Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Do I need an internet connection for Apple TV?

Hey I want to buy an Apple TV but before I do, I need to know does it require an internet connection to work? Or can it work without one?

The advertisement or information Apple gives me seems like it doesn't need an internet connection, I'm under the impression that if I buy one all I need is to connect it to my television then connect wirelessly from my iPad to the Apple TV device. Then I can begin streaming content to my TV via the Apple TV product.

However I came across a thing telling me I needed an internet connection in order for it to work, but where our televisions are, either the wireless internet is weak to nothing, and is unreliable from that distance, I want to be able to simply connect and play but now it seems Apple is misleading me on the capability of Apple TV.


I want to stream YouTube from my iPad to Apple TV, putting my iPad in a stronger range area and connected to Apple TV stream it... Or more importantly play content I have already on my device i.e. Video podcasts like IGN's Daily Fix, and stream it directly through the Apple TV onto my TV.


Please list all relevant information and requirements and capability I would have with Apple TV? I'm no where near an Apple store so I'll have to buy online so I want to make sure the product will work like they say it's suppose to.

iPad, iOS 7.0.4, Generation 4

Posted on Dec 4, 2013 4:01 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 14, 2017 6:37 PM

No you do not need to have Internet! I have absolutely no Internet connection in my home other than on my iPhone 6s. I have unlimited Internet on my phone. I purchased to ITV devices for my home and I have Hulu on my phone. Using Airplay I Miror my phone to my TV and I can watch my shows on my TV. This works for Hulu WB app and CBS app. However for some reason it will not work with Netflix or Amazon video and some others. Hope this helps :-) I knew there had to be able to watch shows on my TV with just my phone as Internet and sure enough after searching online I learned this :)

25 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 14, 2017 6:37 PM in response to Philbo7

No you do not need to have Internet! I have absolutely no Internet connection in my home other than on my iPhone 6s. I have unlimited Internet on my phone. I purchased to ITV devices for my home and I have Hulu on my phone. Using Airplay I Miror my phone to my TV and I can watch my shows on my TV. This works for Hulu WB app and CBS app. However for some reason it will not work with Netflix or Amazon video and some others. Hope this helps :-) I knew there had to be able to watch shows on my TV with just my phone as Internet and sure enough after searching online I learned this :)

Aug 18, 2017 11:25 AM in response to Philbo7

I think you’d get more use out if the Apple TV of you have it connected to the internet. We use ours so much we ditched traditional cable/satellite service. We do have DirecTV NOW which is only $35/mo. They don’t have DVR yet but it actually hasn’t bothered me as much as I thought it would. We did end up upgrading our internet to get faster speeds. Costs around $50/mo. We still pay way less than when we had satellite service from DirecTV... plus now we can still watch when the weather gets bad (unless there’s a power outage) It was a bit of a adjustment but we won’t go back.


Hope this helps!

Dec 4, 2013 4:12 PM in response to Philbo7

Yes. Apple TV streams video via wifi or Ethernet connection. You can subscribe to netflix, Hulu plus and access your iTunes content. But that's about all.


I bought an Apple TV and a Roku 2 last year. I use the Roku all the time. It has more to offer than the Apple, cost less and I like the menu system better.


The down side....the Apple was VERY easy to set up. The Roku was a fight. You have to login to a website and enter a code. It took about 30 minutes, where the Apple took 30 seconds.


If you decide to try the Roku, do NOT get the Roku 3.

Dec 5, 2013 7:49 AM in response to Nick1002

Depending on your use an ATV does not require an internet connection to work although it does need a WiFi or Ethernet connection to your home network to AirPlay or stream media. Obviously you need an internet connection to view online content. But no internet connection is needed to view media stored on iOS devices or from iTunes on a computer, just a connection to your home network.


Even though one of my ATVs can connect to the internet it is used solely to stream video stored on my iMac.

Dec 8, 2013 5:14 AM in response to Philbo7

I am in the same situation as Philbo7. I just want to stream media from my iPhone and iPad to the ATV and where it is at has no internet. After setting up and updating the ATV at another location with internet, I cannot stream videos, only audio files. I have an Apple Airport Extreme and the network is setup and working fine.


From the little information I can find, is it true I need an internet connection so the ATV can verify permissions to play videos from my mobile devices? Apple gives the impression an internet connection is only needed to stream and buy/rent media, not to stream previously purchased media.

Jan 27, 2014 10:14 AM in response to Upchucknit

Same here, set up an AE & ATV, no issues, and can send audio files/music as well as video files (i.e. a saved video via the ipad's camera) to the TV, but not a movie/tv show video from my itunes library, and saved on my ipad/iphone.


Was wondering if an older ATV (Gen 1) would be any different - since shows & movies can stored internally on its hard drive?


