airplay icon not showing in menu bar

Question

airplay icon not showing in menu bar

I just upgraded to Mountain Lion, and i have a macbook that should support airplay mirroring. I am trying to send sound to my airport express, and I am able to get everything working if i choose the airport express explicitly in sysprefs/Sound... but when i look at the keynote presenting ML, there should be an airplay icon visible next to the volume control on the menu bar. Is this a setting that i have missed? or is it so that this icon only shows up for Apple TVs and not airplay enabled devices only accepting sound???

It is a real hassle to navigate to sysprefs everytime i want to enjoy some music.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Jul 28, 2012 2:57 PM

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Answer 1

Tuttle

Level 7

29,541 points

Jul 28, 2012 3:06 PM in response to peter.elfstrom

is it so that this icon only shows up for Apple TVs and not airplay enabled devices only accepting sound?

Yes.

AirPlay and AirPlay mirroring are two separate things. The menubar icon (enabled in Sys Prefs > Displays) is for mirroring what's on your display (in addition to sound accompanying what's on your display) and it shows available Apple TVs. The Airport Express is only capable of streaming audio through your external speakers (through an Apple TV or your home stereo/theater receiver), not video, so the menu item won't present itself.

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Answer 2

Jul 28, 2012 3:14 PM in response to peter.elfstrom

That Icon will only show up if you have a newer 2011 or higher Mac. They now have a list on the Apple website for Mountain Lion. Which is a very small list, none of my 3 machines can do it since they are too old. A 2010 macbook pro, 2008 Mac Pro, & 2006 Mac Pro (Cannot go to Mountain Loin).

Until someone comes out with a program that allows quick access to that feature for quick access to the audio settings there is no choice, you have to go there every time you want to switch. Either that or Apple released an update that allows audio to be set quickly to airplay for all. That would be nice, but don't see them doing it. Don't seem to care about their users lately.

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Answer 3

Tuttle

Level 7

29,541 points

Jul 28, 2012 3:17 PM in response to Lord Of The Weirdos

OP's profile says "MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011)," so it's capable of mirroring.

List of supported models:

iMac (Mid 2011 or newer)

Mac mini (Mid 2011 or newer)

MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or newer)

MacBook Pro (Early 2011 or newer)

http://www.apple.com/osx/specs/

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Answer 4

Jul 28, 2012 3:26 PM in response to Tuttle

well. my computer should support airplay mirroring, but for obvious reasons (i dont own an apple TV) i am not able to do mirroring. I do however own an airport express, and i am using that to stream audio. My issue is that there is now airplay icon in the menu that lets me activate the streaming to the airport express. I distinctly remember that i have a seen a screenshot with that airplay-button showing a list containing an airport express. My theory here is that this icon will not show unless you have an apple-tv, and then it will also be able to show airport expresses as well.

To me this is just silly (and i hope there will be an updating giving me this airplay icon). Just want a fast way to activate airplay streaming to my airport express...

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Answer 5

Tuttle

Level 7

29,541 points

Jul 28, 2012 3:34 PM in response to peter.elfstrom

My theory here is that this icon will not show unless you have an apple-tv, and then it will also be able to show airport expresses as well.

I have two Apple TVs and an Airport Express. The menu item doesn't show the Airport Express.

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Answer 6

Jul 31, 2012 2:00 AM in response to Tuttle

Found out that if i hold down ALT while clicking the volume control, i get the dropdown that i was looking for. Then i can easily choose output source without having to navigate to sysprefs

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Answer 7

Nov 2, 2013 2:55 PM in response to peter.elfstrom

thanks dude. This solved it for me too.

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Answer 8

KiMii

Level 1

0 points

Aug 1, 2014 4:16 PM in response to peter.elfstrom

OMG u solved my question that I couldn't find anywhere else! LOL you are so AWESOME!!! 😁

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Answer 9

Jan 20, 2015 2:57 PM in response to Lord Of The Weirdos

Hi. I have a mid-2011 i mac desk top and apple tv. turned airplay on the apple tv and it is showing up in iTunes but not in my top menu. Checked the web site and i should be able to mirror what is on my computer to the tv but it is not working. help!

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Answer 10

Nov 5, 2016 2:20 PM in response to peter.elfstrom

That was a major assistance - thank you. Worked instantly on a Macbook 2009. Brilliant. Really appreciated.🙂

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