a refund for your purchase. However, I need to advise you first that once we issue a refund for OS X Mountain Lion, like any other iTunes and App Store purchases, re-downloads and future updates will no longer be available. You can still use the currently installed OS in your system but you will no longer be eligible for future update and installation to another computer.

Please notify me of your decision. I am looking forward to receiving your response so that this matter will be resolved at the soonest time. Have a great day!"

Talk about customer service...