Pain in the...would rather just sync in a movie/tv show to my ipad/phone, and bring it up to the cabin, vs dragging an ATV back and forth...

Mar 19, 2014 6:47 PM in response to Philbo7

The area I travel to does not have cellular data available, nor does it have any form of DSL/Cable internet feeds. Thus, much like most of you, I created a wireless (wifi) and wired LAN (local area network), that has no active WAN (internet connection), to connect all my devices to in order to Airplay all the movies I purchased and downloaded to my computer, iPad and iPhone.


After many hours of frustration of trying to get them to play (without being able to Google help topics since I had no WAN up there) I gave up.


After returning home I researched and found out that the bottom line is that you cannot Airplay any media that was purchased through iTunes without an active WAN (internet connection). You cannot even try to trick the system by mirroring a display to Airplay without an active WAN (internet connnection). Highly disappointed.


Why... the ATV, iPad, iPhone, or other apple device needs to communicate with the iTunes Store to validate the device you are trying to play the movie on is a device you authorized. The device is unable to do this without an active WAN (internet connection).


Funny thing... somehow the device knows what media was not purchased through iTunes as you can Airplay any of that media just fine through Airplay.


Apple... you need to figure out a way to allow users to Airplay purchsed media when there is no active WAN connection availble. Please make this happen as it would be great to be able to watch purchased media from a internet/cellular dead zone.

Jul 12, 2014 4:04 PM in response to ploofer

I Have a Apple TV, ipad 2 and an iphone 5. We go out to the desert a lot. No internet connection except on my iphone 5. My quest is can I airplay to Apple TV? The devices should do some kind of recognition to each other right?


Let me know I'm about to buy Apple TV for my RV and sure would like it to work. Also I read someone created a LAN without internet so devices recognize each other? If I read correctly I have an extra router and would like to know how, need step by step instructions.


thank you thank you for any help.

Sep 13, 2014 11:24 AM in response to Philbo7

I have the same issue and couldn't find an answer either. The problem is that the Apple TV requires an internet connection if you want to AirPlay internet content from your iPhone to the Apple TV, e.g. if the Apple TV isn't connected to the internet somehow, then Netflix or Youtube won't AirPlay from the iPhone to the Apple TV. I don't have a "house" internet connection currently, and when I bought my iPhone I was assuming I just can use my unlimited data plan to watch Netflix movies on the iPhone and AirPlay it to the big screen. No luck here, yet!!!

You can use the iPhone Hotspot and connect the AppleTV to that Hotspot, but I have a 5GB limit and that will be depleted with 2 movies or so, so that doesn't work either. I also can use the Hotspot to connect to my MacAir, which works great and 5GB limit is not the issue if you don't use it for movies, online gaming etc. But you could run into issues if you have to download big files, like updating the OS etc. That is something you have to consider when you are cutting the home internet.

I tried to somehow have the Apple TV use the Hotspot internet connection to just have access to the internet but use the iPhone unlimited data plan to stream movies, but the problem is that Apple TV can only connect to 1 WiFi network at a time and while it is connected to the hotspot, you can't connect to another network for AirPlay your content. Also, the ethernet port on the Apple TV (if used) will be prioritized and then WiFi would be turned off, ruling out the possibility to use ethernet and WiFi simultaneously to have one connected to the network using AirPlay and one using the Hotspot internet access. I believe the real problem is that the Apple TV needs internet access (for verification purposes???) while using AirPlay, and if there is no internet access through the network you are using for AirPlay, it might not work, at least I couldn't find a solution for it yet.

I was reading that with iOS 8 there might be a new feature that uses Peer-to-Peer technology between iOS devices and Apple TV, that might enable that you can connect to Apple TV with Peer-to-Peer and also connect it with the iPhone Hotspot for internet access (I would assume that the data amount from just being connected to the internet would be minor if the streaming data comes from the data plan itself from the iPhone).

That said, I can still stream content from my iTunes library to Apple TV, which is stored on my computer and doesn't need to be downloaded or streamed (Not the content I have purchased. Some folks mentioned bought content still needs internet access). So you can use your content you already have on the computer by using your local network. I hope somebody can give a solution to that problem! I was hoping to never have to deal with cable or telephone companies ever again, just using my mobile carrier, but I might be out of luck!

P.S: I also tried to connect my MacAir with the iPhone hotspot and then share this internet connection from the MacAir with my Apple TV. Didn't work either :-(

Sep 13, 2014 11:30 AM in response to lizdance40

lizdance40

"Yes. Apple TV streams video via wifi or Ethernet connection. You can subscribe to netflix, Hulu plus and access your iTunes content. But that's about all."



I disagree. Yes, you can use WiFi or ethernet network for streaming to your Apple TV, but if you want to stream Netflix or other internet content this network needs to have internet access.

Do I need an internet connection for Apple TV?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.